Tag: meetings

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Some cool tools from the BBC

Choose from four different visual tools on the BBC's Pinball site
Choose from four different visual tools on the BBC's Pinball site

A teacher on Twitter (@dannynic) pointed this out today:

bbc.co.uk/pinball

It’s four great little tools for decision-making and coming up with creative ideas:

  • Firing out ideas
  • Making quick decisions
  • Mixing up ideas
  • Playing with images

I just had a little play with them and it seems to me they could be great tools to use in your school council meeting or action group, especially if you’ve got an interactive whiteboard.

Have a go!

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A whole bloomin’ class council scheme of work!

This is brilliant: our first resource shared by a teacher and it’s an absolute corker! Chloe Doherty gave us this scheme of work she wrote for her year team last year.  She wanted to get class councils off the ground as she recognised without them the school and year councils didn’t really mean much.

This resource has a series of lesson/session plans and a bundle of resources to go with them. Any resources not included in the download below (such as the Boundaries Cards) can be downloaded from involver.org.uk.

As this is a resource written by a teacher and used in her school, I’ve left it just as she gave it to me, other than putting it all in to one document and adding a contents page.

Print or download (’save’) this resource using the ‘More’ button.

Tutorial Activities Class Council SoW

Chloe wrote this last year when she was Head of Drama at Kingsmead School and a Year 8 form tutor. She’s now Head of Drama at Southgate School.  She’s also my fiancée, so all my banging on about student voice and class councils obviously wore her down as she wrote and ran this without any help from me. She sent it to us through the ‘Upload‘ page and it was honestly the first time I’d seen it! I could get all gooey about how she constantly amazes me, but I’ll spare you that.

Kingsmead
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Minutes and Agendas Template (Word)

Use this .doc (Word) template to help create detailed minutes and agendas for your school council (or other) meetings.

It’s colour-coded to show you which bits to delete and where to add your own text.

Created by Asher Jacobsberg at School Councils UK.

Print or download (‘save’) this resource using the ‘More’ button.
Minutes and Agendas Template (Word)

School Councils UK Resources – Agenda and Minutes Template Please feel free to reproduce this resource with acknowledgement (non-commercial use only). © School Councils UK 2009. Delete the text in light blue and put in the real information for your meeting to create an agenda. To create your minutes you should first remove the names of any one who could not come from the list below. Next you should delete the text in green and replace it with the real information from your meeting. If you need to add another line: • Click into the line above where you want the new, blank line to be. • Open the ‘Table’ menu. • Select ‘Insert’ > ‘Rows below’. Name of meeting Location To do before meeting To bring to meeting Role Chair Write whether it is a class council, year council, sub-committee, or school council meeting here Write in which room your meeting will be here. Date Time Write on what day and date you meeting will be here. Write the start and finish times of your meeting here. Write anything that people should do or read before the meeting here. Write anything people need to remember to bring with them to the meeting here. Name The name of the person who will run the meeting. Representing In this column you should write who each of these people represents: the people who chose or elected them. Initials Use initials in your minutes rather than writing full names. Put them in this column as a reference. Secretary Teacher Time-keeper Representative The name of the person taking notes. For some meetings people are just representing themselves, so you can leave this column blank Write the names of all the people who should come to the meeting in this column. You might need to add more lines. School Councils UK, 3rd Floor 108-110 Camden High Street, London NW1 0LU Tel 0845 456 9428 Fax 0845 456 9429 Email info@schoolcouncils.org www.schoolcouncils.org School Councils UK Resources – Agenda and Minutes Template Please feel free to reproduce this resource with acknowledgement (non-commercial use only). © School Councils UK 2009. Time 1 3 How much time is allow ed for each item? Item Apologies Approval of last minutes Write what the issue is. Person Sec. Sec. Who is bringing it up? Discussion Who could not make the meeting and why. Any mistakes made in minutes from last meeting. Action Who When Matters arising from last minutes In the area below, people report back on things that should have been done by the time the meeting happens. Write all proposals here and how the decision was made in this column. You can also write any major objections people brought up. Write the action plan for each thing you discuss in this column. Who will take charge? When will they report back? Agenda items The area below is where all the new things to discuss go. Write what the issue is. Who is bringing it up? Any other business Any urgent issues that have come up since the agenda was sent out go in the area below. Write what the issue is. Who brought it up? 1 Date of next meeting Chair School Councils UK, 3rd Floor 108-110 Camden High Street, London NW1 0LU Tel 0845 456 9428 Fax 0845 456 9429 Email info@schoolcouncils.org www.schoolcouncils.org
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Being a Good Chairperson

It’s a tough job being a chairperson.

This guide will help you to understand what it needs and help you to be a great one.

Created by Eva Crasnow and Asher Jacobsberg at School Councils UK.

Use the ‘More’ button to print or download (‘save’) this resource.

Being a Good Chairperson

So you want to be a … Chairperson (chair) School Councils UK Role Guide 02 What is a chairperson? The chair has two main roles (neither of which is being sat on): To make sure the meeting runs effectively, and within the groundrules of the meeting. This involves preparation beforehand as well as being in charge during the meeting. The chair also represents the school council at formal occasions. For instance, it might be the chair’s job to meet with the headteacher and the governors. What kind of person makes a good chair? • • • • • A spokesperson – the chair will need to be able to sum up other people’s views and be happy to put them across to all kinds of people, including large groups. An organiser – to make sure everyone is prepared for meetings: knows when and where they are going to be and what is going to be discussed. A communicator – to make sure that everyone understands what is going on. An action person – the chair needs to make sure that meetings aren’t just talking shops, that they have a purpose and result in action. A mediator – sometimes the chair will need to help find a compromise between two people or two conflicting ideas. He or she will need to be fair and not let his or her own feelings get in the way. So if I were chair what would I actually have to do? Well, the first thing you would have to do is to get selected as chair. Different councils do this in different ways, but the two most common are: that have come from their class or year councils. Make sure you give people enough time to collect ideas and bring them to you. The agenda needs to go out well before the meeting so reps can discuss it with their class. In the meeting it’s your job to run the discussion – this does NOT mean that you do all the talking. Chairing a meeting means making sure that: Everyone knows what the rules and point of the meeting are; Everyone keeps to time so that everyone has a chance to speak; Every discussion ends in clear action points. But the role of the chair isn’t just about meetings. It’s also your job to make sure that everyone who agrees to do something actually does it. You are the representative of the whole school council, so you will have to talk to staff and governors about what the school council thinks and is doing. • All the people at the meeting vote for who they would like to be the chair for the next year. The chair rotates, this means that different people take it in turn to be the chair. • The second option means that more people get to have a go at being the chair, but can mean that some meetings don’t run as well as others. Once you’re selected as chair you have several things you need to do for every meeting. The first is to help prepare the agenda (the list of things you will discuss at the meeting), you should do this with the secretary and the vice-chair, you may find it useful to get advice from the link teacher. The items on the agenda should come from the whole school, so you will need to remind the school councillors to give you the ideas School Councils UK 108-110 Camden High Street, London NW1 0LU 0845 456 9428 info@schoolcouncils.org www.schoolcouncils.org © School Councils UK 2006. Written by Eva Crasnow and Asher Jacobsberg. Please feel free to reproduce this resource with acknowledgement (non-commercial use only). So you want to be a … Chairperson (chair) School Councils UK Role Guide 02 That’s quite a job, what can I do to make it easier? Most councils have a vice-chair as well to help the chair and take over when she or he isn’t there. In a meeting you might ask the vice-chair to keep time whilst you run the meeting. You could also ask him or her to watch how you chair and give you feedback after the meeting to help you improve. You could take chairing in turns to give yourself a break. Another way to make things easier on yourself is to get your council working well together, then they won’t need much chairing. If your council is getting bored or angry, could you stop and play a quick game? These give people an opportunity to have a break and come back to the problem with a different perspective. Also, think about how the room is laid out. Does everyone feel comfortable? Can everyone see each other? Is their anything that could be distracting people? Running meetings is a skill lots of people use at work all the time. Are there people you could observe or chat to for tips? Your headteacher, chair of governors, or local business people for instance? When would I need to do all these things? Well, each school is different but this is what we recommend: When? Once a year What? Stand for election. Probably once as a class rep and then in the meeting to be chair. Represent the council and your school at events. Send out a reminder for any agenda items (it may take them a week to get to you) and last meeting’s minutes. Work out the agenda and send it out to everyone who is coming to the meeting. With whom? Your class/form/tutor group and council. It depends on the event. The secretary. Send to all school councillors. The secretary, vicechair and link teacher. Everyone, especially the secretary and vice-chair. Other councillors. Throughout the year. Two weeks before each meeting. A week before each meeting. At the meeting Make sure the meeting runs smoothly and that the secretary is keeping minutes showing who, when and what is to be done. Make sure that every one who has agreed to do something actually does it. Make sure that the headteacher, other staff and the governors are kept informed of what the school council has been discussing. In between meetings After each meeting School Councils UK 108-110 Camden High Street, London NW1 0LU 0845 456 9428 info@schoolcouncils.org www.schoolcouncils.org The link teacher, other councillors. Can I get any more information on being a chairperson? Go to www.schoolcouncils.org, click ‘resources’ and go to ‘download resources’, there you’ll find a list of links to other info about being a chair. In the resources section you will also see our Handbooks for primary and secondary students which give you loads more ideas about how to run effective meetings and make sure your school council gets things done. © School Councils UK 2006. Written by Eva Crasnow and Asher Jacobsberg. Please feel free to reproduce this resource with acknowledgement (non-commercial use only).
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Getting Your Point Across

At some point your school council will need to go and talk to adults. You might be proposing a project or event, asking them for help, or making a complaint.

You need to do this in a professional way. This guide will help you prepare what you need to say.

It includes a guide for a 10-minute pitch.

Created by Asher Jacobsberg for School Councils UK.

Use the ‘More’ button to print or download (‘save’) this resource.
Getting Your Point Across

03 Getting your point across to adults in school School Councils UK Activity Guide Who do you want to get your point across to? As a school council, effective communication is crucial and you’ll need to get yourselves heard by many different people. This activity guide deals with one group that can be particularly difficult and daunting – Adults. There are many groups of adults who can help your school council to achieve its aims, and some of these are: Find out when the deadline is for things to be put on the agenda for other people’s meetings. Make sure you send an update to the chair a week or so before this date, then she or he can decide to put on the agenda ideas you have brought up. Try to arrange a regular time when the school council makes a general, introductory presentation at one of their meetings. This may only be once a year, but it will make sure that all your partners are aware of the hard work that the school council is putting in. Then when you come to ask them for something they see you as a serious, hard-working body, not just a group making demands out of the blue. Invite people from the other committees to your meetings occasionally. Make sure they come to meetings (or parts of meetings) that are relevant to them; don’t have them just sit in the corner. For instance, if you were discussing what to do with the school council’s money, you might invite the treasurer of the governors for advice, or to explain to him or her how you intend to raise some money for the school; you may invite the pastoral care sub-committee to a meeting where you will be discussing a new scheme to address bullying. • • • • Senior Management Team School Governors/School Board PTA/Friends Staff teams (including nonteaching/site staff) Why are these people important? Whilst it’s great to be getting things done on your own, the more people you can get involved, the more resources you will have access to. The people mentioned above may have valuable experience or advice to give and will generally be very willing to help, if you let them know what you are doing! How do we create a good relationship with other groups? Set up an agreed process for keeping them informed. If they know that you are being active they will look to you for support and will seek to support you. If they don’t know what you’re doing, they can’t be helpful or impressed. The process you set up should include people whose responsibility it is to be the contact for each group. This may be the school council chair or secretary, or it may be someone whose role is ‘governor liaison’/’local council liaison’, etc. There needs to be a set time when written communication goes out. This may be after every school council meeting or once a term, you need to find a balance between keeping people informed and bombarding them with information. School Councils UK 108-110 Camden High Street, London NW1 0LU 0845 456 9428 info@schoolcouncils.org wwwww.schoolcouncils.org © School Councils UK 2005. Please feel free to reproduce this resource with acknowledgement (non-commercial use only) School Councils UK Activity Guide How do we go about making a Proposal? Your proposals should be ‘SMART’: Specific – Rather than saying ‘we’re a bit bored at lunch times and so we want some better stuff’ it should be ‘because there is nothing to do at lunch times people mess around and it creates an unpleasant atmosphere. We have done a survey to find out what would entertain people. The top suggestions were common room, access to the football pitch, and some new sports equipment.’ Measurable – how are you going to know if it is a success? This isn’t just saying whether the thing was completed (‘we got new sports equipment’), but if the whole project was a success (‘since we got new sports equipment 60% of people have used it, 85% of people feel the playground is a better area to be in. Action-oriented – ‘We are going to do a survey; hold a disco; speak to the head; etc.’ rather than ‘we think something should be done about…’ If Section Introduction Background What do we want and why do we want it? Content Suggestions • • you aren’t specific about what is going to happen, or what needs to be done, nothing will. Realistic – can it really be done? if you know the school is strapped for cash, but you think you really need some new sports equipment, rather than arguing for a swimming pool, you might better spend the time putting the case for some new netballs and football goals. Time-limited – set deadlines, so you can see whether progress is being made. Who is going to do what by when? ‘Someone is going to find out what year 9 think about the GCSEs available’ will not get done, ‘By next meeting Hassan is going to find out what year 9 think about the GCSEs available’ will do, or Hassan’s in trouble come next meeting. Here’s an example of a presentation: Time 1 min 2 min 3 min Thank you for sparing the time to see us. Our names are… and we are… We want to ask for your support in building an effective school council. We have been discussing why an effective school council is a good idea and we think… In order for the council to succeed, we would like you to ensure the following elements are in place (e.g.): • References to the council in school documentation such as the School Development Plan and prospectus • Time made available in tutor groups/classes and assemblies for feedback and discussion about school council issues • Opportunities to be involved in a range of school issues such as behaviour, lessons, community links…etc • A budget made available for school council administration and training We hope to launch the form/year councils on … and we would like to know everything is in place before this As well as forming a key part of our citizenship education, school councils can make a real difference to many parts of school life. We feel we can help to improve lessons, behaviour and facilities by creating a forum for students to express their views. Research has also shown that where pupils are actively participating in the life of the school, it can have a positive impact on academic attainment and exclusions. To summarise… Thank you for your time…Do you have any questions? School Councils UK 108-110 Camden High Street, London NW1 0LU 0845 456 9428 info@schoolcouncils.org wwwww.schoolcouncils.org When do we want it? What are the benefits? 4 min 5 min Conclusion 6 min © School Councils UK 2005. Please feel free to reproduce this resource with acknowledgement (non-commercial use only)