A ‘Rights’ way of learning: Leiden Law School and International School Wassenaar pilot innovative Children’s Rights module
Students from the International School Wassenaar took part in piloting a Children’s Rights module designed by Leiden Law School. They learned about their human rights and created advocacy campaigns to stand up for the rights of children around the world.
Empowering youth to exercise their rights
Knowing your rights is powerful – it is especially important in a world where democracy and human rights are increasingly coming under attack and children’s voices are being silenced and sidelined. That’s why the Child Law and Health Law Department at Leiden Law School teamed up with the International School Wassenaar (ISW) to design an innovative children’s rights module for Year 3 students in the International Baccalaureate Middle Years programme (MYP).
Piloting the Children’s Rights module
The module was launched in April 2025 and ran for ten weeks as part of the MYP project unit. Using enquiry-based learning, students were asked to research the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), exploring its application in everyday life. Students were then asked to develop their own project, choosing a right they found meaningful, and designing an advocacy campaign to protect children’s rights in other parts of the world.
‘The ISW students exceeded all expectations with their thoughtful insights and creative approaches to children’s rights,’ said Dr Sheila Varadan, Assistant Professor of Children’s Rights at Leiden Law School. ‘This initiative not only enriched the curriculum at the International School Wassenaar but also provided a valuable model for embedding children’s rights literacy and global citizenship into secondary education,’ said Michael Hindmarsh, ISW Head of Curriculum.
-
From left to right (back row): Elizabeth Ballantine, Gabriela Cavazani, Dr Sheila Varadan, Michael Hindmarsh, Chrisje Sandelowsky-Bosman. Front row: Laura Marchetti, Kezia Albertine, Ruhama Abebe, Ana Luisa Orlando Maryssael de Campos, Sayeh Mohammadi and Garcia Martinez. -
Students presented their work during the project exhibition. -
Students presented their work during the project exhibition. -
Students presented their work during the project exhibition.
First-hand experience with the United Nations
In a unique and timely extension of the classroom, the ISW students were also invited to work directly with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Climate Change, Professor Elisa Morgera. As part of the pilot, students provided feedback to the UN Special Rapporteur on child-friendly versions of thematic reports on climate justice – giving voice to children’s perspectives on how information on climate change is presented and communicated. ‘The students’ feedback to the UN Special Rapporteur was both constructive and inspiring. It clearly demonstrated the power and importance of engaging young people directly and co-creating human rights processes,’ said Laura Marchetti, Research Assistant at the Child Law and Health Law Department.
The Children’s Rights project exhibition
As part of the Advanced LLM in International Children’s Rights, Leiden graduate students were invited to visit the Children’s Rights end-of-term project exhibition put on by ISW students. Leiden students offered feedback to the ISW students on their final projects and chatted with them about their interest in human rights and global issues. ‘It was inspiring to see our own Advanced LLM students engaging with the younger ISW students on their understanding and advocacy of children’s rights after spending a year studying this area of law,’ said Varadan. ‘This intergenerational dialogue showed the value of cross-institutional partnerships between secondary and tertiary education,’ she added.
Encouraged by the success of the pilot, ISW and the Child Law and Health Law Department hope to renew and expand the initiative in the upcoming academic year.
Background
The Children’s Rights module for the International School Wassenaar (ISW) was co-designed by ISW Head of Curriculum, Mr Michael Hindmarsh, Chrisje Sandelowsky-Bosman, PhD Fellow, and Dr Sheila Varadan, Assistant Professor of Children’s Rights. It was taught by a team from the Child Law and Health Law Department: Sheila Varadan, Laura Marchetti, Chrisje Sandelowsky-Bosman, Ruhama Abebe, Sayeh Mohammadi and Ana Luisa Orlando Maryssael de Campos.