Creating and evaluating transition from primary to high school utilising children's rights

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) sets out a series of rights for children. UNICEF has developed a Rights Respecting Schools Award (RRSA) through which schools can embed a whole-school approach to the UNCRC. This research used action research in an RRSA primary school to create and evaluate a rights-based transition process for a cohort of Year 6 pupils (10-11 years old). Data were collected from a questionnaire developed with pupils, a researcher diary, a staff focus group and a group interview with four pupils (11-12 years old) in their first term at high school following the rights-based transition. The utility of embedding rights in the transition process to support preparation and transfer of rights is identified, as is the importance of a visible rights framework to enable pupils to continue to promote and work towards rights realisation throughout transition and at their new setting.