Primary school pupils in Cardiff are being educated about their human rights as part of an ongoing UN initiative.
© Jess Daly
Moorland Primary School in Splott is one of the schools taking part.
Head teacher, Jane Jenkins, said: “I think it’s really powerful for our children to know that in some parts of the world children are actually valuing their education and their right to education so much they’re walking several miles each way to get to school every day - I think that does very much bring it to life for them.”
The Rights Respecting Schools Award launched in 2004 and encourages schools to educate children about the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child - the convention contains over 50 separate rights, reaching from social and cultural to economic and political.
To reach the Bronze level schools must show how they intend on committing to teach their children about the rights of children, reaching the Silver level requires an assessment which measures the school’s ability to train, model and develop teacher and pupil knowledge, and Gold assesses and certifies that children's rights are included in all aspects of school life.
Mrs Jenkins believes they will have secured Silver by the end of the academic year, with Gold following a couple of years later – they completed the Bronze level within the first six months.
She said: “We’re now taking a couple of the rights each month and exploring them through assemblies, personal and social sessions, and circle time sessions – it’s really enhancing what we were already doing.”
Mrs Jenkins has also used links with schools in Zambia and Bangladesh to engage her pupils further.
She said: “We are thinking about what those rights are actually saying, what it means for the children in this school and what it means for children in other schools around the world.”
Other schools in the area taking part in the Rights Respecting Award project include Whitchurch Primary, Christ the King Primary in Llanishen and Stacey Primary School in Roath.