Glasgow City Youth Council Visit Riverbank

Matt Reid from ACC’s Education & Children’s Services contacted Riverbank to ask if we would be able to help out with a visit by some representatives from Glasgow City Youth Council. They were visiting Aberdeen to find out more about Children’s Rights and Children’s Voice.

We are always delighted to be able to spread the word about children’s rights through our Rights Respecting School and so we agreed to have these visitors. Sukie, Joel and Thomas were to visit Harlaw Academy, Level 1 Rights Respecting School in the morning. They were to lunch there and then visit Riverbank in the afternoon before going to visit the Childline Offices, in Aberdeen, before travelling back to Glasgow around tea time.

I recruited a couple of tour guides for our visitors and they conducted the tour round the school. They were excellent hosts and were able to point out the importance of some of our wall displays and interest groups. They explained about The Hub and how it was important for First Aid, pastoral care, restorative conversations and a chill out area. The guides explained how the children were consulted on their learning and played a part in the planning of their work. Miss MacAulay’s class were excellent hosts for a lesson on Rights. Our visitors were so impressed when Miss MacAulay asked the children which Article of the UNCRC covered good health and the correct reply came – Article 24. They were also able to answer lots of questions on what was required to keep children healthy.

The visit finished with a view of the Riverbank whole school charter and the guides explained the expectations of children were matched by the expectations of adults. Our visitors were very impressed by all they saw and heard and said that we were way ahead of our colleagues in Glasgow when it came to promoting children’s rights.

A big thank you to my tour guides and Primary 2B for helping out with our visitors. It was a pleasure to meet Sukie, Thomas and Joel and we enjoyed sharing our experiences with them.

UNCRC / RRSA

Article 13 –  Every child must be free to say what they think and to seek and receive all kinds of information, as long as it is within the law.

Article 15 – Every child has the right to meet with other children and to join groups and organisations, as long as this does not stop other people from enjoying their rights.