We love to hear what you and your School Council are doing.

• Have you put a particular project in place?

• Have you raised money to improve your school?

• Have you set up a new sub-committee or group to help with well-being? For example, Buddies or Peer Mentors.

• Have you worked hard to change the school environment?

• Did you do something special before Christmas to improve Community Cohesion?

• Have you started a School Council Enterprise Scheme?

Whatever you are doing, you can be sure that other School Councils would find it interesting and inspiring.  We are often asked what other School Councils are doing, so that new ideas can be formed.

If you would like to let us know, then please do write an article of about 500 words and send it to us, together with some photos, and we’ll send it round to about 30,000 school contacts in one of our e-newsletters.  There’s an added benefit too….. every School Council that has an article published will receive a £50 voucher to spend on our great resources!

What are you waiting for?  Get scribbling now and send it to me at sallypage@schoolcouncils.org

Your question to me on Twitter (@schoolcouncils) was “We presently have a project ongoing with our local Comprehensive school to improve community cohesion.  We should link in?”

Very strongly, part of what school councils are about is linking to local and other communities.  They are encouraged to link to youth councils; town, borough and district  councils.  Many school councils organise social visits to old folks homes, especially at this time of year.  I can’t comment on your local schools but emphatically the answer is yes on this score

Another area for school councils is that of Health and Wellbeing.  This includes anti-bullying of the physical or cyber kind.  Wellbeing also reaches into transport and whether the children and young people feel safe coming to school and going home.  Very much your territory.  So emphatically the answer is yes on this score too. 

I am not aware of your local conditions, but it seems to me that  in some areas there is a need for the healing of rifts between between the police as a whole and young people.  If this should apply in your part of the country, I would invite you to think of school councils as  an ideal channel into the school community to enable that healing to take place.  Again, the answer is emphatically yes.

In the round, therefore, there is nothing to be lost and everything to be gained from police services nationally linking to school councils and from there into the wider school community

Good luck!  Let us know how you get on.

 BRONZE MEMBERSHIP

What is included:

• Subscription to our termly school council magazine Voicebox
• 10% discount on resources
• Monthly school council email providing news, resources, tips and tricks on how to develop real, fun, whole-school pupil voice.

Cost:

Primary & Middle Schools: £40.00 + VAT pa / Secondary Schools: £45.00 + VAT pa

SILVER MEMBERSHIP

What is included:

• Subscription to our termly school council magazine Voicebox
• 15% discount on resources
• Monthly school council email providing news, resources, tips and tricks on how to develop real, fun, whole-school pupil voice.
• Welcome Pack, comprising:
  • Meeting Sign
  • School Council Secretary Pack (ring binder)
  • 6 Handbooks
  • Year Planner
  • 6 Badges
  • 6 School Council Pens
• Passworded & secure access to www.myschoolcouncil.org to enable you to create your own School Council website for your school. Features include:
  • School Council & Individual user profiles
  • Your own School Council message board
  • Document & project sharing with everyone in your school
  • Your own calendar of School Council events
  • And much, much more!

Cost:  Applies to Primary, Middle & Secondary (P&P £3.50)

Up to 150 Pupils       £75.00 plus VAT per year

151-300 Pupils         £150.00 plus VAT per year

301-500 Pupils         £200.00 plus VAT per year

501-1100 Pupils        £275.00 plus VAT per year

1101+ Pupils             £350.00 plus VAT per year

GOLD MEMBERSHIP

The premier choice! Includes everything from the Silver Membership, plus an individual, in-school audit on your Pupil Voice and Student Democracy policies and action.  Please contact us for more information and costs as these are calculated on a school by school basis.

To celebrate World Toilet Day on 19th November 2011, all entries for a School Toilet Award will be entered into a prize draw to win exciting prizes including a storyteller visit and signed book sets by authors including Michael Morpurgo and Steve Cole. Prizes will be suitable for primary and secondary schools. 

Schools that provide good standard toilets that meet the needs of their pupils can gain an award to recognise and celebrate their achievement. The School Toilet Award is open to every primary and secondary school, including special schools, maintained and non-maintained, in the UK as well as to British schools overseas. Schools can apply for the Award online or by post. There is no cost to schools – entry and support materials are free. For more information visit  http://www.bog-standard.org/award_home.php

We have a new catalogue for 2011/12 which can be downloaded by clicking on the link on the right hand side of our Home Page.  Don’t forget that you can order 24/7 from our online shop at www.schoolcouncilshop.org

We have a fantastic new book available, which is great for reinforcing and explaining the effects of bullying – WS – from ‘Rear-Ender’ to ‘Slender Brenda’.  The first 25 copies ordered will be signed by the author, Jane Cuff.  If you are involving your School Council in writing or updating your Bullying Policy this would be a very useful book for them to read!

Do come back and check the site regularly because we have exciting developments planned for the next few months!

However, we would like to clarify a few points!

This fantastic new handbook is a re-write and re-design of the old School Council Handbook for Primary Pupils.  It has been brought up to date with current ideas and refreshed with new sections, illustrations and helpful Morphs! 

IT DOES NOT REPLACE THE KS1 AND PRIMARY SCHOOL COUNCIL TOOLKITS. 

Our Toolkits are designed for use by Teachers who are setting up and supporting School Councils within their school.  These comprehensive books give advice and guidance for both Teacher and Pupil sessions covering ideas such as Circle Time, Charters of Behaviour, Peer Mediation, Writing an Agenda and even music for School Council songs.

The School Council Handbook for Primary Pupils has been designed to be given to each member of the School Council to help them understand and fulfil the important role they have been elected to.  It gives advice on such areas as research, fundraising, issues and inclusion.  The Handbook is not intended for use as a teaching tool within a citizenship lesson.  It is a special Handbook aimed at helping each School Councillor work as part of a team to assist their School Council be the best channel possible for Pupil Voice within their school.

The first of what we hope will be a wide variety of products has been uploaded today, so do click on the link and take a look!  [Here is a sneak preview]

SchCouncilForum : For School Councillors, Link Teachers and other interested parties, to pool ideas, news and chat.

SchoolCouncils : School councils turn pupil voice into action and schools into communities. We support pupils, staff and others to create effective, whole school, participation

Please do take this chance to have your voices heard!

THE CLOSING DATE IS FRIDAY 20TH MAY! 

http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/Ofsted-home/Publications-and-research/Browse-all-by/Documents-by-type/Consultations/Inspection-2012-proposals-for-inspection-arrangements-for-maintained-schools-and-academies-from-January-2012

To encourage your School Councils in the excellent work I know they do, we have a SPECIAL OFFER for you!  Every order for resources over £50 (excluding VAT and P&P) will have a FREE primary or secondary DVD added to it.  Just place your order as usual (by fax, phone or in our online shop) and your DVD will automatically be included.

The Primary DVD – “Safe and Sorted” presents the achievements of two primary schools in very different circumstances.  It focuses on the involvement of all pupils in the council through class meetings.

The Secondary DVD – “Voices of Reason” presents the achievements of Lipson Community College, examining the effects of the School Council on pupils, staff, governors and the community.  The TES descibes it as “a genuinely uplifting case study”.

This is a time-limited offer, so why not check your resources now and order whilst you can get this FREE offer!