I had a very interesting visit with the team at the RADE Centre in Eastleigh, Hampshire, discussing their countywide rights based approach to education.
Interestingly, the philosophy in Hampshire has changed subtly since I read about their Rights Respect and Responsibilities (RRR) approach in 2012. It is now referred to as RRE. Since 2013, this change was led by guidance from Unicef, in line with their Rights Respecting Schools Award (RRSA), decoupling rights and responsibilities. The theory behind separating the two concepts is sound – children’s rights are universal and inalienable. Children have them by virtue of being born. To quote Unicef guidance from August 2011: "Rights are unconditional; they are therefore not dependent upon a responsibility and cannot be taken away, earned or used as a reward” (see http://www3.hants.gov.uk/education/hias/rights-respecting-education.htm)
This is exactly in line with my own thinking, as I also expressed on Twitter yesterday.