School Council at Beaver Green Primary School

What does a school council do?

A school council is a formal group of pupils who act as representatives of their classmates in discussing school issues with Mr Hadfield (The deputy headteacher. It’s a brilliant way of representing and contributing to Pupil Voice in our school. Children have been elected to represent the views of all pupils and also to improve their school. They help to make decisions about how the school is run and take on projects that support the children’s learning and development, such as organising charity events, representing the school at outside events or ensuring the school is environmentally friendly. 

A school council does a number of things:

• A school council usually meets with Mr Hadfield to present and discuss school-life from the children’s point of view. Such things could include school lunches, behaviour or ideas for fundraising events.

• Members of the school council are responsible for carrying out the ideas that have been agreed upon, such as planning discos, writing newspaper articles, or meeting with catering staff.

• Each year, every class will normally elect a representative to be members of the school council.

Why should we have a school council?

There are lots of reasons to have a school council. To begin with, 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. A school council can provide a meaningful way in which pupils can voice their opinions and have their views taken into account in decisions that impact upon them. Evidence and experience from schools all over the country shows that a school council that is supported and nurtured helps to improve many aspects of school life. It’s an important and useful way for schools to provide leadership and development opportunities for their pupils.

Student councils are a great way for students to take on leadership roles, promote the voice of the children, solve problems and impact their community. 

Within the school curriculum, one of the key areas making up the ‘Learning for Life and Work’ theme is active participation. The curriculum requires that young people are provided with opportunities to participate in school and society. School councils are an excellent way in which to increase participation, teaching young people about democracy.

What is the History of School Councils?

School Councils have been about for around forty years, but now with citizenship being taught so widely, there are many more being set up. The government says that school councils are important, but it isn't compulsory for schools to have one. Having said that, in some countries there are laws that state all secondary schools must have councils, for example in Ireland, Germany, Spain and Sweden!!

What makes a school council successful?

A good school council is one that represents the views of all students and gets things done. These are some things that make a school council effective:

• Regular meetings.

• A council that is not too big.

• Class/Form councils that meet regularly.

• Good communication between representatives and their class.

• Regular evaluations.

• Good ideas and proactive participation.

Will my child miss lessons if they’re on the school council?

If we meet during curriculum time, then your child would miss some lessons. But it's usually arranged so that they don't miss the same lesson each time - it will only be for a maximum of an hour. We may meet at lunchtimes but we are conscious about the children missing their free time! 

What might be discussed during a school council?

Children have been elected from classes all around the school. The school council is designed to provide an opportunity for them to be directly involved in general issues that affect the school. These issues can be wide-ranging and can be initiated by staff or pupil groups. During the school council meetings, council members may discuss things like improvements to the school; creating a school motto; arranging tours of the school for guests, visitors and charities to support - It is their voice we want to hear.

Members of the school council will be given time in class to get feedback from their peers and find out opinions on matters that will be discussed at the meetings or to highlight any points that their class peers want to address. Feedback from these sessions and minutes from meetings will then be used to inform decisions at a whole-school level.