What is the School Council?
- An inclusive, structured, forum for discussion and decision-making.
- A means for children to raise issues and concerns.
- A means to consult all pupils.
Why have a School Council?
- To help children develop responsible attitudes.
- To give the children a voice and involve children with school issues.
- To create a feeling of belonging, encourage listening to others and develop self-confidence.
- To improve pupil/teacher relationships.
We are in the early stages of looking at more creative ways to actively listen to pupils and promote pupil voice. We currently hold half-termly meetings with the school council but want to encourage and give children more opportunities to be heard, incorporating this into all areas of school life.
We are currently looking at resources from the Smart School Councils Community to help us achieve this. Our aim is to give children an understanding and experience of democracy that goes beyond the voting and tokenistic consultation.
Our senior leadership team will play an active part in promoting Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Development and within this Fundamental British Values.
The Department for Education guidance on British Values suggests that a school council ‘listens to all children within school’.
Our aim is to:
- ‘Encourage respect for democracy and support for participation’
- ‘Ensure that all children within school have a voice that is listened to’
- ‘That we can demonstrate how democracy works promoting democratic processes such as a school council whose members are voted for by the pupil’
- ‘To teach children mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs’
- ‘To support children to develop and demonstrate skills that will allow them to participate fully in and contribute positively to life in modern Britain’
