📜 What Are Children's Rights?

In 1989, world leaders agreed that children (people under 18) need special protection and care. They created the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).

New Zealand signed this agreement, promising to protect these rights for all tamariki in Aotearoa.

🇳🇿 Rights in Aotearoa New Zealand

In New Zealand, children's rights are protected by:

• The Children, Young Persons, and Their Families Act
• The Office of the Children's Commissioner — an advocate for tamariki
• Te Tiriti o Waitangi — which includes protection of tamariki Māori
• Schools following the NZ Curriculum Values

Key Rights of Children

🏠 Right to Safety

Every child has the right to be protected from harm, abuse, and neglect.

Your Responsibility:

Help keep others safe. Report if you or someone else is being hurt.

📚 Right to Education

Every child has the right to learn and go to school.

Your Responsibility:

Attend school, participate in learning, and help others learn too.

🗣️ Right to Be Heard

Every child has the right to give their opinion and have adults listen.

Your Responsibility:

Listen to others' opinions with respect, even when you disagree.

🩺 Right to Health

Every child has the right to good healthcare and healthy food.

Your Responsibility:

Look after your body and make healthy choices when you can.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Right to Family

Every child has the right to know and be cared for by their family.

Your Responsibility:

Respect your whānau and contribute positively to family life.

🎮 Right to Play

Every child has the right to rest, relax, and have fun.

Your Responsibility:

Include others in play. Don't bully or exclude anyone.

🔄 Rights Come with Responsibilities

Rights and responsibilities go together. When we have a right, we also have a responsibility to respect that same right for others.

Your Right	Your Responsibility
To be treated with respect	To treat others with respect
To have your belongings protected	To respect others' belongings
To learn in a safe environment	To not disrupt others' learning
To express your opinions	To listen to others' opinions
To be included	To include others

🎭 What Would You Do?

Scenario 1: The Playground Exclusion

A group of students won't let Aroha join their game at lunchtime. She sits alone every day.

• Which right is being affected here?
• What responsibility do the other students have?
• What could you do if you saw this happening?

Scenario 2: The Class Discussion

In a class discussion, Tama shares his opinion but others laugh and say it's wrong.

• Which right of Tama's is being affected?
• What is the class's responsibility when someone shares their opinion?
• How could the class respond better?

Scenario 3: The Unsafe Situation

You notice that your friend seems scared to go home and has unexplained bruises.

• What right might be at risk?
• What is your responsibility?
• Who could you talk to for help?

✍️ Reflection

Think About It

1. Which right do you think is most important? Why?
2. Can you think of a time when one of your rights was respected really well?
3. Can you think of a time when you stood up for someone else's rights?
4. What responsibilities do you find hardest to keep? Why?
5. How can our class be better at respecting everyone's rights?

My reflection:

Key Takeaways

• All children have rights that are protected by law.
• Rights come with responsibilities to respect others' rights.
• If you or someone you know is unsafe, tell a trusted adult.
• You can be a rights champion by standing up for others.
• In Aotearoa, the Children's Commissioner works to protect all tamariki.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Notes

Curriculum Links

• Social Studies: Rights, roles, and responsibilities of citizens
• Health: Relationships with others, identity and self-worth
• Values: Respect, integrity, community

Sensitive Topics

• This topic may surface disclosures. Know your school's reporting procedures.
• Frame discussions positively while acknowledging that some children experience rights violations.
• Have information about support services available (e.g., Youthline, Oranga Tamariki).

Hononga Marautanga · Curriculum Alignment

Tuhia ōu whakaaro · Write Your Thoughts

Reflect on your learning. What was the most important idea? What question do you still have?

Aronga Mātauranga Māori

Social Sciences taught well in Aotearoa should be uncomfortable — because the history of this land is one in which Māori and other communities have faced injustice, and in which those injustices are not yet fully addressed. Mātauranga Māori offers frameworks for thinking about social change that go beyond Western political theory: the concept of tino rangatiratanga (self-determination), of kotahitanga (unity in purpose), of utu (reciprocity across time) — these are not abstract ideas but working tools for analysing how power has been distributed and how it might be redistributed more justly. Social Sciences that centres these frameworks gives students the analytical vocabulary to name what they see in the world and imagine what could be different.