BEITH Primary School has become the first school in North Ayrshire to earn a coveted gold award as part of Unicef’s UK Rights Respecting School Scheme.

Unicef works with thousands of schools across the UK to create safe and inspiring places to learn.

The Rights Respecting Schools Award embeds these values in daily school life and gives children the best chance to lead happy, healthy lives.

Head Teacher Fiona Dunlop said: “We are so proud to have achieved our RRS Gold Award from Unicef UK. It shows a real commitment by our whole school community to living and working well together.

“The impact of our Rights Respecting journey is evident not only in the relationships throughout the school, but in raised attainment, self-worth and confidence amongst our learners and families.

“Our community are working to ‘pay it forward’ through their actions, respecting others rights as the norm, promoting sustainable developments and responding to needs identified both locally and in the wider world.”

According to Unicef, schools taking part in the scheme have reported less truancy and bullying, better learning and improved academic standards.

Cabinet member for Education John Bell said: “It is a fantastic achievement and testament to the hard work of the Head Teacher, her staff and of course the pupils.”