Memorandum submited by UNICEF
This submission is made to provide evidence
on the relevance of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
to Citizenship Education, under the identified terms of reference.
CONTEXTUAL INFORMATION
1. UNICEF UK runs two programmes in the
UK: education and the Baby Friendly Initiative. The prime objective
of the education team is to encourage and support teaching about
the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) in schools.
The teaching of the UNCRC is required by Article 42 of the Convention,
which the UK ratified in December 1991. There has been no significant
progress on including the Convention in the curricula in schools
or in teacher training, since the Committee's recommendation in
October 2002. [5]
2. Recent research has shown that when children
are taught about their rights as described in the UNCRC, in a
rights-consistent environment, they become more respecting of
the rights of all other children. In turn this increased respect
tends to be reflected in more harmonious classrooms, more socially
responsible behaviours and higher levels of achievement. In essence,
when rights education provides an overarching values framework
for the functioning of schools and individual pupils, there is
a subsequent improvement in the overall ethos and performance
of the school (Howe & Covell, 2005; Wringe, 1999). [6]
CITIZENSHIP IN
THE NATIONAL
CURRICULUM
3. The Programme of study for citizenship
at Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4 sets out that:
"Pupils should be taught about the legal
and human rights and responsibilities underpinning society."
[7]
There is no reference to any bill of rights,
ie the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the UN Declaration
of Human Rights, nor the Human Rights Act 2002, to provide guidance
for teachers. Human rights and legal rights are sometimes quite
different, and there should be stronger guidance for teachers.
In particular, there should be easy access to the text of different
documents to guide teachers and pupils. When citizenship was recognised
as a statutory subject in England's curriculum, UNICEF UK identified
this as an opportunity to introduce the UNCRC. To date it has
produced and distributed over one and a half million copies of
free summaries of the UNCRC and its children's-rights comics designed
for classroom use.
The positive impact of teaching about the UNCRC
in a systematic way immediately became apparent in 1998 when analysing
feedback from schools piloting the UNICEF UK educational resource:
Talking rights; taking responsibility. Activities for secondary
English and Citizenship. One teacher commented: "We found
the resource highly beneficial and were pleased with the way it
helped develop a greater tolerance of individuals in the group
and proved useful in moulding pupils' attitudes to each other
to a more positive end. It provided a focus and deeper understanding
of real issues facing young people today." Another said "The
pupils responded extremely well to the activities, found them
very enjoyable and started changing their attitudes towards each
other, became more tolerant and respectful of others' opinions."
Year 8 and 9 students were similarly positive
about undertaking the activities suggested in this resource:
— "(I learnt) I have many rights
but if I abuse them the responsibility falls on me."
— "I am not shy any more and I
am confident in talking in front of the class." (Many students
said this)
— "I have learnt to listen to
other people better, before I would sometimes ignore people."
The positive effects on attitudes and behaviour
are similarly noted in the Report on the Rights, Respect and Responsibilities
(RRR) Initiative to Hampshire County Education Authority, July
2005. [8]
THE UNCRC AND
THE TERMS
OF REFERENCE
OF THE
INQUIRY INTO
CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION
4. The UN Convention on the Rights of the
Child as a topic of citizenship education is particularly relevant
to the last five points in the terms of reference:
— Relationship between citizenship
education and current debates about identity and Britishness and
design of citizenship curriculum and appropriateness of other
guidance:
One of the benefits of teaching the UNCRC, reported
by many teachers, is that it is global, and this is recognised
by children. Therefore, an ethos of knowledge and respect for
rights can do much to reduce both bullying and racism and xenophobia,
as children/young people in the UK empathise with children and
young people from other places and cultures, recognising them
as sharing the same rights as themselves, and also suffering from
rights abuses.
The DfES Putting the World into World-Class
Education lists learning about human rights, and, in particular,
children's rights as one of eight key concepts for children living
in a global society. [9]The
UNCRC can provide a common ground of knowledge that relates directly
to children's own experience, and schools involved in "links"
with schools in other countries can use it as part of their linking
framework.
— Citizenship education's potential
to contribute to community cohesion:
A similar argument to the above applies here:
knowledge of child and human rights has the power to build cohesion
in communities since the values and standards are relevant to
all humanity. A citizenship education curriculum built around
child and human rights values will have a strong uniting force
for all other initiatives.
— Implementation of "active"
aspects of curriculum—ie community involvement and involvement
in the running of the school:
UNICEF UK is developing a "campaign"
called "Join it all up". This refers to the articles
of the UNCRC as providing a "values" rationale for all
the policies and practices schools are required to do. Relating
everything to the UNCRC standards, which children/young people
need to survive and develop, shows how policies are interlinking
and self-supporting.
— Practice in other countries:
Child and human rights are taught in many other
countries as a matter of course. Similarly democratic structures
for dialogue and discussion, giving pupils easy access to decision-making
bodies, are common in many countries. [10]
UNICEF UK'S RIGHTS-RESPECTING
SCHOOL AWARD
5. UNICEF UK has gained a great deal of
first hand experience and knowledge of the impact of teaching
about the UNCRC in schools through its Rights Respecting School
Award, currently being piloted in over 30 schools across the UK.
This new nationwide award scheme promotes the UNCRC as the basis
for enhancing teaching, learning, ethos, attitudes and behaviour.
A Rights Respecting School not only teaches about child and human
rights but also models rights and respect in all its relationships:
teacher/adults-pupils; pupils- teacher/adults; pupils-pupils.
The Award programme is complementary to the Healthy Schools Award
and Eco Schools and can be part of a programme to build a positive
school ethos.
6. The Rights Respecting School Award supports
and promotes the embedding of the UNCRC firmly within the ethos,
culture and practices of each school. It comprises two levels
of development, each with their own benchmarks covering four main
dimensions of the school:
— Knowledge and understanding of UNCRC
on the part of all sections of the school community.
— Classroom climate and culture (the
"rights-respecting classroom").
— Pupil voice and empowerment.
— Whole school environment, ethos and
the wider community, including parents/carers.
Level One describes the school that has made
good progress across all four dimensions with clear features of
Rights Respecting Schools in place. Level Two describes the school
where the benchmarks are as fully embedded as can be realistically
and reasonably expected.
7. Hampshire LA is a partner in the promotion
of the UNCRC as a central aspect of the school ethos, promoting
an initiative called Rights, Respect and Responsibility across
300 primary schools since 2004, with funding from the DfES Innovation
Fund. Following on from Hampshire's model, there are now more
than 20 LAs expressing an interest in working with UNICEF UK to
introduce the Rights Respecting School Award (RRSA) into clusters
of schools. The RRSA will be fully launched in spring 2007.
CASE STUDY:
KNIGHTS ENHAM
JUNIOR SCHOOL
Knights Enham had already developed a good whole
school pedagogy, vision and ethos using assertive discipline and
circle time. However, it felt that "something" was missing.
There was still sporadic anti-social behaviour, where children
where often in conflict with each other; there was a lack of motivation
and understanding that children were an important part of the
community and the world; and, deprivation often led to low future
expectations. The school, therefore, decided to take up the Rights
Respecting Schools initiative.
Initially they decided to immerse one year 6
class in the whole ethos of children's rights, keeping the other
as a control group. They saw an incredible impact on the children
involved with the initiative so, from September 2003, went "whole
school" with the approach.
In its report in December 2003, Ofsted found
one of the school's main strengths was a "clear and positive
school ethos which is supported and enhanced by the Rights of
the Child programme". The report also highlighted that "through
RE, PHSE and the Rights of the Child programme, pupils understand
the importance of tolerance and respect for others. They value
justice and fair play." Further, that "the Rights of
the Child and circle time sessions provide very good opportunities
for the development of self-esteem. There are few incidents of
bullying and these are dealt with swiftly and effectively."
[11]The
school has seen attendance improve, exclusions drop and SATs results
improve.
RECOMMENDATIONS
8. To include the UN Convention on the Rights
of the Child in the citizenship curricula for both primary and
secondary schools and Initial Teacher Training, as required by
Article 42 of the Convention and as recommended by the Committee
on the Rights of the Child in its report to the UK government
on the implementation on the Convention on the Rights of the Child,
October 2002. [12]
March 2006
5 Committee on the Rights of the Child, Thirty-first
session, Consideration of Reports submitted by State Parties Under
Article 44 of the Convention. Concluding Observations of the Committee
on the Rights of the Child: United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland, 4 October 2002. Back
6
Report on the RRR Initiative to Hampshire County Education Authority,
July 2005 http://www.unicef.org.uk/tz/teacher_support/assets/pdf/rrr_research_fullreport_05.pdf Back
7
Citizenship, The National Curriculum for England, Key Stages
3-4, 1999. Back
8
Findings from the RRR initiative in Hampshire show that behaviour
improved: in some schools there was a reduction in detentions
by up to 50%, exclusions have been reduced by up to 70%; there
is less bullying and higher self-esteem and aspirations amongst
young people. Report on the RRR Initiative to Hampshire County
Education Authority, July 2005 http://www.unicef.org.uk/tz/teacher_support/assets/pdf/rrr_research_fullreport_05.pdf Back
9
Putting the World into World-Class Education, page 6. Back
10
See The Euridem Project, A Review of Pupil Democracy in Europe,
Lynn Davies and Gordon Kirkpatrick, April 2000. Back
11
Inspection Report, Knights Enham Junior School, Andover, Hampshire,
8-10 December 2003. http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/reports/116/116014.pdf Back
12
Concluding observations: 46a and f; General measures of implementation:
re Article 42-making the Convention and its rights widely known,
re Article 29 Teacher training and human rights education. Annex
A, reference to Committee report of 1995: D. Suggestions and recommendations,
no 26 re Article 42. Back
| 
