PUPILS at a Kingswinford Primary School can now happily proclaim to ‘know their rights’ after parents and local dignitaries were invited to the school for a special presentation.

Dingle Community Primary School students have recently been learning about children’s rights as part of their bid for a UNICEF award.

As part of their ongoing association with the international children’s charity, pupils have been working towards achieving the UNICEF Rights Respecting Schools Award (RRSA).

The award is based on principles of equality, dignity, respect, non- discrimination and participation.

Pupils presented what they had been taught to teachers, parents and local councillors including Mike Wood MP for Dudley South and Patrick Harley, councillor for Kingswinford South.

Cllr Wood said: "This is an excellent initiative by the Dingle School, as part of their work to teach pupils that everyone in our community has both rights and responsibilities.

"It was inspiring to see the work that the children right across the school had done to celebrate those rights, which too often are not enjoyed by children in other parts of the world."

Cllr Harley, who is also leader of Dudley's Conservative Group, said: “We all had a very enjoyable visit to the Dingle.

“The children did a lot of work themselves and didn’t just pay lip service to what they were taught. You could tell they really understood the rights.

“It’s a very important topic for children to learn about and is not something that would normally be taught in schools.

“It offers the children a lesson in life and is something that they will take with them forever.”

The aim of the award is to put the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child at the heart of a school’s ethos and culture.

To achieve it, schools must demonstrate that children's rights are learned, taught, practised, respected and promoted.