At Haughton St Giles we have are proud to have pupil representatives that take part in School Council meetings. The School Council is in place so that pupils have a voice and are involved in decisions about the school that affect them.

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Through School Council all pupils have the opportunity to raise issues, share ideas and take part in discussions that involve all of their classmates. Issues that arise in class are discussed further at School Council, this ensures that as many pupil voices as possible are heard. The councillors research issues that are brought to the council’s attention and conduct questionnaires / surveys in order to reach a democratic solution.

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Pupils at Haughton St Giles know that this is their school and their thoughts and ideas matter.

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Aims and Objectives

• To provide the opportunity for children to make a positive contribution to the school environment and ethos.

• To develop the children’s confidence and social skills.

• To promote responsible behaviour towards each other, teachers and members of staff.

• To develop the pupil’s knowledge, skills and understanding of how to contribute to society as a whole and what it means to be an active citizen.

• To develop pupils effective speaking and listening skills.

• To develop the pupils recognition of themselves as worthwhile individuals with a right to be heard.

• To allow the children to have a “voice” and to share their opinions and ideas with others.

• To allow children to become more responsible and actively involved in the decision-making process of the school.

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The Role of a School Councillor

School Councillors have a large role to play within the school. They can undertake many jobs and have a number of responsibilities. Some of their duties include:

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• ​Making improvements to the school

• Helping people get the most out of school

• Attending meetings

• Make Haughton St Giles a safer place

• Giving children in their class a voice

• Help solve student’s  problems

• Manage money raised

• Organising toast (collecting orders / money)

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School Council Structure

At the start of each term we change School Councillors, therefore more children are able to take part over the year.

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• There are two representatives for each year group.

• Students nominate themselves to be a School Councillor.

• In KS2 classes, each representative makes a short speech / presentation explaining why they should be chosen.

• A democratic vote takes place (secret vote).

• Teachers count the vote.

• The two candidates with the majority of votes become the School Councillors.

• School Council badges are given to representatives in the first meeting and are introduced to the rest of the school in worship at the beginning of each term.

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Meetings

School Council meetings are held regularly and consist of two Councillors from each year group and one member of staff.

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• Meetings are held each week for 20 minutes.

• Each Councillor is encouraged to take part and share their ideas and opinions.

• Each Councillor brings their classes School Council book.

• At the start of the meeting, each class representative explains any suggestions or problems from their class. These are then discussed in the group. Solutions are discussed to solve problems and class suggestions are discussed to see if the school council can act on them.

• Any other business on the agenda is then discussed. This could be an issue bought to the school council by the Headteacher or a staff member or it could be an ongoing project (for example organising fundraising events or anti-bullying week).

• Notes are taken of each meeting and then typed up. This is to show that each child’s suggestion / problem has been heard and discussed.  These are then kept in each classes School Council book and shared with classes on a Thursday afternoon.

• A member of the teaching staff acts as a link between the council and the teaching staff. They lead the meetings until the chosen representatives are confident enough to lead them by themselves.

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School Council Book

The School Council Book informs staff and students of what is discussed in meetings and shows students that their voice is heard.

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• Each class has a School Council Book.

• Class members and School Councillors can write suggestions or issues within the book to be discussed in meetings.

• Minutes of the meetings are glued into books to be shared within class.