Our School Council

Our School Council works together as a team to ensure we can be the best school possible by discussing ideas and making decisions. We aim to make everyone feel comfortable, happy and safe at school to help them be the best that they can be.

This mission statement is created by the School Council each year to illustrate their priorities and aims.

 

School Council members meet once a fortnight to:

• Discuss issues from around the school.
• Vote on decisions to be made.
• Organise fundraising events for the school and charities.

 

As responsible, honest and loving members of the school, our councillors represent the views of their classes and may be given special responsibilities throughout the year.

Every class, between Years 2 to 6, elects two School Councillors. These can be a mixture of genders and year groups or might be two of the same gender and year group.

Elections are held annually, and take place during one of the two transition mornings, at the end of each academic year. The School Council is then ready to meet from September of each academic year.

Those who want to nominate themselves give a short speech to the rest of the class. They might state reasons why they think they will make a good School Councillor (thinking about the need to be kind, friendly and approachable), what changes they might want to implement and how they might achieve them, and why they should be voted for. Children are given one vote each and votes are made anonymously and confidentially, by placing a counter into the pot of the child they want to vote for.

 

Northbourne CE Primary School expects its School Councillors to:

• Attend all meetings.
• Be fair and respectful, listening to the views of all the children they represent.
• Be impartial and not take sides or just say what they think.
• Be confident to speak at meetings, in assemblies, and not be afraid to share their ideas.
• Be sensible when making decisions to help make our school a better place for all.
• Act as role models for the children in our school.
• Be proud of their role within the school.

 

The School Council can expect the adults and children at Northbourne CE Primary School to:

• Respect the views of the School Council as the voice of the children.
• Listen to the School Council’s ideas and give them consideration.
• Give the School Council opportunities to help make decisions about what happens at our school.
• Be proud of our School Council and the job they do.

 

Why we have a School Council

We acknowledge the value of ensuring a child’s right to be heard in situations where their interests are affected, and therefore aim to include our pupils in the running of our school community.

We believe having an effective School Council will result in a more caring and inclusive setting, with children contributing to an environment in which there is increased peer support.

Through involvement in a School Council, children can gain speaking and listening skills, teamwork, problem-solving, moral reasoning skills, self-esteem and self-confidence. Young people and children acquire skills which help them to become resilient to negative experiences. Our School Council enables pupils to have a voice and to understand that their opinions count. We provide our councillors with the opportunity to learn about the way organisations function, including how resources are deployed and shared problems addressed. They benefit from increased self-confidence, through tackling issues, being proactive, speaking in public, debating issues and handling matters in a business-like manner.

In addition to benefits to our School Council members, our school significantly gains from having a School Council. Some of the benefits they bring are: improved communication between pupils and teachers, senior management and governors, building of our school community, where pupils and staff work in partnership towards shared goals, greater awareness of pupil issues and of the realities of the school experience, greater pupil involvement in school affairs, with pupils assisting in the implementation of school policies, harnessing of pupil energy and enthusiasm, such as fund-raising, and an increased pupil responsibility and ownership of the school.