School Council Survey

In previous newsletters we have talked about some of the specific items raised by the schools who have been good enough to complete our survey. It’s quite interesting that there are some very contradictory views given. Some answers say that the focus is too Primary and others that the focus is too Secondary, so I hope that the balance is actually somewhere in between!

One theme that ran through some of the responses was that we ought to be contacting the students directly, not the teachers. Although we would love to be able to do this, Data Protection and the majority of schools frown on it. We do agree that the best way to find out what the pupils/students want from us by way of support is to ask them, but we cannot obtain their personal or school email addresses without causing concern. Really, the only way for us to hope the students can have an input in what we do is for the Link Teachers to relay their opinions. 

Most of you were also asking for more news on what other School Councils are doing – both at Secondary and Primary level. We would love to be doing this as it’s a great way to share ideas, best practise and expertise. BUT... in order to do this, we need you all to tell us what you are doing! Share your ideas, projects, innovative plans! Email us at sallypage@schoolcouncils.org. If you have photos (with permissions), email us them too! If we feature your school in a newsletter or Voicebox, you will get a voucher for £50 to spend on resources in our shop.

Follow us on Twitter!

For students and teachers, do follow @SchCouncilForum, tell us what you think and pick up on useful info.

If you want to see what we are saying to the wider world, including educational establishments and government. then follow @SchoolCouncils.


What some Schools and School Councils have been doing

We’ve included some links below to three great examples of School Council action. Do take a few minutes to have a look at the videos. Share them with your School Councils to inspire them and perhaps encourage new ideas.

http://youtu.be/vijtYa9lXlQ
How Buckingham Primary School used the Learning Platform to produce a School Newspaper and also to involve the whole school in the School Council.

http://youtu.be/J4h9vz39QZU
A brilliant Election/Manifesto video by Patrick Wilson for the Poltair School Council elections.

http://youtu.be/HfhQnrduHiI
A film produced by Deptford Green students in 2007/2008 showing how their school council was about to change.


Exciting News – UK Youth Parliament

We are very pleased to be able to announce that we have been invited to present two workshops at the Annual Sitting of the UK Youth Parliament taking place in Leeds on 22–24 July this year. The British Youth Council are seeking to encourage “joined up thinking” between the Members of Youth Parliament and School Councils. The workshops are taking place on Friday late afternoon and link together:
  • How to Engage with School Councils
  • Action Planning with School Councils
We will also be there on Saturday 23rd, to offer people the opportunity to come along to find out more about what we do, or just to have a chat. So if you are planning to be there, do come along and introduce yourself.

Nearly the end of the school year

Just a quick reminder to order your School Council resources for September.  We will be reviewing our stock and pricing over the summer, and there are some good offers available until 22nd July. Don’t miss out!