Promoting good behaviour
Members of Newhill Primary School’s Rights Respecting Schools (RRS) committee have set up a playground charter at the school in a bid to improve responsible behaviour among pupils.
The charter is the latest in a range of initiatives at the Blairgowrie Community Campus-based school that has been put in place by the committee, which was set up to help promote the rights of children.
The committee, which is made up of pupils in primary four to seven classes, hold regular meetings in the school to ensure that their environment is one that promotes respect and that the views of pupils are listened to and acted upon.
The Rights Respecting Schools scheme comes from the UN Convention of Rights for Children, of which there are 42 articles, and is promoted through UNICEF.
Since embarking on the scheme in 2011, Newhill Primary School has already achieved the initial stages of ‘recognition of commitment’ and ‘implementation and accreditation of progress’.
They are currently working towards level two of the awards, the highest level, which involves ‘provable embedding of the principles’ in the school.
The committee holds school assemblies to raise awareness of the scheme with other pupils, and also organises a Rights Respecting Schools week which focuses on selected issues.
Events are also organised for parents and for teachers to ensure that everyone in the school community is kept up to date with developments and initiatives.
And the pupils also raise money for charities, in particular those that care for disadvantaged children in other countries, in recognition of the responsibility to help others attain some of their rights.
Explaining about the new playground charter, one of the youngsters on the committee said: “We have classroom charters as well and this is about how we behave in the playground.
“It means that there is to be no littering in the playground, and it’s about being nice to each other and letting people join in playing with us.”
The pupils spoke to all their classmates at a school assembly recently to explain about the new charter and the standards of behaviour everyone is expected to adhere to.
And they also designed a banner with a graphic designer which was printed and donated to the school by Centurian Signs.
Teacher Alison Middlemiss supports the committee.
She said: “I think the charter, and the whole RRS initiative, has really impacted on the school in a very positive way.
“Everyone in the school has taken it on board and it has changed the ethos of the school, both in terms of how the pupils behave and how the staff deal with behaviour, which is great to see.
“Being part of the RRS committee has given this group of children a real sense of pride in what they have been doing as well.
“They all volunteered to be on the committee and have benefitted a lot from it.”
Members of the committee have also met with representatives of Blairgowrie and Rattray Community Council to discuss the scheme.
Community Councillor Brian Smith commented: “We would like to thank all involved with Newhill Primary School’s Rights Respecting Committee.
“If what we observed within the school and in discussions with the committee are indications of the effects and benefits of embedding Rights Respecting principles within the daily life of the school then we will have very mature, prudent and understanding adults in the future.”