More than half of Cardiff’s maintained schools have now achieved Silver or Gold through the UNICEF Rights Respecting Schools Award, marking a significant milestone in the city’s commitment to embedding children’s rights in education.
Ysgol Glan Morfa is one of the latest schools to achieve Silver: Rights Aware status, joining 66 schools across the city that have demonstrated a strong, whole-school commitment to a children’s rights approach. This growing number reflects how rights-respecting practice is increasingly shaping learning, relationships and school culture across Cardiff.
At Ysgol Glan Morfa, pupil voice is a clear and established strength. During the Silver assessment visit, children spoke confidently about how their views influence decisions at both classroom and whole-school level. Through a range of pupil voice structures, pupils were able to describe meaningful changes that had taken place as a result of their ideas, from shaping learning experiences to improving wellbeing and safety. One pupil shared that children feel they are “as important as the headteacher”, highlighting the strong sense of partnership between pupils and adults.
Children’s rights are embedded throughout the curriculum and wider school environment, supported by shared rights language, visual prompts and assemblies that make rights accessible to all ages. Older pupils take pride in supporting younger children to understand and enjoy their rights, helping to create a strong sense of belonging, inclusion and mutual respect. Pupils described the school as happy, welcoming and supportive, and directly linked this to being a Rights Respecting School.
Staff and governors spoke positively about the confidence, maturity and leadership shown by pupils, noting how children take ownership of rights-respecting practice and support one another’s wellbeing. Restorative approaches are well understood by both adults and pupils, contributing to positive relationships and a safe, inclusive learning environment.
Across Cardiff’s 127 maintained schools, 39 have achieved Bronze, 32 Silver and 34 Gold, meaning over 50 per cent of settings are now at Silver or Gold level. This progress supports Cardiff’s ambition as the UK’s first UNICEF Child Friendly City and reflects the city’s position as a national leader in taking a children’s rights approach to education.
Cardiff Council’s Child Friendly Cardiff team provides ongoing support for schools at all stages of the award. This includes tailored support for schools not yet engaged with the programme, as well as focused guidance for Bronze schools working towards Silver, delivered by the council’s trained and accredited UNICEF Silver assessors.
An interactive map showing schools’ progress through the Rights Respecting Schools Award is available on the council’s website, offering a snapshot of how children’s rights are taking hold across education settings in Cardiff.