School Council
At our school, we believe that every child should have a voice. We use the Smart School Councils approach to make sure that children have regular opportunities to share their ideas, opinions and suggestions and help shape our school.
Our Year 6 School Councillors represent the school and take an active role in setting up, reviewing and taking action following our school council meetings. However, our school council is much bigger than just our Year 6 representatives!
Every class from Year 1 to Year 6 takes part in a fortnightly school council meeting. During these meetings, children work in groups to discuss questions, share their ideas and listen carefully to different opinions. They then work together to reach an agreement as a group, helping them to develop important skills such as communication, collaboration, compromise and respectful discussion.
The School Council has been pivotal in many of the decisions and ideas that have been implemented across our school. Children’s suggestions and feedback have helped to shape changes such as new playground equipment and the development of ideas for after school clubs. This demonstrates to our children that their voices are not only heard but can lead to real and meaningful changes within our school.
We also believe that leadership opportunities should be open to everyone. Children in every class can take the lead by running their class’s fortnightly meeting or by typing and submitting their class’s responses and ideas.
Through our school council, children are developing confidence, communication and leadership skills while learning how to listen to and respect different viewpoints, work collaboratively and reach agreements. Most importantly, they are learning that their opinions matter and that they can make a positive difference to our school community.