Rating: +0
To move towards this the first step is to try to map out the main places where decisions are made in your school. This might look something like this (see diagram).
Try to talk to people at each of these levels about how they listen to students. A useful starting point could be to set up a meeting between the school council and the head teacher or another member of the governing body or SLT. You can say you want to discuss how the school council can help the school achieve an ‘outstanding’ level from Ofsted. To be rated as outstanding the school needs to show how:
Pupils from a wide range of groups have a strong voice in decisions relating to their learning and well-being.
For more detail on what student voice needs to be in place have a look at pages 23 and 24 of this document:
Ofsted evaluation schedule 2009
So this gives you a pretty strong basis to argue for students being more involved. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 12 also makes it clear that young people should be involved in decision that affect them.
Start this off with one off meetings between groups of students and adult decision-makers and slowly work towards a more formal, regular structure for students views to be represented by students. Try to spread this around, ensuring that a wide variety of students get to meet with staff and governors. Getting into actual discussions on learning, budgets, buildings, etc. will be far more beneficial for any students than taking part in a survey. It will also give the school better insights, so make sure it’s not just the ‘usual suspects’ getting the opportunity to represent themselves and their peers.
