Inverness Royal Academy to receive prestigious Unicef UK Award
Inverness Royal Academy pupils stand in front of their Rights Respecting School display earlier this year
Inverness Royal Academy is to be awarded the Silver Rights Respecting School Award by Unicef UK, an agency of the United Nations.
Cllr John Finlayson, Chair of Education Committee, said: “On behalf of myself and the Education Committee I would like to congratulate Inverness Royal Academy staff and pupils for receiving this significant achievement which puts young people and their rights at the heart of what the school does on a daily basis. I am sure ever one at the school feels a sense of pride at receiving this award and I am also sure that the school will be successful as it strives to achieve the Gold award in the near future.”
Unicef is the world’s leading organisation working for children and their rights. The Rights Respecting Schools Award is granted to schools that show commitment to promoting and realising children’s rights and encouraging adults, children and young people to respect the rights of others in school. Silver is given to schools that make excellent progress towards embedding the principles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child into its ethos and curriculum.
Cllr Alasdair Christie, Depute Leader for The Highland Council and Ward 15 Member, said: “On behalf of the local Members whose children attend the school , I would like to congratulate the pupils and staff of Inverness Royal Academy on achieving this award and being the first school in Highland to do so. The life lessons and principles this work instils in our pupils are incredibly important which our children and young people will carry with them when they have left school.”
Head Teacher of Inverness Royal Academy, Mr. Nigel Engstrand, said: “Being the first school in the Highlands to achieve this award is a very significant achievement and is testament to our students and our staff, especially Mrs. Lindsay Muluzi (Principal Teacher of R.M.E. and Mrs. Morven Neil, Principal Teacher of Geography).
"As a school we are not only proud that the school has achieved the Silver award but we are committed to achieving the Gold award in the coming year. For the whole school community, the challenge now is for the principles and values of the convention to permeate all of the work that we do as an institution.
“It seems too obvious to stress the importance of putting children’s rights at the heart of a school but, surprisingly, it is only in recent years that such an approach has been recognised as being fundamental to young people’s health and wellbeing, their academic success and their participation in society as active citizens".