UNICEF UK RIGHTS RESPECTING SCHOOL AWARD
ASSESSMENT REPORT
LEVEL ONE
School: / Cradlehall Primary SchoolHeadteacher: / Lawrence Sutherland
RRSA coordinator: / Gill Rodgers
Local authority: / Highland Council
Assessors: / Maxine Jolly
Date: / 26.03.2015.
1. INTRODUCTION
We would like to thank the leadership team, staff and young people for their warm welcome to the school, for the opportunity to speak with staff, parents and pupils during the assessment, and for the evidence detailing the work towards becoming a Level 1 rights-respecting school.
Prior to the assessment visit you provided a comprehensive self-evaluation and impact evaluation form. It was clear to the assessors during the visit that everyone places a real importance on developing a rights respecting ethos.
It was particularly notable that the key strengths of the school were:-
Polite, confident and enthusiastic children who are proud of their school
Children from ante pre-school through to P7 are developing a sound understanding of rights and are increasingly able to apply this to their own lives and those of others’
Very positive relationships between pupils and staff, based on mutual respect
The Head Teacher and co-ordinator are highly committed to embedding the UNCRC in the school, and are well supported by staff
Very positive and inclusive ethos, in which children are enabled to work well together and support each other
The high quality of displays throughout the school promote the UNCRC and enhance learning
Standards A, B, C and D have met the necessary criteria
2. THE ASSESSMENT IN DETAIL
2.1. The school context
Cradlehall Primary is a non-denominational Local Authority primary and nursery school with just under 400 children in attendance. It is situated on the south eastern edge of the city of Inverness and serves the suburb of Westhill, an area with mixed housing: roughly half owner-occupier and half private / Local Authority rented accommodation. The school is housed in a building that dates from the late 1970s and extended in the early 1990s. The area is one of low deprivation with Free School Meal Entitlement currently standing at 6%.
There are a small number of children from ethnic minority backgrounds (4%) with 10 different languages being spoken within the school community.
2.2. Assessment information
Self-evaluation form received / YesImpact evaluation form received / Yes
Attendees at SLT meeting / Headteacher / RRSA coordinator
Number of children and young people interviewed / 26 children/pupils/students
Number of staff interviewed / 4 teaching staff
1 support staff
5 parents
1 grandparent
Any other
Evidence provided / Learning walk
Written evidence
Displays
Lessons
Standard A:
Rights-respecting values underpin leadership and management
Standard A has been achieved
The head teacher clearly articulated that the school’s vision and values are underpinned by the UNCRC. The school’s values of inclusion, and promoting diversity and equality led to them becoming involved in RRSA in the first instance, and all staff share the vision and values. ‘It’s what makes our school what it is’ (head teacher)
RRSA is an on-going item in the School Improvement Plan (SIP), and the Pupil Council have helped to write a child friendly version of the SIP, with clear reference to RRSA. The school is reviewing policies to incorporate the UNCRC – examples seen included the Homework Policy. Time has been given on In-Service days to develop understanding of RRSA / UNCRC, and the co-ordinator attends PSA meetings to give them regular updates and gather their views. Teaching staff have regular meetings to refer to the RRSA criteria and consider next steps. There is a detailed RRSA calendar of events which includes assemblies, fundraising, pupil group elections, focus rights and special events – these are all linked to articles.
RRSA is a permanent item on the Parent Council agenda, and members of the Parent Council are part of the RRSA Ambassadors group. The school has a number of pupil groups, including RRSA Ambassadors and Pupil Council, and community groups which use the building are kept informed by all the high profile displays. The head teacher has also recently met with the District Commissioner for Girl Guides to discuss RRSA.
The school plans its global citizenship work, linked to the UNCRC in a systematic way through whole school Inter Disciplinary Learning (IDL). In addition RME and Health and Well-Being (HWB) planning is linked to the UNCRC. The school leadership has ensured that links with other countries are used to promote understanding of the UNCRC – for example a link with a school in India involves children exchanging ideas about rights.
Standard B:The whole school community learns about the CRC
Standard B has been achieved
The children are developing a very good knowledge of the UNCRC and were able to describe many articles such as special help for the disabled (23), relax and play (31) and education (28). They fully appreciated that rights are universal and unconditional. Some children in P2 were able to explain that if they didn’t listen in class then it would affect their right to an education. Parents talked about how their children discussed rights at home, and made links between the UNCRC and items on the news – the on-going conflict in Syria was particularly topical.
The Parent Council regularly discuss RRSA, and support the work of the steering group. There is regular homework linked to the ‘right of the month’. The school website contains useful information about RRSA / UNCRC, and there are also regular newsletters, which the pupils contribute to.
The school has a detailed programme of monthly assemblies which reference the UNCRC and highlight the ‘right of the month’ – many of these are led by the RRSA Ambassadors. There is an RRSA noticeboard in the main corridor, and many displays across all curricula areas, which make explicit links to the UNCRC. For example and art display linked to article 31, and a health display to article 27 (standard of living) and 29 (talents and abilities). Of particular note were banners in the school hall made by each class, including nursery, and illustrating a wide range of articles. Lesson plans make links to the UNCRC in many curricular areas through IDL, and also in HWB and RME. Teachers are encouraged to reflect on their lessons and make explicit links to rights.
Reading material throughout the school is labelled if it links specifically to the UNCRC, and a display in the library has highlighted books which have a rights based theme. Teacher use links with other countries to explore and contrast the lives of children in other parts of the world – for example a link with a school in Holland is used as a context for learning about rights and sustainable issues.
Standard C:The school has a rights-respecting ethos
Standard C has been achieved
There are charters in all classes and for the playground – the latter was created by the RRSA Ambassadors in consultation with their peers. The charters are used to reinforce positive behaviours, as well as to deal with any problems that may arise. The respectful relationships in the school were noted and valued by parents, with one commenting that her son, who is now in S1, can tell the difference in behaviours between those who attended Cradlehall and those who went to other feeder primaries.
The positive relationships between staff and pupils were based on rights based language. ‘Children use rights based language more and think more about how they treat each other’ (teacher); ‘if you don’t have rights then we wouldn’t know how to treat each other or how we should be treated ‘ (P3 child)
There has been an improvement in playground behaviour, with older pupils using the playground charter to challenge inappropriate behaviour such as dropping litter. Throughout the school the charters were having a positive impact. A teacher explained that the children ‘refer to the charters when making choices’ – this was also the view of pupils, and support staff.
All the pupils spoken to on the day said they felt safe in school. A P6 child commented that ‘everyone is really kind and fair to each other’. P7 children act as buddies for the P1s, and start getting to know the new intake when they are still in nursery. They are also trained as Playground Leaders enabling them to facilitate games with younger children. There are also anti-bullying ambassadors and a suggestion box. The children throughout the school are being encouraged to try and resolve conflict independent from adults, through the ‘playground friends’ initiative and are working on a resilience programme.
Across the school the pupils spoke highly of the staff and how well they were treated. A P3 child noted that ‘all the teachers give us our rights’. A parent also observed that ‘The respect teachers have here for the children is superb’.
Pupils believe that being rights respecting is integral to them respecting the environment, and children demonstrated a commitment to learning about the lives of others and celebrating diversity.
Standard D:Children are empowered to become active citizens and learners
Standard D has been achieved
There are many opportunities for children to share their views. In addition to the elected pupil groups of RRSA Ambassadors, Pupil Council (including House Captains) and Eco-Group, the school has a number of citizenship groups which include all pupils. After elected groups meet they feedback to class, and also take forward their views. These groups share information with each other, and all of their work is linked to the UNCRC – pupils could clearly explained how the Eco-Group, for example, was underpinned by article 24. Pupil groups are allocated a budget and have used this to make positive changes to the school environment – e.g. by buying new playground equipment. Annual questionnaires gather pupils’ views and inform the SIP.
Pupils are well informed about their learning and are asked for feedback on the curriculum – this is fed into lessons. Children have learning logs which they complete regularly, and also Pupil Profiles where they keep their best pieces of work. There were many displays on internet safety in the school, and this was linked to article 17 (right to information). The HWB curriculum also gives pupil information about healthy choices. Displays in the library link key questions to the UNCRC, with supporting literature.
The school supports a number of charities linked to children’s rights. For example ‘Day for Change’, ‘Red Nose Day’ and ‘Send my Friend to School’. They are also linked with a number of other schools and communities internationally, and are supporting a project helping children in refugee camps in Pakistan. Pupils are very clear about how this supports the rights of others, and do not view themselves as benefactors, but understand that these opportunities are mutually beneficial and provide a context for learning. Locally the children take part in an annual ‘Community Clean Up’ and also support Food Banks - both linked to article 24. Children are beginning to campaign on issues that matter to them – for example one pupil explained how they had made paper figures which included messages of concern, and sent these to the Prime Minister. A group of children recently attended a national Children’s Rights Summit to raise awareness of Children’s Rights and issues that matter to them with members of the Scottish Government.
2.3. The future
The assessor would like to encourage the school to continue work on becoming rights respecting and work towards the award at Level Two.
The following recommendations are made to support the journey based on those that have proven valuable in other schools and settings in helping them to develop their practice at Level 2. The recommendations made by the assessors are listed below:
Continue to develop planned, strategic global citizenship / learning for sustainability, linked to the UNCRC
Investigate working with the local academy and other cluster schools
Visit other level 2 schools
Promote UNCRC in the wider community e.g. posters in the local library
Continue to enable children to become involved in campaigning
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RRSA Level 1 report – Cradlehall, Inverness, 26th March 2015