Children aged 0-17 years are given special human rights protection by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). The Welsh Government adopted the Convention as the basis for policy making for children and young people in Wales in 2004 and introduced The Rights of Children and Young Persons (Wales) Measure 2011, to strengthen and build on this rights based approach.
As such it is essential for all schools and settings in Wales to adopt a children’s human rights approach to the education they provide for their learners. This can be achieved through the development of rights based practice throughout their school or setting.
There are a variety of ways of embedding a rights based practice, including:
- having a school council and making sure that it is involved in decision making
- developing mutual respect between staff and pupils
- linking learning to children’s rights
- providing a safe place to go to if learners feel they are experiencing discrimination
- providing a space to practice their faith including provision for specific dietary requirements
- being honest about bullying
- providing opportunities to explore and discuss children’s rights in school
- providing opportunities for learners to have a say
- letting learners know about opportunities to have a say
- letting learners know how their views have been taken into account
- letting learners know what the school will do about issues they have raised.
(Reference: The right way: a children’s human rights approach to education in Wales, Children’s Commissioner for Wales, p.7 and p.9)
At the St Giles’ Centre we feel that learner voice is a vital aspect of a children’s human rights approach and we would encourage schools and settings to engage as much a possible with their learners with regard to Religion, Values and Ethics, to ensure that their provision is appropriate and that the views of learners have been heard and taken in to account.
Resources
Religious Education in your school: What is changing in 2022?
This is a PowerPoint created by the St Giles’ Centre, which focuses on RVE in the Curriculum for Wales.