'We did not come here to fear the future. We came here to shape it.' - Barack Obama

Rights Respecting School – Gold Award

We are incredibly proud to be a UNICEF UK Gold: Rights Respecting School. Following our Gold accreditation visit in May 2026, Buckland was recognised as having fully achieved all three strands of the Rights Respecting Schools Award.

Being Rights Respecting is an important part of who we are at Buckland. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) sits alongside our Christian vision and our values of being Wise, Responsible and Kind. Children learn about their rights, experience these rights in their everyday school life and are encouraged to use their voices to uphold the rights of others.

Our Gold assessor found that:

“It was evident that children’s rights are embedded across the school and underpin every facet of school life.”

The report particularly celebrated our caring and inclusive ethos, the way rights are embedded throughout the curriculum and wider life of the school, and the confidence of our pupils in expressing their views and making a positive difference.

Our children spoke wonderfully about what being Rights Respecting means to them. They explained that “everyone should have rights”, described themselves as role models for younger pupils and talked about how their weekly Rights Respecting worship inspires them to stand up for the rights of others. One parent told the assessor:

“I can most certainly say that my daughter is rights-aware thanks to our wonderful school.”

The assessor also recognised the strength of pupil voice at Buckland. Through our Rights Respecting Group, School Council, OPAL Play Leaders and everyday opportunities to contribute to school life, children know that their views matter and can bring about real change.

Our children also take action beyond Buckland. They have supported local and national charities, taken part in environmental projects, written to our MP during Parliament Week, visited the Houses of Parliament and represented the school at Rights Respecting conferences at Blenheim Palace.

Our Rights Respecting Journey

There are three strands to the Rights Respecting Schools Award:

• Strand A: Teaching and learning about rights
• Strand B: Teaching and learning through rights – our ethos and relationships
• Strand C: Teaching and learning for rights – participation, empowerment and action

Achieving Gold is not the end of our journey. We will continue to strengthen children's understanding of rights, provide meaningful opportunities for every child to have a voice and take action, and share our Rights Respecting work with others.

If you would like to read our full Gold accreditation report or find out more about our journey to achieving Gold and see some of the work that has helped us become a Gold Rights Respecting School, please see the information below.

https://www.unicef.org.uk/rights-respecting-schools