Situation
Since 2014, Save the Children Denmark’s ambassador school initiative has engaged schools across Denmark in working with children’s rights. Together with more than 50 ambassador schools, Save the Children Denmark works to ensure that children and young people not only know their rights, but also feel able to act on them if they experience that their own or others’ rights are being violated.
Complication
To ensure that the ambassador school initiative is meaningful and relevant for both pupils and professionals, it is developed and adapted on an ongoing basis. In this context, Epinion has helped Save the Children Denmark with a three-year evaluation of the initiative, which focused on shedding light on how the ambassador schools’ activities contribute to pupils’ understanding of, and action on, their rights. The evaluation provides valuable knowledge about how the schools’ work supports children’s opportunities to participate in communities and develop the capacity to act in relation to their own and others’ rights.
Recommendation
Based on the evaluation, Epinion recommends a number of measures to strengthen the ambassador schools’ work. This includes, among other things, that schools make it clear when rights are at stake in specific everyday situations, and that they work with pupil involvement and participation across teaching and school activities. In addition, the evaluation points to the importance of pupils knowing who they can turn to if their rights are violated, and of creating a school culture where it is natural to talk about rights. With these recommendations, the evaluation helps to strengthen awareness of, and the relevance of, children’s rights in pupils’ everyday lives.
