Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) says that children and young people should have a say in decisions that affect their lives.
At Speenhamland, we believe a school council can provide a meaningful way in which pupils can voice their opinions and have their views taken into account in decisions which impact upon them. We are committed to hearing their views and our school council allows us to have a structure in place which enables our pupils to have a real say in issues that affect them and to know that their opinions count.
Our school council is an excellent way in which we increase participation in decision making, as well as teaching our pupils about democracy, local and global citizenship and accountability.
The school council representatives are selected by their classes annually and the council is run by year 5 and 6 officers. They have regular meetings to discuss projects, any issues raised by their classmates and ideas for improving the school. Pupil representatives are then responsible for giving feedback to their individual classes.
With support from the senior leadership team, the school council will discuss the school development plan and decide on some key projects for the current academic Year.
Our school council also run a fortnightly surgery on a Friday, allowing pupils to discuss issues and ideas regularly.
