What is a School Council? 

A school council is a formal group of pupils who act as representatives of their classmates in discussing school issues with the headteacher and staff. It’s a brilliant way of representing and contributing to Pupil Voice in your school. Students are elected to represent the views of all pupils and also to improve their school. "School council" means all kinds of school-based groups run by students, including student forums and youth parliaments. 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. School councils are usually elected annually by the other children. A school council does a number of things:

• A school council usually meets with a teacher present to discuss and sort out problems. These 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.
• From year 2, every class will normally elect two representatives to be members of the school council. The council will then meet to elect officers such as Chair, Secretary and Treasurer.

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 student body, problem solve and impact their community. A council serves as the voice for an entire student body and actively works with teachers and advisors to promote a better learning environment.

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, local and global citizenship and accountability.

Our School Council

We have a very successful School Council.  Our representatives, elected from Year 2 upwards, meet with their classes before and after each meeting of the Council. This gives everyone in each class the opportunity to let the Council representative have their views and ideas and for the representative to report back the outcomes of the meeting.

The Council provides the children with a valuable ‘citizenship’ experience.

Councillors are elected freshly every year. This provides every child with the opportunity to apply should they be interested. They are invited to speak to their class, presenting why they think they would make an excellent candidate for councillor. The children in the class then act democratically, electing the person who they think will best represent them. These elections are completed through a secret ballot. All school councillors wear their badges with pride.

Last year our school councillors organised the ordering of new play equipment to enhance break times, organised an art competition to promote our new school values and supported the appointment of a new class teacher.