Where school councils are effective, they can effectively meet many of the requirements of the national curriculum for citizenship.

For schools to take citizenship seriously, they need to support structures to involve pupils in decision-making.

At all key stages, citizenship education comprises three strands:

• Social and moral responsibility
• Community involvement
• Political literacy
  

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Where schools have successful councils, this will be recognised as a major aspect of their citizenship teaching. However, inspectors will check that all pupils have access to the council. Therefore, if the council process involves only a small group of elected representatives, who meet without proper discussion in classes, this will be seen as a token gesture.

Involving all pupils – and members of staff – in the council, requires that all classes take part in the process through class or form councils. This is particularly important in secondary schools where feedback and communication can be difficult.

Social and moral responsibility

School Councils require that pupils take responsibility for themselves and each other. By making important decisions about behaviour, teaching and learning or school facilities, they will need to consider the needs of others. This also brings in the discussion of rights and responsibilities within the school community.

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Community involvement

Effective school councils create many opportunities for pupils to be involved in activities outside the school. As representatives of the school, they join with councils from other schools or take part in local activities such as a youth forum or parliament. The school council can also work with the local authority to deal with issues such as road safety, security or school catering. The council can also work alongside the PTA to support fundraising and social events.

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Political literacy

Bernard Crick has said ‘voting is a habit’ and evidence seems to back this up. People who have been involved in elections at school are more likely to vote in elections when they reach the age of 18. The best way to teach young people about democracy is to let them try it out, and school councils provide opportunities for this, whether it be electing class representatives or voting for a particular issue in a meeting.

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