On Wednesday 20th November P6 and P7 pupils travelled to W5 in the Odyssey with Mrs Donnelly and Mrs Coyle to celebrate the 30 year anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC)
This convention in 1989 marked the beginning of a new era for children’s rights.
Now, 30 years later, the voice of the child informs all of our decision-making in school... and rightly so!
As part of the celebration there was a children’s summit where 8 children from Northern Ireland were invited to speak about issues which they feel need to be heard.
We were delighted that one of our pupils was chosen to present at the summit. She spoke about the educational provision for pupils who cannot be educated in school due to illness. She praised the recent advancements in assistive technology (Gus the tiny robot) which now enables children who cannot be in school to still be part of the classroom.
NICCY representatives, political leaders and representatives from the Education authority, the Department of Education and from ETI we’re deeply moved and shocked by this speech.
Politicians have agreed that tuition time needs to be dramatically increased for children who cannot attend school and they have agreed to work together to ensure that all children “have the right to education”.
All of our P6 and P7 pupils thoroughly enjoyed this celebration in W5 and went back home to their families feeling empowered and excited about what the future holds for them.
Sincere thanks to the Ken and the NICCY team for organizing such a momentous and memorable day.
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