A HAMPSHIRE primary school is celebrating  receiving a UNICEF UK Gold Award.

Broughton Primary School has been awarded Gold by UNICEF UK’s Rights Respecting School programme.

This 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, with gold being the highest accolade.

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Broughton Primary School has been working towards the award for six years, teaching pupils about social issues across the globe through campaigns such as UNICEF’s yearly OutRight. This included focusing on climate action and finding links to human rights issues across the curriculum.

There are more than 600 schools across the UK that have received Gold, with Broughton being the first school in the Test Valley.

Lucy Macey, headteacher, said: “We are extremely proud to receive the Gold Award, which is the product of years of dedicated work across the school by our leadership team and all members of staff.

“The most important part of this achievement, however, lies with the children, who have embraced the spirit and the letter of the rights-respecting initiative. Their awareness of their rights and those of others has had a hugely positive impact on many areas of school life.”

UNICEF UK Rights Respecting Schools Programme Director, Martin Russell, said: “We are very pleased to be awarding Broughton Primary School Gold; Rights Respecting. It is clear that the whole school has embraced a culture based on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

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“Broughton Primary School is a very inclusive school where children report feeling valued and safe irrespective of their background. Pupils also have many genuine opportunities to have their views heard and influence key aspects of school life, in turn creating a positive learning environment. It was also clear that children had an excellent grasp of children’s rights and social justice, and so did school staff, parents, carers and the school’s governors.

“Everyone should be very proud of their achievement.”

The UNICEF UK Rights Respecting Schools initiative is aimed at schools across the UK, including those in an early year setting.

It works with nearly 5,000 primary schools, secondary schools, schools for children and young people with special educational needs and pupil referral units across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.