The following is taken from the National Curriculum Schemes of Work for Citizenship at key stages 1 and 2. Taking Part: Developing opportunities for children to participate. For the full version of DfES Guidance, follow the link, which will take you to the DfES website.

Pupil councils – class, year and school – provide an effective way of engaging children in the life and organisation of the school. They must be underpinned by work in class, so that all children benefit from the resulting knowledge, skills and understanding, not just a selected few.

Class councils provide an opportunity for all children to take part in consultation and decision-making activities, during which they learn about the democratic process and see the effect of their involvement. Class councils address class, year-group or whole-school issues. The council can commission action teams to involve more children in the class.

So that children play an active part in the decision-making processes in class, at school and outside school, a range of teaching and learning approaches should be adopted to encourage the development of skills of enquiry, communication, participation and responsible action.

Unit 1 'Taking Part: Developing skills of communication and participation' addresses this issue across key stages 1 and 2. Circle time techniques can be used with even the youngest children to discuss issues and make decisions and, in particular, to develop communication skills and to encourage listening and taking turns to speak. Regular circle time sessions help to develop skills of democratic participation.

Follow this link for possible teaching activities at key stages 1 and 2