Information for School & Rights Council

School & Rights Council

Our Projects for 2024 to 2025

Rights & Responsibilities

All year we focussed on the ‘Rights’ of all children, which are protected by the United Nations. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) is an important, legally binding agreement signed by 196 countries (as of 12 July 2022) which outlines the fundamental rights of every child, regardless of their race, religion or abilities.

We also looked at the importance of the responsibilities, that run along side these ‘Rights’. Click on the link below for an explanation of these responsibilities.

rights-and-responsibilities

Our first task was to hold an assembly for the whole school to explain the ‘Rights’ of all children. We also decided to raise money for Barnardo’s, a charity that supports children and young people when times are tough. The charity was first set up over 150 years ago by Thomas Barnardo and his wife, Syrie. The Barnardo’s team ensure that children’s ‘Rights’ are still being met, even when circumstances are difficult. We organised a Bags2School collection to raise funds for this great charity. We made a promotional video to advertise the appeal.

Debbie Nolan Plunkett (Grandma to Toby in Y4) is the Assistant Director of Barnardo’s in Lancashire. She very kindly visited the School Rights Council during one of their meetings, to explain the different ways in which Barnardo’s helps children and young people.  

 

Click on the YouTube link https://youtu.be/IjKxAysQMOw to view the promotional video that we made.

Debbie Nolan Plunket revisited school again in the Spring Term. She brought with her two young people, Ollie and Matthew, who had been helped by Barnardo’s when they were growing up. As adults they had gone on to hold key roles in standing up for the ‘Rights’ of all children.

A big thank you to Debbie, Ollie (who used to attend Manor Road) and Matthew, for telling the children all about the amazing work that Barnardo’s does. Matthew and Oliver have spoken throughout the country, including London, advocating for all children to have the right to be listened to. Oliver is studying for a Masters at Edge Hill in Business and want to promote access for all when it comes to employment. Matthew gained a Degree at Edge Hill in Cyber Security. He works for Barnardo’s, running groups and promoting rights for children. Their assembly was brilliant and demonstrated how anything is possible when all children are given equal opportunities. The clothes bank collection, organised by the School Rights Council raised £86 for Barnardo’s and Debbie explained how the money raised would be used to help children who access Barnardo’s.

Debbie came to one of the School Rights Council meetings to talk to the pupils about the responsibilities that go hand in hand with being a councillor. 

In the Summer Term the councillors focussed on the responsibilities that come with the Rights to an Education. They held an assembly to emphasise the importance of these responsibilities. This was their script. 

• Every child has the right to an education.
• With rights come responsibilities: you can’t have one without the other.
• We are lucky that we have such an amazing school.
• It’s a positive place to learn.
• It’s a place where we can thrive with lots of opportunities.
• Our views and ideas are valued.
• We have lots of opportunities to join in with school life.
• We are encouraged to reach our full potential.
• To make friends.
• To learn new things.
• To be creative.
• To be inventive
• To stay fit and healthy
• We are treated with kindness by staff.
• We are encouraged to respect other people who may have different views from us.
• All these things prepare us for life as adults.
• For when we enter the world of work and start families of our own.
• So, you might ask has it always been this way for children? Have there always been schools like ours?
• The answer is no!
• 155 years ago, most children had very different lives to ours.
• Many families were very poor. They didn’t have enough food to eat and lived in cold, damp houses.
• Children as young as 5 were sent to work as chimney sweeps and others worked in mills and down coal mines.
• Only children from wealthy families had an education. A governess would teach them lessons at home.
• In 1880 a law was passed so that all children from the age of 5 to 10 years old could attend school.
• Many children were not treated with kindness like they are today, and lessons were very monotonous.
• Most of us don’t realise how lucky we are today because they think life has always been the way it is now, with interesting lessons, technology, kind teachers and endless opportunities for fun activities both in and out of school.
• It’s important that we know about the past so that we can appreciate how lucky we are.
• It’s also important to know that having the right to an education, brings with it responsibilities on our part.
• So, what are we responsible for?
• Listening during lessons.
• Staying focussed.
• Trying our best in all subjects.
• Being respectful to all the staff that work at Manor Road.
• Being kind to our friends and classmates.
• Listening to others and respecting their opinions.
• Showing good manners to visitors in school.
• Being respectful when representing Manor Road on school trips.
• Looking after all equipment in our school. Our parents pay tax to fund the running of our school, so it is our responsibility to look after it.
• Our grounds are beautiful and a great place to learn. It’s our responsibility to look after them. The PTFA also spend a lot of time organising events to raise money for our amazing trim trail. It’s our responsibility to take care of the equipment.
• We hope our presentation has helped you to understand your ‘Right to an Education’ and the responsibilities that come with that ‘Right’.
• The school belongs to us all, let’s appreciate it and work together to make it an amazing place.
• Thank you for listening!

At the end of term the councillors invited Debbie into school to share their presentation with her. She was very impressed with them and sent them this lovely message.

It has been an absolute pleasure to meet with the school council this year. Keep on being brilliant at children’s voices being heard. It is great to see. 😀

The children presented Debbie with a bouquet of flowers to say thank you for all the help she had given them this year.

Speaker’s Day

In November 2024 the School Rights Councillors and Pupil Parliament representatives visited the House of Commons and the House of Lords in London. They met with Sir Lindsay Hoyle, Speaker of the House of Commons and MP for Chorley. 

Movie Nights

In the Spring Term the councillors organised a Movie Night for KS1 and KS2. The pupils had a fantastic time, chilling with friends!

Easter Day

To celebrate Easter, the councillors organised an Easter Day with an Easter Egg Character Competition and a fun Trivia Easter Egg Hunt. 

 

VE Commemoration Day 

Finally, the councillors held a special presentation to commemorate the 80th Anniversary of VE Day.

Party Time!

Thank you to all the councillors for your hard work throughout the school year and for representing your classes so well.

To celebrate the end of the school year and to reward the councillors for their commitment. they were treated to an ice cream and party games.