It appears there are no regulations in place to ensure minimum standards of toilet facilities for school children.  Whilst there is legislation in place to cover the number of toilets and handbasins that have to be provided (School Premises Regulations 1999), that legislation does not say that they have to be clean.  It doesn’t say that there has to be hot water or soap, or toilet seats, or lockable doors….

At present, the Government is proposing to revise even the small amount of stipulations that do exist – taking away the standards governing the number of facilities that have to be provided.

Our Partner, ERIC’s Bog Standard Campaign, is campaigning against these proposed revisions, and continues to campaign for improved legislation covering school toilets.  This would mean that amongst other things:-

• the 23% of schools that don’t provide hot water would have to do so

• the 31% of schools that don’t give the children soap to wash their hands with would have to do so

• the 40% of Primary Schools that don’t provide sanitary bins for older girls would have to make them available

(taken from a survey carried out by school nurses in 2003 on behalf of the Community Practitioners & Health Visitors Association)

Please do one small thing that could vastly improve the Health & Wellbeing of many, many schoolchildren – click on the link below and sign the petition.

https://www.petitionbuzz.com/petitions/bogstandard

 Thank You

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.

The girl you just called fat?… She is overdosing on diet pills.

The girl you just called ugly?… She spends hours putting makeup on hoping people will like her.

The boy you just tripped?… He is abused enough at home.

See that man with the ugly scars?… He fought for his country.

 That boy you just made fun of for crying?… His mother is dying.

Relevant not only for Anti-Bullying Week, but every day of every week throughout the year.

This report and the suggestions it contains are simple and very practical.  It gives key principles for headteachers to help improve school behaviour and a behaviour checklist for teachers. 

So, in addition to involving your School Council in the writing of your Behaviour Policy, have a look at Charlie Taylor’s suggestions, because they seem to be a very sensible path forward.

You can find the report here:

http://media.education.gov.uk/assets/files/pdf/c/charlie%20taylor%20checklist.pdf

 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.