Rights Respecting Schools Ambassadors
Rights Respecting Schools Ambassadors
SJSJ prides itself as a rights-respecting school as every child is valued, heard, and has an understanding of their rights within and out of school. The RRS Ambassadors are a group of driven, bold, and compassionate children from each year group who have been selected by their peers to be RRS representatives for the school. These children care about the rights of each child and will work closely with Miss Bah to generate ways we can support the children in our school by understanding and exercising their rights. This team will ensure that pupils are recognised when they are seen exercising their rights through receiving rights respecting awards. They will also ensure that all pupils take part in charity events and take pride in supporting the wider community through celebrated days like Children in Need and Red Nose Day. Our RRS Ambassadors understand the importance of community and will strive to keep good relations with the local community and continue supporting other children and families.
At SJSJ, our focus rights are:
Article 12 – Every Child has the right to give your opinion and for an adult to listen and take it seriously.
Article 14 – Every child has the right to choose their own religion and beliefs.
Article 19 – Every child has the right to be protected from being hurt and mistreated, in body or in mind.
Article 24 – Every child has the right to the best health care possible, safe water to
drink, nutritious food and a clean and safe environment.
Article 28 – Every child has the right to a good quality education.
Article 29 – Every child has the right to use and develop their talents and abilities.
Article 31 – Every child has the right to relax, rest and play.
Class Representatives
These are our RRS Team for this academic year:
- Year 3 – To be announced in September 2025
- Year 4 – To be announced in September 2025
- Year 5 – To be announced in September 2025
- Year 6 – To be announced in September 2025
Staff Lead
Miss Thomson is our Rights Respecting steering group lead. She will be working closely with our RRS Ambassadors over the coming months. Keep an eye out for updates via the school newsletter and website.
What have the RRS Ambassadors been up to?
The Rights Respecting Ambassadors meet weekly to ensure that as a school community we are upholding the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). The convention sets out 54 articles that all children are entitled to, such as;
- Article 13 – Every child must be free to express their thoughts and opinions and to access all kinds of information, as long as it is within the law.
- Article 23 – A child with a disability has the right to live a full and decent life with dignity and independence and to play an active part in the community.
- Article 29 – Education must develop every child’s personality, talents and abilities to the full.
For more information about the convention and a full list of the articles, please visit the Unicef website: UN Convention on the Rights of the Child – UNICEF UK
Every week, our 12 dedicated ambassadors from Year 1 – 6 share our weekly focus article with their class and nominate children who have been outstanding in respecting their and others’ right to this. These children are awarded with an RRS certificate in our Thursday “Gold Assembly”.
In Autumn term, three of our RRS ambassadors were invited to take part in the Mayor of London’s Children’s Rights Enquiry, which was held in Portcullis House, Westminster. Hawwaa, Braymil and Khamil questioned civil servants and other experts about what is being done to ensure that a child’s right to be free from racism and discrimination is being upheld by the government. They spoke confidently and were fantastic representatives of our school community.
Before the Christmas holiday, the RRS ambassadors came together on Friday afternoons to plan a Christmas dinner for elderly members of our local church, in respect of Articles 15 and 27 – our rights to having our physical and social needs met, and to join community groups. The ambassadors planned the menu, visited local shops, created decorations and provided the entertainment. Our visitors had a delicious meal and thoroughly enjoyed themselves!
In the Spring term, our focus will be creating a playground charter to remind everyone of our rights to a safe and inclusive play environment, which will be displayed in prominent areas of the playground. We hope this will reinforce the positive and rights respecting environment here at SJSJ.
In the Summer term, our RRS Ambassadors have been ensuring all children have extensive knowledge about the articles we focus on each week. They have continued to share the Rights Respecting articles during mindfulness and have also given children clear examples of how they can show their respect for this right. During our celebration assemblies, they have presented awards to children they have chosen, who have modelled a great respect for the focus right.
The RRS Ambassadors will also be creating new playground charters to reflect our amazing OPAL play incentive. They have been looking at the different areas across all playgrounds and discussing the potential risks, as well as how they could make the areas more comfortable for all children to feel safe and included. The new charter will reflect what the children have observed with OPAL play, so all children can exercise Article 31 to the best of their ability. The new charters will be launched next half term!