The Federation of Heathfield and St Francis Schools

School Councils

There is an active School Council in each of our schools in the Federation.

The School Councils provide an inclusive and accessible forum through which pupils can influence decisions, contribute to school improvement, and develop the skills needed to become active members of their community. Through participation in the School Council, pupils learn about democracy, rights, responsibility, communication and leadership, while ensuring that the voice of every child is heard, respected and acted upon. The council supports our commitment to the UNCRC and to person-centred practice by enabling pupils to help shape the life of the school and make meaningful contributions to their community.

What happens in your meetings?

Pupils are encouraged to transition to their school meeting as independently as possible. They read their agenda with support and discuss what the meeting will look like. Pupils are encouraged to use zones of regulation and have a check in with each other during the meeting introduction. Pupils are given the opportunity to share their ideas and thoughts about a range of topics, events, activities and improvements. They will vote to indicate their preferences and as a group come to conclusions. Pupils are encouraged to share their information from the meeting with their class on their return.

What is the impact on the pupils and the school?

Pupils have the opportunity to develop their confidence and improve their self-esteem through the additional responsibility the role of school councillor entails. Pupils become more confident communicators and can have back and forth discussion. Pupils recognise how a vote takes place and begin to accept when their preferred option was not in the majority vote. Pupils feel empowered to make important decisions which they recognise benefits the whole school. As a result, wider school events such as family picnic, school disco, sports day etc are shaped by the views and preferences of our young people.

Please find examples of school council minutes and events in the documents below.

• Children in Need
• Red Nose Day
• Children’s Mental Health Week
• Sports day
• Family picnic
• Grandparents lunch
• School disco
• Christmas events
• Cinema club

Joint working across the federation

Heathfield and St Francis school councils are planning on meeting together to make some joint decisions this year. This will support transitioning between schools, friendships and collaborative working.

How accessible this is for ALL pupils

The school council ensures all methods of communication are used and encouraged. For example, aided language boards, photos of real events, PECS, objects of reference, Makaton are all used to promote engagement. Pupils on the sensory curriculum are often accompanied by a familiar staff member who can interpret their body language and communication styles. Verbal pupils are encouraged to take turns, agree or disagree and hold purposeful discussions with their peers.

How pupils are nominated

Some pupils are nominated through a class vote. Pupils on the discovery pathway will create a manifesto and use their skills to persuade their peers to vote for them. All pupils are offered the opportunity to communicate if they would like to be a school councillor. There is some pre teaching on the values that a councillor should uphold such as ‘good listener’, ‘sharing ideas’, ‘sensible’, and ‘working together’.  This enables pupils to make an informed choice and have their voice heard. For pupils on the sensory pathway, their class staff will advocate and nominate an individual they feel would engage in school council meaningfully and purposefully.