Conference

2008 Safe Internet Use

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Highlights of previous SSBA conferences :-

2007 Developing a Parent Council and Encouraging Parental Involvement

2006 The Way Forward for Parental Involvement

2005 Parents in Partnership

2003 Partnerships and responsibilities

2002 SSBA is fit for the future

2001 Roadshow

2000 International
and published book
available here online

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Workshops
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School Councils UK Presentation

School Councils UK

'The key themes of the conference will focus upon:

"Membership of and powers accorded to School Boards, School Council, Governors etc."

"'The Scottish School Board Association ... aims to promote and encourage partnerships in education". (SSBA newsletter, Grapevine, issue 27, February 2000)

School Councils UK believes that:

• all young people - irrespective of ability, personality, race, gender or class - should feel valued and safe within an inclusive and caring school community;

• schools with an ethos of mutual respect develop into caring communities where each individual understands that they can make a valuable contribution.

The programme developed by School Councils UK helps children to develop an understanding of their ability to create positive change by:

• involving pupils in decision-making;

• respecting pupils as partners in their own education;

• involving the whole school community in developing and maintaining shared standards of behaviour.

Therefore School Councils UK actively promotes:

• partnership between pupils and teachers;

• councils run and led by pupils democratically elected by their peers;

• both whole school pupil councils and a system of class councils in order to ensure that every pupil in the school is able to actively participate;

• parents participating in school life at the request of the pupils as well as staff,

• pupils participating as a result of being involved in the decision making in school through their class and school councils;

• pupils making decisions in relation to behaviour, organisation, communication and the promotion of good relationships both within school and in the local community;

As a result parents become more aware of school based and community issues through their children's involvement in them and this in turn provides parents with more channels of communication with opportunities to discover themselves as partners in the education process.

Caring for our school and our friends

This is a video of a primary school in Liverpool, England, demonstrating the way a school council was introduced and developed.

Voices of reason

This is a video of a secondary school in Plymouth, England, demonstrating the way a school council was introduced and developed.

Excerpts from each of these videos will he shown during the presentation.

These will he followed by some discussion and an opportunity to ask questions.

How schools benefit from pupil involvement

The whole ethos of the school changes as pupils exert a positive influence over one another through the structures that give them responsibility for decision-making.

* Anti-social behaviour becomes the responsibility of the class and consequently the authority of anti-social groups diminishes.

* Teachers are able to spend less time tackling issues such as bullying , disruptive behaviour, truancy, vandalism and exclusions.

* Teachers have more time for teaching, stress levels reduce, relationships between teachers and pupils improve and the learning environment becomes more effective.

* Pupils feel responsible as partners in their own education and are able to make the most of the learning opportunities offered by the school.

Pupil councils and citizenship education

Most of the government guidelines for Personal, Social, Health and Citizenship education for both key stages 1 and 2 can be successfully addressed and implemented through pupil councils.

Pupil councils give children the opportunity to experience active citizenship for themselves. The school councils programme enables pupils to develop as individuals with a positive contribution to make to their school community. It opens their minds to the roles they can play in the wider community.

Pupil councils and children's rights

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989 (ratified by the British government in 1991) states that children should be given the opportunity to voice their opinions and to have those opinions taken into account on any issues relevant to them (Article 12). Pupil councils are an important step in promoting and protecting the rights of children and young people in school and in preparing them to asert their rights in the wider community.

How pupils benefit from pupil councils

Pupil councils contribute to positive changes in the lives of every child in the school. Involving pupils in real issues helps them to develop important life skills that promote positive mental health and social welfare - emotional literacy, critical and moral reasoning, self esteem, self awareness, communication skills, relationship skills and assertiveness.

Basic structures of pupil councils

Pupil councils require structures for communication and involvement at every level within the school.

Circle time

This is the developmental foundation on which to build structures for pupil councils. Circle time can begin with the youngest infant children in key stage 1 and be developed as the children progress through the primary (and secondary) school.

Through circle time children learn to:

• speak in turn

• listen to others

• respect other people's opinions which are different from their own

• express their own views.

Circle time also provides a safe setting where children can talk about personal issues and express feelings about themselves and towards each other in appropriate ways. As this is developed, children can address difficult issues, such as bullying, and learn mediation skills.

Class Councils

This provides regular times for pupils to solve problems in their everyday life at school. This could include practical difficulties, such as not having enough space for coats and bags, questions about uniform or behavioural problems in the classroom, the dining room or the playground.

Issues raised at class council meetings might alert teachers to issues such as bullying that they will want to address through circle time. some issues discussed in the class council might need to be raised at school council meetings.

Schoolcouncil

The school council, which meets regularly, is made up of democratically elected pupil from each class. It enables different classes to become aware of each others' problems. It discusses issues and ideas which need to be addressed at a whole school level. the elected pupils represent the views of their own class at the school council meeting and then report back to their class on the outcome.

For example, the school council provides a structure for pupils to look at any playground bullying on a whole school basis. As a result of doing this, many schools have developed strategies such as 'bully busters', 'guardian angels' and various 'buddying' systems.

Summary of reasons for setting up pupil councils

* A school is a community. Pupil councils help to make that community harmonious and good to live in.

* Pupils become partners in their own education, with a positive contribution to make to the school environment and ethos.

* Children learn to listen to others and to recognise themselves as worthwhile individuals with rights to be heard.

* Children learn self confidence, social skills and morally responsible behaviour towards each other and towards those in authority.

* Positive peer leadership reduces the influence of disruptive elements.

* Contributing to their class and school community allows children to grow in self esteem and to learn how to contribute to society as a whole.

* Every child learns from their own personal experience what it means to be an active citizen.

* Parents, whose children are involved in their education in this way, also become more aware of school issues and are often invited and/or requested by the council to participate in debate and decision making.

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