Classroom and playground practices and relationships

In a rights-based, socially inclusive and cohesive school:

1. Children, educators and school managers have knowledge of children’s and other school community members’ rights and responsibilities

2. Children and educators know that children’s rights can only be realized if every child and teacher is respectful of their fellow-learners’ rights, and exercises their own rights responsibly

3. Every educator and child behaves in such a way in the classroom, on the playground and sports field, and when they leave school, that allows and enables every child to enjoy and practise their rights, for example, to:

o Quality education

o Equality and freedom from discrimination

o Dignity

o Safety and protection

o A healthy environment

o Health and nutrition

o Freedom of opinion and expression

o Freedom of religion

o Freedom of participation

4. Every educator monitors, practices, and promotes respectful behaviour, attitudes and practices by all children in the classroom, playground, sports field, and in their communications with each other

5. Children, including those from marginalised groups, participate in decision-making structures and the making of decisions within the school that affect them

The curriculum

In a rights-based, socially inclusive and cohesive school, the school curriculum is:

1. Child-centred, respectful and promotive of children’s responsibilities and rights

2. Designed to accommodate and support the different learning needs of all children so as to equalise their opportunities to quality education

3. Designed to prepare all children, especially the most vulnerable, to become active and engaged members of society who contribute to peaceful and prosperous families, schools, communities and countries

Infrastructure and basic services such as water and sanitation

In a rights-based, socially inclusive and cohesive school, the school buildings, infrastructure and learning spaces do not infringe children’s rights to, inter alia:

1. Dignity

2. A healthy environment

3. Health care

4. Equal access to all educational facilities

5. Quality teaching and learning

This means that all schools, especially schools in remote rural areas and schools serving poor communities, have basic physical structures, learning and teaching spaces and basic services that:

1. Do not present a risk of harm to children and do protect them from the elements—for example, schools are not made of mud and all learning spaces have strong walls and ceilings

2. Ensure children’s health and are hygienic—for example, safe and hygienic toilets are available for all children, and safe, running water is available and accessible for all children

3. Are appropriate to accommodate children’s differences in age, gender, disability and/or other differences—for example, different and appropriately sized toilets for boys, girls, younger and older children

4. Provide infrastructure and learning spaces of a size and with facilities necessary to support learning suited to the diverse needs of the children in the school—such as classrooms that are large enough not to be overcrowded and furnished with sufficient desks and chairs, as well as adequately stocked libraries and laboratories

Learning and teaching support material (LTSM)

In a rights-based, socially inclusive and cohesive school, all children have timely and equal access to learning and teaching support materials (LTSM), such as workbooks, textbooks, assistive devices and a diversity of media, to support quality teaching and learning, including children:

1. In remote rural and other under-serviced areas

2. With disabilities

3. Who speak languages other than the main language of learning and teaching

Co-curricular facilities and activities

In a rights-based, socially inclusive and cohesive school, a variety of sports, culture, social and peer groups or clubs are:

1. Available and accessible to all children, including marginalised children—for example, sports programmes are available for children with disabilities

2. Responsive to the gender, social and cultural diversity of the whole school community—for example, different traditional dance and music forms, and sports forms for both boys and girls are offered

3. Available to provide additional learning support to children who require it because they are not able to attend school every day due to their home circumstances—for example, homework classes for children who work or have onerous domestic responsibilities

Health promotion, social welfare, psychosocial, safety and protection, and material support and services

In a rights-based, socially inclusive and cohesive school social, health, social welfare and material

support and services are provided to overcome the educational barriers experienced by marginalised children, such as:

1. Poverty: for example, fee exemptions, monitoring and facilitated access to social grants, transport services and school feeding programmes

2. Gender-related challenges: for example, sexual and reproductive health services to prevent teen pregnancies and provide support where these occur; support for menstrual hygiene; services to prevent risky behaviours; safety interventions to protect girls against sexual abuse

3. Child labour: children engaged in child labour, including onerous domestic responsibilities, are provided with additional support to ensure that the work does not affect their educational participation, and where necessary are referred to social workers and other support structures for material and psychosocial support

Educator skills, practices, qualifications and attitudes

In a rights-based, socially inclusive and cohesive school all educators are qualified, and practise teaching and learning strategies that:

1. Are respectful of, sensitive to, and celebrate diversity and differences, especially of marginalised groups in the school community

2. Do not discriminate against marginalised groups in the school community

3. Are sensitive to and accommodate differences in learning needs, including differences linked to gender, race, disability, health status, language, religion and others

Management and leadership structures, tools, qualities and practices

In a rights-based, socially inclusive and cohesive school, all management and leadership structures and tools (such as school policies, plans and budgets, head teachers, school management teams and school committees):

1. Facilitate, support and monitor the responsibilities of all role players in the school community to know, respect and promote children’s rights, and respect and celebrate diversity

2. Ensure equity in the allocation of resources, making sure that adequate resources are allocated to make all school infrastructure and facilities available to historically marginalised groups

3. Ensure that capacity-building, reporting and disciplinary processes are available for reporting abuses of rights, effective follow-up and reporting back to the school community

Relationships with parents and community members

In a rights-based, socially inclusive and cohesive school there is a close working relationship with parents and community members to ensure that:

1. They know they are part of the school community and have rights and shared responsibilities to respect, protect and promote the rights and well-being of vulnerable and marginalised groups of children

2. They know they are responsible for securing children’s rights to education, dignity, freedom

from discrimination, and other socio-economic rights, and what they must do to fulfil their responsibilities

3. They are supported by school community members to fulfil their responsibilities

4. All parents, including parents of marginalized groups of children, are included in school-based leadership, care and support structures, and decision-making structures.