Fife high school achieves gold UNICEF award

The town school is also one of a small group of Scottish High Schools to be given the recognition.

Kirkcaldy High was awarded silver in 2018 after a UNICEF accreditation visit and has now achieved gold after a follow up visit recently.

UNICEF is the United Nations agency responsible for the protection and promotion of Children’s Rights as laid out in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Kirkcaldy High has been working on the Rights Respecting Schools programme for several years now and this has culminated in a detailed UNICEF report which highlighted many strengths, including: A variety of opportunities for all children and young people, for meaningful participation throughout the school, influencing improvement and affecting change; Children and young people feeling valued and empowered in their school with health and wellbeing being a priority.

The report also noted that the school’s approach to children’s rights had evolved in an “organic way, cultivating a cohesive, shared vision” where positive relationships are based on mutual respect.

It was reported that Kirkcaldy High is a school where “the health and wellbeing of young people is of paramount importance” with nurture groups and effective approaches to help young people cope with adverse childhood circumstances, such as living in poverty.

Creative ways to tackling disadvantage were praised, with the importance of participation and pupil voice being highlighted; there being “a wide variety of opportunities for young people to engage in action to campaign or advocate for children’s rights both locally and globally”, which includes the school’s partnership link with a school in Rwanda.

The school’s Headteacher, Derek Allan, said he was immensely proud to be part of a school with such a commitment to guaranteeing human rights and said the award could not have been achieved without the dedication and hard work of of staff and students. In particular, he wanted to recognise the contribution of Miss Audrey Diamond (Depute Headteacher), Ms Jack Young of the Modern Studies Department and the core group of students who led the steering group over a period of time; Phoebe Brand, Eilidh Drummond, Rebecca Greig and Gemma Hepburn.

However, Mr Allan added that credit was due more widely and thanked the entire school community.

He said: “Without the support of all of our young people, parents and partner agencies we would be able to achieve nothing.

“This award is one which makes the entire KHS community very proud. To know that our amazing kids understand that they have the right to want to do the very best for themselves in life, and there is a duty to ensure that everybody else, around the world, also has that same right, is really very important.”

He continued: “I am delighted that our core values of Respect for Self, Others and Learning” have been recognised as being central to all our work.

“There’s a quote from the report which jumped out at me, it goes: “Our school is making us aware that it starts with us and we can make the change”.

“This could equally apply to climate change, tackling poverty in Kirkcaldy or in Africa or it could be about changing your own personal circumstances for the better.

“The impact of RRSA on the school has been significant. Visitors often comment on how sociable, happy and cooperative our kids are. I think it’s because they are so highly valued, they have a voice and they know that it is their right to be heard.

“I’ve always thought that if you give young people responsibility, they always step up and show their best side.”

He added “I’m a very proud headteacher, especially now that a global organisation recognises that KHS is that kind of school”

Carrie Lindsay, Fife Council’s executive director of Education and Children’s Services said: “Kirkcaldy High School is a true beacon for Children’s Rights and this accolade of achieving the Gold Rights Respecting status serves to confirm what we already know about the school.

“It’s a school that truly believes in promoting rights and valuing difference as well as giving permission for much of their work to be led by the young people.

“Every time I visit the school I see more examples of young people exercising their rights and striving to make their school a place where all young people have a voice and are encouraged to use it.”