The basis for pupil voice is found in Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child which sets out the right of children to express an opinion and to be included in decisions that involve and affect them.
Pupil Voice
At Jervoise School, our pupils have a voice and actively participate at all levels of school life
How do our pupils get involved?
At our School, pupil participation happens in a variety of ways. Some of these are:
- as part of Assessment for Learning
- by involving pupils in school self-evaluation and assessment
- groups such as school council, eco-council, healthy schools
- an active Children’s Safeguarding Board
- fundraising, links with charities and with the wider community
- Improvements to the school environment (e.g. school buildings, playground, toilets)
- development of a whole-school environmental and sustainability plan
- involvement with some staff recruitment
- involvement with planning extra-curricular activities
- consultation mechanisms such as surveys, suggestion boxes and circle time
What are the benefits of pupil participating?
We believe there are real benefits for pupils and school by including pupils in the decisions and matters that they care about and are important to them. These are:
- improved pupil engagement and its impact on well-being, behaviour and learning
- improved pupil to staff and pupil to pupil relationships
- policy making is based on the needs and suggestions of pupils and is therefore more inclusive and effective
- creating a fully inclusive school, where all pupils are encouraged and supported to contribute
- increased opportunity for pupils to develop personal, social and communication skills
How do we consult with our pupils?
We consult with pupils and take account of their opinions and needs.
We have a wide range of initiatives we use to consult with pupils and take on board their opinions, experiences and needs. This includes such things as suggestion boxes, focus groups, school councils, assessment for learning, and whole-school consultations.
Pupil Leadership - Empowering our Children
We wholeheartedly believe in creating a pupil leadership culture where children take on key leadership roles and get their voice heard. We want our children to be actively involved in school improvement and to breathe life, relevance, purpose and meaning in all that happens at our school.
We strive for as many opportunities for children to become confident and articulate leaders who can share their views to any audience and apply their leadership skills to real life situations within our community and beyond. We believe in giving the children the opportunity to make a vital contribution to continually improving their school and their learning journey.
The aim of the various pupil leadership roles is to enable children to take on leadership responsibilities within the school, ensuring their voices and opinions are heard and acted upon. We actively encourage children to challenge, discuss and debate issues which are important to them.
We believe that by giving ownership of the school to our children it creates a better school and builds leaders of the future
Our Pupil Leaders are trained to help in delivering this vision through:
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Working alongside the staff in making key decisions
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Voicing opinions and ideas to improve learning and teaching
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Being visual around the school to promote what their leadership group is about
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Actively seeking the views of other pupils regarding key issues and changes in the school
Again, by giving children responsibility and ownership it builds respect and a greater sense of autonomy.
