Our school council is made up of 36 pupils from Years 1-6. In September each class votes for two pupils as their representatives for the academic year. Once elected by their class children in Years 5 and 6 can put themselves forward for the role of Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson and Secretary. They prepare and deliver speeches outlining why they are suitable for the role. The rest of the school council candidates then hold a ballot to elect pupils for these roles.
Chairperson
The chairperson helps to decide the agenda for the meetings and chairs the meetings with support from the vice-chair and secretary. They make sure votes are conducted fairly and that everyone has a chance to have their say. They hold a termly school council surgery in the playground where other pupils can discuss issues that they would like school council to address. They then prioritise these and discuss them with the rest of school council. Once a year school council are invited to a governors meeting. The Chair helps to prepare a report outlining the projects school council have been working on and the impact they have had on school and the wider community.
Vice-Chairperson
The Vice-Chairperson stands in for the Chairperson or secretary if they are absent. They support the chair on deciding the agenda for meetings and help to organise meetings with members of staff if their input is needed on one of our projects. They support the chair with running the school council surgeries and reporting to governors.
Secretary
The Secretary takes the register at meetings and carries out any paperwork or administration. They take minutes of the meetings and make sure representatives have copies of any paperwork they need to take back to class. They are responsible for keeping the School Council board up to date and helping to produce articles for the newsletter.
Councillors
Councillors suggest items for the school council to discuss based on what their class raises in circle time or class councils. They also feedback on our discussions and any decisions made by the School Council to their class. They sometimes take on particular tasks for the School Council if they are working on a special project.
Meetings
Meetings are held fortnightly in the atrium. The agenda is decided beforehand and each term we work on a variety of projects. We try and focus on projects that impact our school, local and global community. Please find some examples of previous projects below.
- Project in reducing plastic at SMSP
- Speaking at the Lent service at St Mary’s with St Alban’s about our work on reducing plastic
- Raising money for a buddy shed to store playground equipment
- Charity events for earthquake appeal and Children in Need
- Organising a Pokémon Card swap shop at lunch time
- Working with our catering company to improve school meals
- Meeting with PE staff to request new equipment
- Raising awareness and money for Glass Door a local homeless charity
School council asked each class which charity they would like to raise money for this year, and they bought their suggestions to a School Council meeting where they voted on an overall winner. Their chosen charity is Cancer Research. Watch out for fund raising events over the year.
The School Council committee will be holding their first playground surgeries this Friday to find out how we can make SMSP an even better place and to hear about any problems or concerns any child may have.
The Councillors
As it is a new school year, we are currently holding school council elections in each class.
Soon we will have a new school council committee and new representatives from all classes from years 1-6 so watch this space!