The Sir John Colfox Academy is the south west's first gold Rights Respecting secondary school.

The Bridport school has been given the award from UNICEF in recognition of the quality of its ongoing work with children's rights in the school and wider community.

Headteacher Adam Shelley said: "We are the first secondary school in the south west to be awarded the gold accreditation for Rights Respecting, which is a fantastic achievement and a recognition of the school's commitment to providing a learning environment that puts the needs and rights of every child at the heart of everything we do."

Colfox has been part of the UNICEF 'Rights Respecting Schools' programme since 2010, when the school achieved level one. In 2018, the school was awarded silver and students vowed to achieve the top award two years after that.

Rebecca Hatch, the Rights Respecting and PSHE lead teacher at Colfox, said: "Colfox's passion for Rights Respecting has impacted upon the community as a whole.

"In 2018, Bridport launched its Citizens' Charter as part of its journey to become the UK's first Rights Respecting town.

"Colfox has been spearheading a Rights Respecting ethos across the trust and the town and seeing children and adults work together to achieve a common goal in improving rights for all is a pleasure to see."

The gold award is the highest level and is granted to schools that have 'fully embedded the principles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child into their ethos and curriculum'.

The accreditation is valid for a period of three years.

Adam Teasdale, head of student personal development and wellbeing, said: "All of our students benefit from being a part of a Rights Respecting community.

"Our Rights 'Ambassadors' in particular have been a leading force, committed to their role and passionate about fighting for the rights of children from all backgrounds and contexts. These students have discussed rights issues with Members of Parliament, the town's mayor and town councillors on a regular basis and, as such, have all become experts on rights issues during their time at school."

Year 11 student Eddie Rose, who started being involved with Rights Respecting during Year 7 in the school council and the student voice system, said: "As part of the UNICEF youth advisory board, I have been proud to play a key role in helping the school be recognised for its work on rights.

"This role has given me confidence, knowledge and a fantastic experience but it has also shown what students can achieve nationally from a relatively small Dorset town."

The assessors from UNCEF were complimentary about the positive relationships between students and staff, particularly students' roles in making decisions about the school.

They said students were very confident and articulate and learning about rights was embedded into personal development and wellbeing.

The assessors added that students felt listened to, nurtured and supported by the school and enjoyed very effective links with the local community.

To find out more about UNICEF's Rights Respecting, visit unicef.org.uk

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