CYPCS Tam Baillie Asks Pupils for Their Wishes for a Better World

When Scotland's Commissioner for Children and Young People, Tam Baillie, came to speak to our children at both P1-3 and P4-7 Assemblies on Friday 2nd September 2016 he captivated our pupils with an engaging, child friendly explanation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. We particularly liked his use of the term 'promises to children' and his invitation to everyone to think of what they would change if they had a magic wand.


Here are some of the children's wishes:

Mr Baillie explained that each idea the children then shared is already a 'promise' made to all children across the world, contained in the UNCRC.

The Children and Young People's Commissioner in Scotland's job is to help children understand their rights and to make sure those rights are respected. His goal is to make sure all children and young people in Scotland are as safe and happy as possible.

Tam works towards his goal by:

• listening to children and young people
• asking people in power – like Members of the Scottish Parliament – to think about how new laws might affect children
• helping children learn more about their rights
• speaking out if children and young people are not getting a fair deal.

Tam explained his role as Commissioner and we are delighted that our children had an opportunity to meet such an inspirational leader of positive change in our country who works tirelessly to promote the rights of all children. Tam was extremely generous and gracious with his time and we hope that we can carry on his good work in ensuring all adults and children understand the UNCRC and use it to build a better society.

Article 42

All adults and children should know about the UNCRC.

#globalgoalsweek Assembly 23.9.16

Sciennes Primary Global Goals Week Assembly 23.9.16 from Sciennes Primary School
 

On Friday 23rd September 2016 at the P4-7 Assembly we reflected on the messages of Global Goals Week and how we can plan to take action together on the Sustainable Development Goals for 2030. Last year our main focus was on Goal 1 No Poverty and Goal 11 Reduced Inequalities. We also explored Goal 13 Climate Change and Goal 5 Gender Equality.




Pupils had been asked by The Children and Young People's Commissioner for Scotland, Tam Baillie, what they would wish for if he gave them a magic wand. He explained that their wishes were 'promises' already in place in the UNCRC. We looked at some of the children's suggestions and how the Global Goals for Sustainable Development can help achieve their wishes:




Each of our Pupil Groups - Pupil Council, Eco Group, JRSOs, P7 Captains and Digital Leaders - is making plans for the year and classes were encouraged to share their ideas with their Class Reps so that we can work together in school to take action.

P4 and P7 pupils Alba and Samara gave extraordinary performances on piano. Samara practises for many hours every day and Laila told us how she has worked hard to achieve so many Tae Kwon Do medals.

Mylo and Christopher confidently introduced our brand new iTeach Digital Leaders programme and explained how to get involved.

http://www.iteach-uk.com/dl/DigitalLeaderVideo(Primary).mp4

We celebrated lots of individual pupil achievements, including a recent win for P6 Team at Boroughmuir RFC and Pedal for Scotland medals for siblings Sam, Lizzy and Quinn.

Online Safety Advice from CYPCS

Thank you very much to P6 and P7 families who attended and engaged with our 'Right Click' digital safety workshop, sponsored by Unicef and BT, on Wednesday 29th August. We are very grateful to BT volunteers Mike Brown and Karen Halliday for leading the warmly presented and interactive event and to Zoey Ayling (Unicef's Programme Support Officer) for providing the opportunity.

Feedback was very positive and we aim to address inhouse the requests for additional sessions, for younger pupils and also a follow up parents only session.

Scotland's Commissioner for Children and Young People, Tam Baillie, visited Sciennes on Friday 2nd September and it is hoped families will find his team's advice on Online Safety useful in continuing dialogue with their children.

http://www.cypcs.org.uk/footer/online-safety

Article 5

You have the right to be given guidance by your parents and family.

Article 17

You have the right to collect information from the media.

Article 19

You have the right to be protected from being hurt or badly treated.

Article 29

You have the right to education which develops your personality, respect for others’ rights and the environment.

Article 34

You have the right to be protected from abuse.

The Children and Young People's Commissioner in Scotland, Tam Baillie

Scotland's Commissioner for Children and Young People, Tam Baillie

What would you wish for if you had a magic wand that could change the world?

We were honoured to welcome Scotland's Commissioner for Children and Young People, Tam Baillie, to speak to our children at both P1-3 and P4-7 Assemblies on Friday 2nd September 2016.

The Children and Young People's Commissioner in Scotland's job is to help children understand their rights and to make sure those rights are respected. His goal is to make sure all children and young people in Scotland are as safe and happy as possible.

Tam works towards his goal by:

• listening to children and young people
• asking people in power – like Members of the Scottish Parliament – to think about how new laws might affect children
• helping children learn more about their rights
• speaking out if children and young people are not getting a fair deal.

The Commissioner captivated our pupils with an engaging, child friendly explanation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. We particularly liked his use of the term 'promises to children' and his invitation to everyone to think of what they would change if they had a magic wand. He explained that each idea the children then shared is already a 'promise' made to all children across the world, contained in the UNCRC. Tam also explained his role as Commissioner and we are delighted that our children had an opportunity to meet such an inspirational leader of positive change in our country who works tirelessly to promote the rights of all children. Tam was extremely generous and gracious with his time and we hope that we can carry on his good work in ensuring all adults and children understand the UNCRC and use it to build a better society.

We also introduced pupils to the First Minister's Reading Challenge, which launched on Thursday 1st September and features Janis Mackay, our Patron of Reading. All P4-7 pupils will soon receive their very own Reading Passport to record their reading journeys until May next year. Many of our pupils have completed the Summer Reading Challenge and Ms French reminded everyone that it closes on Sunday 3rd September, so pupils should claim their certificates and medals from their local library by that date.

Pupil Council elections will be held on Monday 12th September, with the result given on Thursday 15th September (International Day for Democracy). Mrs Sally Nowell will be Presiding Officer.

Tam Baillie at Sciennes Assemblies 1.9.16 from Sciennes Primary School

Article 42

All adults and children should know about the UNCRC.

Let's Get It Right P4-7 SHANARRI Assembly

Sciennes GIRFEC P4-7 Assembly 25.8.16 from Sciennes Primary School


On Friday 26th August at the P4-7 Assembly, we reminded children how all the adults at Sciennes aim to 'Get It Right' for their health and wellbeing using SHANARRI. We talked about ways to remember what the letters SHANARRI stand for - Safe, Healthy, Achieving, Nurtured, Active, Respected, Responsible and Included and tested some of the teachers! Some pupils prefer to write or to draw pictures or to repeat aloud to memorise things and one method we all used was to sing Hopscotch's song about SHANARRI.

Mr Tom Scott, Active Schools Co-ordinator for James Gillespie's High School Cluster, gave a presentation to the children about the benefits of taking part in sport and told us about all the amazing sporting clubs that are now available for booking online:

ACTIVE SCHOOLS CLUBS AT SCIENNES
https://www.joininedinburgh.org/venue/332

ACTIVE SCHOOLS CLUBS AT JAMES GILLESPIE'S HIGH SCHOOL
https://www.joininedinburgh.org/venue/271  (Click on Active Schools activities)

Ms French encouraged everyone to complete the Tesco Summer Reading Challenge at their local library by Saturday 3rd September and to let Mrs Noble know who manages to complete the challenge to read six books from their local library.

We also revisited Sciennes School Rules and how they help keep us safe. As a health promoting school, we welcome parental support in not sending in sweet treats to celebrate birthdays, partly because some of our children have allergies but also to reduce sugar intake.

Next week, we are really fortunate to have a very special visitor joining us at both P1-3 and P4-7 Assemblies. Tam Baillie, Scotland's Commissioner for Children and Young People, is coming to Sciennes to speak to all the children on Friday 2nd September and we are very much looking forward to welcoming him.

Article 24

You have the right to the best health possible and to medical care and information.

Our Children's Views Voiced at Children's Parliament

On Wednesday 8th June our P4-7 Pupil Council reps and a group of P6 pupils were invited to take part in a Children's Parliament project at Summerhall to explore their views on the minimum age of criminal responsibility, through discussion, games and creative art activities. Thank you to Cathy McCulloch (Co-Director Children's Parliament) and Chelsea Stinson (Children's Voices Programmes Manager) for the invitation and the opportunity for our children to share their ideas and opinions.

In Scotland, the minimum age of criminal responsibility is currently set at 8 years of age and plans are being explored to increase that to 12 years of age. As part of the consultation process, it is commendable that the Scottish Government is actively seeking young people's views. Our twenty pupils were part of that ongoing process. The Children's Parliament project they were invited to attend on Wednesday was one of several commissioned by Tam Baillie, The Children and Young People's Commissioner in Scotland. Tam has very kindly offered to come and speak at our P1-3 and P4-7 Assemblies in September, to explain his role to our pupils.

Article 12 The right to an opinion and for it to be listened to and taken seriously.