UNICEF UK Trustees Report and Financial Statements 2010
UNICEF UK Trustees Report and Financial Statements 2010
UNICEF UK Trustees Report and Financial Statements 2010
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The United Kingdom Committee for <strong>UNICEF</strong><br />
<strong>Report</strong> of the <strong>Trustees</strong><br />
For the year ended 31 December <strong>2010</strong><br />
Child rights <strong>and</strong> education in the <strong>UK</strong><br />
<strong>UNICEF</strong> champions child-centred education based on the UN Convention on the<br />
Rights of the Child <strong>and</strong> the Child-Friendly Schools manual.<br />
In <strong>2010</strong>, <strong>UNICEF</strong> <strong>UK</strong> continued to exp<strong>and</strong> the Rights Respecting Schools Award<br />
(RRSA) scheme for <strong>UK</strong> schools, developing Child-Friendly Schools in a <strong>UK</strong> context.<br />
The Award recognises a school’s achievement in embedding the Convention at the<br />
heart of a school’s culture <strong>and</strong> ethos to improve well-being <strong>and</strong> develop every child’s<br />
talents <strong>and</strong> abilities to their fullest potential. The expansion of the RRSA scheme has<br />
been backed by a grant of £500,000 over three years (April 2007–March <strong>2010</strong>) by the<br />
Department for Children, Schools <strong>and</strong> Families (DCSF) <strong>and</strong> by a grant of £125,000<br />
over three years (Sept 2009–August 2012) from City Bridge Trust.<br />
Thanks to this support, the number of registrations of Rights Respecting Schools<br />
increased from 1,200 to 2,000 during <strong>2010</strong>, <strong>and</strong> the number of secondary schools<br />
increased to nearly 200. During <strong>2010</strong>, 158 schools achieved Award Level 1 <strong>and</strong> 28<br />
schools achieved Level 2. We have established strategic partnerships with 16 Local<br />
Authorities in Engl<strong>and</strong>, Scotl<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> Northern Irel<strong>and</strong>.<br />
During <strong>2010</strong>, we strengthened <strong>and</strong> clarified Rights Respecting Schools Award<br />
st<strong>and</strong>ards, procedures <strong>and</strong> guidance. Web-based guidance to support schools<br />
working towards RRSA went live in September. Over 700 people enrolled on virtual<br />
courses in the first six weeks <strong>and</strong> early feedback from schools was positive.<br />
Professional development courses have been written <strong>and</strong> used across the country<br />
The final report of a three-year external evaluation of RRSA by the Universities of<br />
Sussex <strong>and</strong> Brighton found the RRSA has had a profound effect on the majority of<br />
the schools accredited by the programme. “RRSA has had a significant <strong>and</strong> positive<br />
influence on the school ethos, relationships, inclusivity, underst<strong>and</strong>ing of the wider<br />
world <strong>and</strong> the well-being of the school community, according to adults <strong>and</strong> young<br />
people in the evaluation schools.”<br />
Specific findings were:<br />
• Children, young people <strong>and</strong> adults had extensive knowledge <strong>and</strong><br />
underst<strong>and</strong>ing of the Convention, reflected in their use of rights-respecting<br />
language, attitudes <strong>and</strong> relationships<br />
• Improved engagement in learning<br />
• Very positive relationships between pupils, between staff <strong>and</strong> between staff<br />
<strong>and</strong> pupils<br />
• Uniformly positive attitudes to inclusivity <strong>and</strong> diversity <strong>and</strong> this was reported<br />
to have improved over the three years of the evaluation<br />
• Increased pupil participation in decision-making<br />
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