In Spires, we continually strive to promote an ethos which reflects UNICEF's 'Rights' Respecting School Award' (RRSA).  The award recognises schools that have put the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) at the heart of their planning, policies, practice and ethos.  A rights' respecting school is a community where children's rights are learned, taught, practised, respected, protected and promoted.

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is the basis of all UNICEF's work and states that every child has a right to:

• a childhood (including protection from harm);
• be educated (including all girls and boys completing primary school);
• be healthy (including having clean water, nutritious food and medical care);
• be treated fairly (including changing laws and practices that are unfair on children);
• be heard (including considering children's views).

The RRSA we believe helps our pupils to grow into confident, caring and responsible young citizens both in school and in the wider community.  By learning about their rights, the pupils will also learn about the importance of respecting the rights of others i.e their responsibilities.

In Spires Integrated Primary School, we have an elected pupil Rights Respecting Council and its members are involved in making Rights Respecting School decisions on behalf of the pupils.  This involvement and opportunity for the pupils to express their views about the school, supports Article 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child: Respect for the views of the child/a child's right to be heard.

We are a Rights Respecting School and as part of our journey, the pupils and staff studied the United Nations Convention on the Rights of a Child and agreed the articles to form the basis of our Rights Respecting School Charter.