As a result of the Council’s hard work, Winton Primary School now have
BUDDY BENCHES. Click here to find out what they’re all about (20mb Flash movie)
Why do we have a school council?
1. Pupil councils provide a basis for active learning of key skills and experience of democracy activities.
2. Ofsted inspections will take note of initiatives, such as class and school councils which show that a school is committed to citizenship education.
3. School and class councils enable all pupils to have a voice and helps them to learn that their opinion counts.
4. Pupil involvement improves communication between pupils and teachers, senior management and governors. This means the school can develop into a community where pupils and teachers are working in partnership towards shared goals. It also means that governors can gain a clearer picture of what is going on in the school.
5. Providing structures for pupil involvement prevents quieter pupils from being intimidated into apathy by loud negative peers. It promotes the development of positive peer leadership and shifts the responsibility for good behaviour away from teachers and towards members of the classroom and school community.
6. Research by Professor Lynn Davies at The University of Birmingham has shown that pupil councils provide an effective means of promoting a sense of ownership and therefore reducing exclusions in a school.
7. Involving pupils in peaceful conflict resolution, e.g. peer mediation provides another means of shifting the responsibility for good behaviour towards the classroom and school community.
8. Peer mediation enables pupils to support vulnerable classmates, so promoting an inclusive and caring community where all pupils feel valued and safe.
9. Improving behaviour and developing positive relationships within the school impacts positively on the learning environment.
10. Pupils have great potential to make a positive contribution to the school and the wider community. School councils help pupils to fulfil this potential, so promoting positive relations between the school and the wider community.
