What is a school council and how does it work at Beechwood Primary?

A school council is a representative group of pupils who have been elected by their peers to represent their views and opinions. They have opportunities to raise these issues with the Senior Managers and Governors of their school.

Being a part of school council means they can create and take forward new ideas and initiatives on behalf of their peers, be involved in the strategic planning and processes such as the School Development Plan, governing body and staff appointments.

At Beechwood Primary we run a School Council because:

• Children feel empowered by their education
• Feel the school respond to their needs and views
• Have planned opportunities to communicate with adults about their ideas and opinions
• Playing an active role in improving their school
• Develop confidence and life skills through their participation.

The school council at Beechwood Primary is run in a democratic fashion. Teachers in our school explained the process of fairly voting in one member from each class. The criteria for being in school council are: caring about our school and its community, making it a better place to learn and have fun in, discussing and debating new ideas and listening to each other. The children chosen for school council where voted in by their peers and the voting was anonymous just like it would be in government. All our school council members wear badges and we have monthly meetings to discuss our ideas and implement our plans.

During our first meeting the students came armed with their new ideas. Here are some of them:

• Lucas Year 2M-   I really like learning about our topic using art and drama. Can we do more creative days like that?
• Saanvi Year 2A- I would like to have a water fountain outside so we can use it at break and during outdoor PE
• Thalia – Year 6- I would like to have some more questions to answer when reading my books. I love guided reading and understanding the text better. I would also like to re-open the reflective garden and give made it look a bit nicer.
• Kaeden Year 3/4 W – I would like to use IT more during my maths lessons. It would be good to use IPads and the computers in our classrooms to help us be more independent with our learning.
• Oliver Year 5- I would like to go on more school trips and have a say in where we go and what we do.
• Zach- We work very hard and I would like to have more creative fun subjects on a Friday afternoon as a reward for working really hard. We could have inter- class or team sports competitions.
• Finn Year 1- I would like to think about different ways on fund raising that each class thinks of and votes for.
• Alfie- I would like new play equipment for the older children.
• Ella- I would like to do more cooking in school either during lessons or as a club.

This years school council is being run by Miss Mills.