A WIRRAL primary school has received a top award from UNICEF.

Heygarth Primary School in Eastham was awarded the Silver Rights Respecting School Award by UNICEF UK.

The award is granted to schools that show commitment to promoting and realising children’s rights and encouraging adults children and young people to respect the rights of others in school.

Silver is given to schools that make “excellent progress” towards embedding the principles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child into its ethos and curriculum.

Headteacher of Heygarth Primary School, Hazel Beamish, said: “Heygarth Primary School is incredibly proud to have been awarded the Silver Rights Aware award.

“This has validated all the hard work that the school does towards promoting children's wellbeing and education.

“The award will raise awareness within our community of the benefits of being a Rights Respecting School and encourage further collaboration on future projects.

“The pupils are incredibly proud of achieving this award as it confirms their involvement in the heart of the school and all the decisions they are the driving force behind.

“Thank you to all the staff who have taken this initiative onboard and embraced the ethos behind it, they have seen the positivity that it brings to our school and embraced it every step of the way engaging their classes in the process.

“Also thank you to all the pupils and the wider community for supporting our journey so far. We are now looking towards achieving the gold award.”

There are more than 1,300 schools across England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales that have achieved the silver award and more than 600 schools that have been awarded gold, the next step up and highest accolade granted by UNICEF UK.

The award recognises achievement in putting the United Nations Convention on the rights of the child at the heart of a school’s planning, policies, and practice. A rights respecting school is a community where children’s rights are learned, taught, practised, respected, protected and promoted.