Meet Our Rights Respecting Ambassadors

Pupils across the school took part in a democratic vote to elect our Rights Respecting Ambassadors for the 2026–27 academic year.  Each class voted for the pupil they wanted to represent them and help promote children’s rights across our school.   Congratulations to all of our newly elected Rights Respecting Ambassadors! We look forward to working together throughout the year.                                                               

Monday 7th September 2026 – Our First Meeting

Our newly elected Rights Respecting Ambassadors met for the first time! The children introduced themselves and learned more about their important role in helping to promote children’s rights across our school.

We explored some key Rights Respecting vocabulary, including rights holders, duty bearers and the UNCRC and discussed how our ambassadors can help make sure that children’s voices are heard at Minet Junior School.

It was a great start to our Rights Respecting work for 2026–27!

Monday 14th September 2026 – Making Play More Inclusive

A big thank you to our Rights Respecting Ambassadors, who have been working closely with our School Council representatives to help us prepare for the introduction of new OPAL play opportunities.

Together, the children created a set of expectations for our Play Charter, considering what children as rights holders and adults as duty bearers can do to ensure that everyone’s Article 31 right to rest, relax and play is respected. The charter has been shared with classes and will soon be displayed in our playground.

Our ambassadors also gathered pupil views about inequalities at playtime. Their findings showed that some girls felt intimidated or overwhelmed by rough ball games, which could discourage them from using some areas of the playground.

The duty bearers listened! As a result of the children’s feedback, ball games have been moved to the front field and additional play opportunities have been introduced in other areas of the playground, helping to create a more inclusive play environment for everyone.

Thank you to our ambassadors and all the children who shared their views – your voices have helped to make a difference!

Thursday 1st October 2026 – Wellbeing Through Play

Our Rights Respecting Ambassadors met to discuss our upcoming Bring-o Challenge in preparation for World Mental Health Day on 9th October. Each class will compete in a bingo-style challenge to collect the widest variety of donated items to help develop even more exciting play opportunities across our playground. 

The ambassadors linked the challenge to Article 31 – the right to relax and play and Article 24 – the right to the best possible health, including supporting children’s wellbeing. They discussed how improving our play opportunities can help children have fun, connect with others and support positive mental health.

The ambassadors also used their pupil voice to suggest and discuss possible prizes for the winning classes. Ideas included extra playtime and even a chocolate fountain! The ambassadors will help decide which reward they think would be most enjoyable for the winning classes. 

Hello Yellow Day – A Huge Success!

On Friday 9th October, Minet Junior School celebrated Hello Yellow Day with a special OPAL twist!

A huge well done to our Rights Respecting Ambassadors, who did a fantastic job promoting the importance of mental health and well-being in classrooms and around the school.

Thanks to the generosity of our children and families, we collected a wonderful range of toys, balls and dressing-up clothes, alongside over £100 in cash donations to support our OPAL play initiative.

Congratulations to our winning classes, who collected the greatest variety of donated items! Your fantastic efforts will help create even more exciting play opportunities for everyone.