A Rights Respecting School is a school that puts the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) at the heart of the school’s planning, policies, practice and ethos. The CRC ensures young people have the right to be protected from harm, to be educated, to be healthy, to be treated fairly and to be heard. At The Regis School we take this responsibility very seriously, not only teaching about the convention, but by modeling rights, responsibility and respect in all our relationships.
The Regis School named ‘School of Character’
~ One of just over 30 schools across the country to receive prestigious kitemark ~
~ Award recognises school’s commitment to developing responsible, compassionate and aspirational students ~
The Regis School is celebrating after receiving the prestigious ‘School of Character Kitemark Award’ from the Association of Character Education (ACE). Held by just over 30 schools across the country, the Award recognises a school’s commitment to developing the whole child.
The Award was given following a rigorous assessment undertaken by an ACE assessor who looked at written evidence and spent a day at the school talking to students, staff and governors. Having looked at all the evidence presented to him, the assessor concluded that The Regis School was a fitting recipient of the School of Character kitemark. In his report, he praised the many ways in which the school nurtures character in its students including:
- Student Leadership: the assessor said the “extensive opportunities for pupil leadership firmly give the message that pupils from The Regis School can be leaders of the future”;
- Student Voice: the assessor felt the school’s commitment to hearing and acting on student voice was particularly impressive and identified “a culture with a commitment to listening, analysing what is said and then responding with definitive action”. He went on to say: “providing multiple pathways for pupil voice to feed into decision-making has contributed to the school’s impressive understanding of the pupils’ needs and perspectives”.
- Extracurricular offer: The assessor described the school’s extracurricular programme, which has been a strategic focus post-Covid, as “ambitious” and said it has helped to “build a positive and enthusiastic culture, with an unflinching focus on a child-centred approach”.
- Celebrations of alumni successes: In his report, the assessor quoted one Year 10 student as having said to him “seeing how people have done such amazing things with their life after going to this school, makes me really believe I can achieve big things too”.
Awarding the kitemark to The Regis School, ACE assessor Tom Haigh said:
““All Schools of Character have an ethos that has been intentionally and consciously formed through the school’s leadership. The Regis School is exceptional in the clarity that this ethos has. It has shaped the culture so it is lived within the school and informs how staff and pupils communicate, behave and conduct themselves.”
As a school holding the Character Kitemark, The Regis School will now act as a beacon of character education and will share best practice with other schools.
Caroline Saunders, Assistant Principal with responsibility for Education with Character at The Regis School, said:
“Providing our students with an Education with Character is the golden thread running through our school. As well as helping our students achieve excellent academic qualifications, we want each and every one of them to develop into confident, articulate and ambitious young adults. In everything we do, we seek to give them an opportunity to experience new things, to show leadership, to work as a team and to contribute to their community. Developing these attributes is so important to us as a school and we are thrilled to have been designated a School of Character.
“We are particularly pleased the ACE assessor noticed our strong extracurricular offer. This is a particular focus for us at the moment as we seek to give our students the chance to catch up on all the experiences they missed as a result of Covid. It has been wonderful to see our students embrace all the extracurricular activities and we look forward to building on this over the coming year.”