St Sampson’s High School has been given a Gold Rights Respecting School Award.
This means the secondary school meets a number of internationally recognised standards set by UNICEF, the world’s leading organisation working for children and their rights.
The Rights Respecting Schools Award is granted to schools that “show commitment to promoting and realising children’s rights and encouraging adults, children and young people to respect the rights of others in school”.
Gold is the highest accolade given by UNICEF UK and it is intended to show that the recipient “shows a deep and thorough commitment to children’s rights at all levels of school life”.
St Sampson’s High School was assessed by UNICEF UK professional advisers, who reviewed the whole school’s rights respecting work and the impact that has been made through embedding children’s rights into school life.
The advisers found that St Sampson’s High has a number of notable strengths.
These include a cohort of “passionate and confident pupils who understand the importance of rights and are empowered to drive change within the school”.
The advisers also found positives with “the caring and nurturing ethos of the school, where the values of dignity and respect are lived and valued by the whole school community”.
They said the High School has a “strong focus on the health and wellbeing of students within the context of rights so that young people feel supported and protected”.
Pupil voices are “valued highly” at St Sampson’s High School, said the advisers. They found “a range of pupil voice groups giving opportunities for all young people to put their suggestions forward and for these to be acted upon”.
The school demonstrated a “strong desire to develop pupils’ understanding of inequalities around the world and the actions they can take to address this”.
Thye advisers also found the pupils at St Sampson’s High School are “actively engaged in raising awareness of children’s rights in their community and supporting other children globally to access their rights”.
St Sampson’s High School’s Principal, Vicky Godley said everyone involved with the school should share in the praise that it has received.
“We are incredibly proud of our students,” she said. “Earning the UNICEF Gold Rights Respecting Award is a milestone that belongs to every student, teacher and parent in our school family.
“It shows that we are more than just a place of academic learning, we are a community where rights are learned, taught, practiced and protected. Seeing our young people lead with such empathy and confidence is the greatest reward of all.”