Unicef - The Rights Respecting Setting Award (RRSA)

Marsh Gibbon Pre-school have recently been acknowledged by Buckinghamshire County Council for delivering high quality practices that raise Children’s self-esteem and enable Children to make choices. As a result of this we have been selected and funded to take part in achieving an award from UNICEF known as ‘The Rights Respecting Setting Award’ (RRSA). Here is some information about the award and we will also be sending out a leaflet explaining what we will be part of.

Marsh Gibbon Preschool acheived the Level one award in June 2014.

‘The Rights Respecting Setting Award (RRSA) recognises achievement in putting the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) at the heart of a setting’s planning, policies, practice and ethos. A rights-respecting setting not only teaches about children’s rights but also models rights and respect in all its relationships: between staff, adults and pupils, between adults and between pupils.

The RRSA is a UK-wide initiative for all children and all those working with or for children in formal education. It is being successfully implemented in all settings – Early Years, Primary, Secondary, Special Needs and Pupil Referral Units – across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The universality of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) provides a clear link for pupils between building up their rights-respecting setting, understanding their rights and the need for children’s rights to be realised everywhere. Children and young people in rights-respecting schools develop a stronger sense of the need to act for global justice (UNICEF 2012).

For More information please see our Leaflet uploaded on this page or visit http://www.unicef.org.uk

What we do at Pre-School to ensure that the rights of children are continuously upheld

Feelings system - Each morning the Children choose an emotion picture and put it on their tray name card. Each Child’s key person will find out how their key Children are feeling and help support them if they need it or talk to them about their feelings. The Children can change it throughout the day as and when their feelings change. The Children and staff are really enjoying this system however some children just love picking the ‘Red Angry Emotion’ as it looks interesting but don’t worry as we talk to the Children about what they have chosen and why so hopefully this is just a phase as its new.   

Wish Tank – as a pack away setting sometimes it is hard to promote choice so we have come up with a ‘Wish Tank’ so that if a Child wants to do a certain activity or have a specific piece of equipment out and we cannot offer it straight away they go and write on a fish what they wish for (with an adults help) and then they place it on the ‘wish Tank’ which we then use when planning or setting up the following day.

Snack Bar – We run a snack bar which we have made to look like a little café and the children come in smaller groups to have their snack when they are ready. The snack bar opens at 10 and shuts at 11 in the morning session and it opens at 1.15 -2.15 in the afternoon session. The children enter, take their name off the board, wash their hands and enjoy a small group snack. Then they place left over food in a recycling food bin and put their cup and bowl in a bowl to be washed up. During this time the Children are encouraged to cut their own fruit, prepare their own snack, pour their own drinks and they have an opportunity to take their time and talk as much as they want with the support of an adult. We are seeing such a huge difference in the level of interaction at snack time now.