St. Columba’s Primary School and Nursery Unit have been awarded Gold by UNICEF UK’s Rights Respecting School programme. UNICEF is 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 shows a deep and thorough commitment to children’s rights at all levels of school life. 

St. Columba’s has been working with UNICEF UK since 2016. We received the silver certificate in June 2018. Due to the Pandemic, school assessments were postponed but even during Remote Learning, St. Columba’s continued to provide our pupils with the Rights Respecting Programme and hence were able to undertake the assessment during May 2021. 

The Award recognises achievement in putting the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child at the heart of a school’s planning, policies and practice. A Rights Respecting School is a community where children’s rights are learned, taught, practised, respected, protected and promoted. 

The children and staff celebrated in the summer sunshine today with a picnic of cake and treats and an unexpected visit from Mr Whippy. Mrs Kielt said, “We feel both proud and privileged to have been awarded the Gold Award from UNICEF UK. As a school community we have worked very hard to achieve this prestigious honour and I would like to thank the B.O.G. and the entire staff for their commitment throughout. As a Rights Respecting School we put children’s rights at the core of everything we do. We give our children a voice and we listen. We help develop acceptance of difference and diversity and provide our children with a strong moral compass with which to navigate today’s world.”