School Council
Membership
Every school year, each year group from Y2 upwards elects a rep to our School Council. Year 5 & 6 have two reps who represent R and Y1 as well as their year group. Children who are keen to become a School Council member make a short presentation before the vote. Democracy in action! Pupils are elected to give a pupil voice and to make improvements as appropriate to their school by gathering views and sharing outcomes with their peers. They look for ways to take action and to make positive change.
What does the School Council do?
A school council provides a meaningful way in which pupils can voice their opinions and have their views taken into account in decisions that impact upon them. Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) -Respect for views of the child.
The School Council prides itself in organising and running various fundraising events throughout the year, from Comic Relief and Children in Need, to Toilet Twinning and local charities such as Boxes of Hope shoebox appeal.
As well as supporting very worthy charities, organising and running these events is a fantastic opportunity for the children to take responsibility and develop their organisational, communication and leadership skills. They always seem to relish the opportunity and take great care and pride in what they do. For the younger children who are involved, they aspire and look forward to becoming the older school council members in the years to come and to taking their turn as leaders.
We value the opinions of our pupils and our school council gives pupils a forum to share these opinions with our school council teacher representative, Headteacher and governor representative. The councillors help to ensure that school is a happy and safe place for all our children.
What have they been doing?
- Raising money for charities.
- Looking at the school buildings and suggesting improvements e.g. toilets, including toilet twinning in combination with Y6.
- Working on positive behaviour and how to support those that need a friend-introducing buddy benches and anti-bullying ambassadors.
- Listening to views-and consulting others.
South Lakes Pupil Parliament
Membership
Year 5 and 6 representatives (2 from each year) are chosen and attend the South Lakes Pupil Parliament for the academic year.
What does the Pupil Parliament do?
During the meetings the children work with other schools on team building activities, explore issues relating to children’s rights and needs and the impact that children can have if they are fully informed. The children deliver presentations about key issues which have been identified and work in groups to discuss and find out more about the topic. Visitors such as those from the Houses of Parliament Ed Service and national youth council support the sessions and help the children to learn about democracy and debating. The children are awarded certificates to recognise their contribution to the parliament over the year.
What have they been doing?
- Learning about the new Local Government Reform
- Finding out about the ‘20’s Plenty’ campaign and road safety
- Learning how to present in public and how to debate
- Looking at climate change and our impact
Eco Group
Membership
Every school year, children volunteer and are chosen to be part of the eco group. There are usually 2 children per year group.
What does the eco Group do?
This group meets through the year and focus on a particular area which they feel is most important at the time. They may also learn skills and work in the school grounds. A member of staff leads this group and the children generally meet after school to complete a task.
What have they been doing?
- Learning about bird life in the local area.
- Thinking about supporting hedgehogs.
- Developing our wild area as a place for bees and pollinating insects.
- Creating posters and raising awareness of over-usage of electricity.
