Blue Coat Church of England Academy is: Rights Aware
We are proud to announce that Blue Coat Church of England Academy has been awarded the Rights Aware status (Silver) from UNICEF UK’s Rights Respecting Schools Award (RRSA). This recognition highlights our commitment to creating a school environment where children’s rights are promoted, respected and understood by all.
Being a Rights Respecting School means we actively teach and uphold the values of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). This helps ensure our students grow into confident, informed, and responsible citizens, aware of both their rights and responsibilities.
UNICEF is the world’s leading organisation working for children and their rights. Through the RRSA, we join a community of nearly 5,000 schools in the UK promoting children’s rights through a whole-school approach.
Child Rights Education (CRE) involves learning about rights, through rights, and for rights. It encourages children to understand their rights and empowers adults to support them. The aim is to create a culture where students and staff collaborate, ensuring meaningful participation and positive change across the school.
At Blue Coat, we believe education should inspire, enable, and enrich every student. The RRSA supports this by giving us a framework to promote respect, equality and shared responsibility. Schools involved in the RRSA often see improved wellbeing, stronger relationships and better engagement in learning.
What does this involve at Blue Coat?
- Personal Development, Wider World and Collective Worship: During these sessions, students explore specific articles from the CRC. These sessions include discussions and activities that link the articles to their lives and global contexts.
- Raising Awareness: Students take part in campaigns such as Write for Rights, Food Bank Appeals, Early Moments Matter, as well as workshops delivered by the Anne Frank Trust, helping raise awareness and support for children and their families worldwide.
- Year Leaders, Faith Leaders and an Eco Team: We have dedicated groups of students from Years 7 to 13 who meet regularly to help lead our Rights Respecting journey. They play a key role in implementing our action plan, which ensures:
- The CRC underpins our school values and decision-making.
- The whole school community learns about and respects children’s rights.
- Students are empowered to be active learners and responsible global citizens.
This award is a significant milestone on our journey and reflects the values we live by every day. We look forward to continuing this important work as we aim for the next stage of the RRSA journey: the Gold Award.
You can learn more about UNICEF and the RRSA at www.unicef.org.uk/rrsa.
Rights in Action:
Article 2 (non-discrimination) – The Convention applies to every child without discrimination, whatever their ethnicity, sex, religion, language, abilities, or any other status, whatever they think or say, whatever their family background.
Student voice has been used extensively to gather students’ thoughts and opinions on prejudice and discrimination. Their feedback has resulted in a change to the form time curriculum and has established the importance of this right at the heart of our community. It is a key priority for the school and our ‘Stand together Against Hate’ strategy, aimed at educating and preventing prejudice and harassment in all its forms, has positively impacted students understanding of their rights and how to keep themselves safe. 78% of students believed that the school has been successful in stopping students from harassing others and 81% of student now believe that their fellow students understand what harassment is.
Article 24 (Health and health care) – Every child has the right to the best possible health. Governments must provide good quality health care, clean water, nutritious food, and a clean environment and education on health and well-being so that children can stay healthy. Richer countries must help poorer countries achieve this.
Every year students collect donations for the local food bank, as well as raising money for international charities to provide humanitarian relief for those in need.
Article 42 (knowledge of rights) – Governments must actively work to make sure children and adults know about the Convention.
At Blue Coat Church of England Academy, students learn about their rights in form time, during assembly, on Personal Development Days and during lessons.
Article 19 (protection from violence, abuse and neglect) – Governments must do all they can to ensure that children are protected from all forms of violence, abuse, neglect and bad treatment by their parents or anyone else who looks after them.
At Blue Coat Church of England Academy, we work hard to keep students safe. We work with various organisations and outside agencies who work with young people to help them understand the dangers involved in gangs and violence. We also support students through workshops and events and give them the tools to keep themselves safe.
Article 30 (children from minority or indigenous groups) – Every child has the right to learn and use the language, customs, and religion of their family, whether these are shared by most of the people in the country where they live.
The school has a Diversity and Inclusion Group that meets regularly to discuss ideas and promotes students’ rights within school. They have influenced events, staff training and the curriculum. The school’s first Diversity and Inclusion Day was held on 24th June 2022 and has continued as an annual tradition ever since. Students discuss their cultural heritage, take part in activities on diversity and inclusion and wear the colours of the flag they identify with or their cultural dress. World music and dance activities, as well as a fashion show are all planned for the day.
Article 39 (recovery from trauma and reintegration) – Children who have experienced neglect, abuse, exploitation, torture or who are victims of war must receive special support to help them recover their health, dignity, self-respect, and social life.
We do everything we can to support students who are recovering from trauma and need mental health support. We have a robust Safeguarding Team on site which is made up of: Designed Safeguarding Leads, a Student Pastoral Coach and a Student and Families Support Worker, to give one to one support to the most vulnerable; offering intensive emotional and mental health support. We have staff trained in mental health first aid and a non-teaching pastoral team to ensure there is always someone available for students who need help. We let all students know ‘its ok NOT to be ok’.
Article 12 (respect for the views of the child) – Every child has the right to express their views, feelings and wishes in all matters affecting them, and to have their views considered and taken seriously. This right always applies, for example during immigration proceedings, housing decisions or the child’s day-to-day home life.
Student voice at Blue Coat Church of England Academy is high profile and students influence decisions about how the school is run. They have influenced the curriculum, with changes such as the development of a more multicultural history curriculum and helping to suggest new diverse case studies used on Personal Development Day (Diversity and Inclusion Group). They have asked for improved ICT facilities, which resulted in additional computers and laptops available for the sixth form and new sixth form Wi Fi being installed (Sixth Form Senior Leadership Team). While the Student Council have been consulted about new school catering arrangements and have played a central role in introducing the new school PE kit. Student panels are involved in all appointments and our student community regularly approaches the Senior Leadership Team with ideas and developments for the school. Each year students also take part in the school ‘Take Over Day’ when students ‘take over’ all school roles for the day.
Article 31 (leisure, play and culture) – Every child has the right to relax, play and take part in a wide range of cultural and artistic activities.
At Blue Coat Church of England Academy, we support students in engaging in a range of enriching experiences. We believe that every child should achieve their full potential and we are committed to ensuring we develop the whole child, with “life in all its fullness” at the heart of what we do. Therefore, we deliver a broad, balanced, and exciting curriculum with both academic and cultural experiences, including trips to the theatre, visits abroad, music lessons provided by the school, visiting artist and vocal workshops, students working with musicians from the orchestra from the Swan Theatre and visits to universities etc. Pupil premium funding is used in a targeted, personalised way which ensures students have access to opportunities.
Article 14 (freedom of thought, belief and religion) – Every child has the right to think and believe what they choose and to practise their religion, as long as they are not stopping other people from enjoying their rights. Governments must respect the rights and responsibilities of parents to guide their child as they grow up.
We are a Church of England school and are fully inclusive, supporting the celebration of all faiths. Our Student Faith Leadership is made up of students from a variety of faiths and they continuously demonstrate that they are dedicated to promoting civic engagement and collective responsibility. They lead community service projects, encourage volunteerism and activism, and educate their peers about duties and rights. By doing so, they help their peers understand the importance of contributing to the global society, developing a strong sense of belonging, and cultivating leadership skills that are essential for active, informed citizenship.
As a school we believe that prayer deepens our faith, and we are committed to making appropriate provision for prayer and reflection for people of all faiths while also providing a quiet space for those of no faith. Our new dedicated prayer room is designed to be welcoming and inclusive to all forms of prayer.
Article 28 (right to education) Every child has the right to an education – Primary education must be free and different forms of secondary education must be available to every child. Discipline in schools must respect children’s dignity and their rights. Richer countries must help poorer countries achieve this.
The schools discipline system is based on our ‘Relationship and Behaviour Policy’. It is based on restorative practice, which aims to build positive relationships and repair them when they break; mediation occurs with staff and students and everyone in the school community is supported to make positive choices. When consequences are given, restorative conversations between all concerned groups take place. It is based in respect and dignity for all.
Article 29 (goals of education) – Education must develop every child’s personality, talents and abilities to the full. It must encourage the child’s respect for human rights, as well as respect for their parents, their own and other cultures, and the environment.
There is a culture of aspiring to be the best you can be (the person God created you to be) within school. The talents and abilities of students are nurtured to the fullest. The school considers the knowledge and skills needed to take advantage of future opportunities and supports students in aspiring to have the best possible future. Year 10 students have attended an Oxbridge talk as well as the University of Oxford itself. Pathways into health care and medicine have been developed, breaking down barriers and supporting greater access into university. While many students have visited the University of Wolverhampton, as well as attended the NEC careers fair.
Respect for human rights, as well as respect for different cultures and the environment, is promoted across a range of curriculum areas, including English, RE, History and Geography.
Thank you to Transport for London and the Mayor of London’s Office for their support in gaining permission to reproduce and display the We Stand Together Against Hate banner.