Pupils hunt down their rights

Friday 21 November 2014

The pupils at Grouville School have been getting the new Education Minister and some of his colleagues clued up on their rights as children.

As part of their work as a 'rights respecting' school they’ve joined Unicef’s “Outright” Campaign that aims to empower children to speak out and have been using an app to help explain to states members what they have been learning.

The school’s Rights Respecting School Ambassadors took the VIPs on their digital scavenger hunt using IT to showcase their knowledge and understanding and clicked to show them different videos including the youngest children in Reception singing about their right to go to school.

Deputy headteacher Lisa Paul said: “One of the key things is that children can articulate what these rights mean to them.

“The app brings their learning to life and takes it into another dimension.

“The children think it’s fantastic, they can’t believe their piece of work can suddenly come to life and triggers off film footage or them singing or reciting poetry.”

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) was extended to Jersey back in June and the States are now committed to protecting and upholding the rights of the Island’s children.

The UNCRC is an international agreement which was introduced by the UN in 1989 and sets out a list of rights for every child under 18 years old including:

• the right to a childhood, including protection from harm

• the right to be educated

• the right to be treated fairly, including changing laws and practices that are unfair on children

• the right to be heard, including considering children's views.