PUPIL VOICE & STUDENT COUNCIL
Pupil Voice...............
The term ‘pupil voice’ refers to ways of listening to the views of pupils and students and involving them in decision-making.
The Russett School is committed to the promotion and protection of children’s rights, in line with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. We believe that children and young people should have opportunities to express their opinion in matters that affect their lives and wellbeing.
Some of the benefits of involving our pupils in decision making are:
- It encourages pupils to become active participants in a democratic society, which develops skills such as co-operation and communication. It also encourages them to consider others and develop responsibility.
- It contributes to achievement and attainment. When pupil voice is taken into account and is included within the decision making process, pupils benefit from increased confidence, self- respect, increased opportunities to communicate and an improved sense of responsibility. Often pupils also show an increased motivation and engagement in learning where their opinions have been considered.
We have lots of ways for all of our pupils to share their thoughts and opinions with us including through our student council and regular pupil questionnaires. Most importantly we endeavour to create an ethos and atmosphere where our pupils feel able to share their thoughts, in an informal way in class and to senior leaders.
Student Council.................
At The Russett School we are proud to have pupil representatives that take part in Student Council meetings. Our student council supports Articles 12, 14 and 15 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child by providing a safe space for pupils to have a voice about key decisions within the academy that affect them.
All pupils have the opportunity to raise issues, share ideas and take part in discussions that involve all of their classmates in reaching a democratic solution with support from adults. Wider issues that arise in class can be discussed further at Student Council, this ensures that as many pupil voices as possible are heard.
Each year, new student council representatives are elected and are supported by staff to choose priorities to focus on within the academy and the local community. The student council meets at least once a half term and also takes part in many academy and community events across the year.
Here are some examples of recent event, projects and initiatives we have been involved in:
- We love to share what we have been doing in class and anything we would like to change.
- Each year we promote and select a class to lead the Children in Need toy sale.
- We are currently trying to build links with pupils in other schools and recently we voted to contact a school in Tanzania.
- We have been looking at how we can support the climate and discussed how we can do this in the new outdoor areas. We are hoping to recycle some unwanted clothes/ textiles from home and school to raise money for our school.