Tag: pupil/student/learner voice

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involver blog

Case studies, Slovakia, and next steps

Good news 1:

Hard work (and many late nights) over the last week has meant that we are pretty much done with the pupil voice case studies that we are writing for the SSAT/DCSF. The schools and LAs that took part (thanks!) are receiving them to sign them off. Be good to get it all wrapped up soon, and we hope it will be helpful to schools./LAs.

Good news 2:

At the start of October, we’ve been invited to Slovakia to take part in a three-day meeting about pupil voice in Europe.

They have been working on a school council project called ‘It’s your choice, use your voice’, and want to hear more about how things are approached in the UK. There’s potential for future cooperation too. Should be a great experience, and lots of fun – full blog to come – take a look at http://www.rcm.sk/en/news.

Also had interesting meetings with NCB, Send for it/Portland (the company who have bought School Councils UK) and our friend Jem (http://twitter.com/_jemima) on Search Engine Optimisation stuff. 95% of this went over my head but in a stroke of luck, Asher is a web geek, and he managed to follow things.

In other news, working at home in the kitchen is difficult – I keep eating EVERYTHING.

Hope all is good.

Greg

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Top Tips for Public Speaking

A guide for any student (or adult) who is having to do a speech.

These tips will help you be more confident and get your point across better.

Created by School Councils UK.

Print or download (‘save’) this resource using the ‘More’ button.
Top Tips for Public Speaking – School Councils

School Councils UK Training Please feel free to reproduce this resource with acknowledgement (non-commercial use only). © School Councils UK 2008. Top Tips for Public Speaking Being able to express your opinion in a clear and calm way will help you get ahead in life. Whether in meetings, doing presentations at an assembly or getting involved in a debate, the following tips will help: 1. Prepare and practice • • • Know who your audience is with before you write your speech Get the facts so you know what you’re talking about, and practice your lines (especially when there is more than one of you) Take notes with you to remind you of what you want to say. Try to keep them to bullet points rather than whole sentences as this will stop you looking like you are reading every word Speak slowly and clearly, record yourself and play it back or practice in front of someone else • 2. Make a statement – without saying a word • Most of us make a judgement as soon as we meet someone, usually without realising it; so introductions are important. The way you present yourself will make a difference, be aware of how you are dressed and your overall appearance. Think about all the non-verbal communication you are doing, it is saying much more than the words coming out of your mouth! Don’t forget: o o o o o o o Body language Active listening Good eye contact Encouraging gestures No fidgeting Appropriate facial expressions Big smile • 3. Predict possible problems • Think of all the consequences your message could have: o o o Is there anything that people could be offended by? Have you properly thought through your argument to make sure what you’re saying is possible? Is there a history in this area? For example, have there been previous problems arising form similar projects 4. Be Professional • • Being professional will encourage others to treat you like an adult Focus on problems and issues and how to solve them rather than blaming people 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 Training Please feel free to reproduce this resource with acknowledgement (non-commercial use only). © School Councils UK 2008. 5. Does Everyone Understand? • • Make sure that you use words that are appropriate to the people you’re talking to. Avoid swearing, street talk and acronyms e.g. phat, innit and LOL Do not be afraid of asking for things to be explained – it shows you are listening! It is likely that if you don’t understand, others don’t either. 6. Keep it Simple! • • What are you trying to say? Use simple language so the meaning of your message is clear. Research shows that people remember three new bits of information, usually the first and last things you’ve said and something that stood out in the middle. Work out what the three key messages you want to get across are and repeat them at the end. If you are nervous you may say too much! Prepare what you are going to say and stick to the script. • 7. Where are you? • There are many environmental factors that affect how you communicate. o o o o o o o Venue Temperature Noise Light Time Refreshments Other people present 8. Be Aware of the Ripples • • Think about what will happen to the communication – will it be passed on? If so how and to whom? If your communication leads to more work, make sure everyone is kept informed of what’s happening with regular updates. 9. Rights and Responsibilities • If you have been asked to represent others, take part in a meeting or talk in public, you should behave in a responsible way. If you abuse the trust that’s been given to you, you may not be asked to do it again. 10. Remember why you are doing this… • As a student you have an important contribution to make in improving your school and community, share your ideas and take time to listen to others 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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Resources

Detailed School Council Action Planning Form

This detailed template will help you ask all the questions you need to when planning a project.

Write the answers on to the sheet as use it as your guide throughout your project.

If you try to run a project without sitting down to plan it first, you’re setting yourself up to fail.

Spend 20 minutes with your team going through this and you’re getting yourself off to a great start.

Created by Asher Jacobsberg at School Councils UK.

Print or download (‘save’) this resource using the ‘More’ button.
Detailed School Council Action Planning Form

School Councils UK Training Please feel free to reproduce this resource with acknowledgement (non-commercial use only). © School Councils UK 2007. MAKING A DIFFERENCE – these sheets will help you plan your project. Don’t lose them! Action Notes Example Write your answers here 1. GETTING STARTED Names of Group Members and date of meeting So you remember who you are working with! Names: Date: The title of your project Reduce, reuse, recycle Name of issue Who does this issue affect? All the people who are affected directly (or indirectly) Pupils, teachers, teaching assistants, admin staff (the whole world) What is our main goal, and why is it important? This is your goal so everyone knows what you are working for We want to reduce the amount of paper that gets thrown away in class by 50% School Councils UK, 3 Floor 108-110 Camden High Street, London NW1 0LU Tel 0845 456 9428 Fax 0845 456 9429 Email info@schoolcouncils.org www.schoolcouncils.org rd School Councils UK Training Please feel free to reproduce this resource with acknowledgement (non-commercial use only). © School Councils UK 2007. Action Notes Example Write your answers here 2. GETTING INFORMED What do you already know about this issue? What information and help do we need? What do you still need to know? This could be factual information or peoples opinions. It could also be funding, or equipment. Who do you need to talk to? What method will you use for finding information? There are lots of How will we get it? different methods. We know roughly how much paper is thrown away in our own classes, but we need to find out exactly how much is thrown away across the school. We need to find out if we can get money for recycling bins. Ask the caretaker if we can weigh the waste paper at the end of each day all of next week. Talk to the bursar and the council about money. Research on the internet how much could be saved by reducing paper use and how much extra bins, etc. would cost. School Councils UK, 3 Floor 108-110 Camden High Street, London NW1 0LU Tel 0845 456 9428 Fax 0845 456 9429 Email info@schoolcouncils.org www.schoolcouncils.org rd School Councils UK Training Please feel free to reproduce this resource with acknowledgement (non-commercial use only). © School Councils UK 2007. Action Notes Example Write your answers here 3. GETTING ORGANISED These are all the things you need to get done to achieve your goal. What needs to happen? • • • • • Any details which will explain how these tasks will get done. These are the action points. If the action points need money, you should include it in this section. • • • • • Research into current use and what we could do instead Agree a plan with the school Get new equipment, write guidance Publicise what is going on and why Get staff and students to follow guidance Weigh current waste Research alternatives Arrange meetings with caretaker and bursar Write guidance Produce posters Action Name (initials) Date How will we get it done? Who will do it? When should it be done by? When are we next meeting? Make sure you have names by all the action points. There could be more than one name for each task. Put a date by each action point so you know when it should be completed. This is important, so you know when you are meeting back together to see how it’s going. You might need to change some of the action points or timeline if new issues arise. School Councils UK, 3 Floor 108-110 Camden High Street, London NW1 0LU Tel 0845 456 9428 Fax 0845 456 9429 Email info@schoolcouncils.org www.schoolcouncils.org rd
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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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School Council Event Planning Sheet

This form will take you through all the basics of what you need to think about to plan an event.

Use it with the School Council Event Budget Form to plan a great event.

Created by Asher Jacobsberg at School Councils UK.

Print or download (‘save’) this resource using the ‘More’ button.
School Council Event Planning Sheet

School Councils UK Training Please feel free to reproduce this resource with acknowledgement (non-commercial use only). © School Councils UK 2007. Planning a successful event These questions will help you organise your event. Use the action planning form and the budget form as well. School Name Committee Members 1. Name of event 2. Type of event: Fundraising Community Service Awareness campaign Social/Fun 3. What will be happening at the event? 4. Why are you holding this event? 5. When is the event? Date 6. Where is the event? 7. Is the venue suitable and available? 8. Who will be invited? Is it wheelchair-accessible? Start time End time 9. Do you need any permission or supervision (make sure you’ve checked with an adult about health and safety)? _ School Councils UK, 3 Floor 108-110 Camden High Street, London NW1 0LU Tel 0845 456 9428 Fax 0845 456 9429 Email info@schoolcouncils.org www.schoolcouncils.org rd School Councils UK Training Please feel free to reproduce this resource with acknowledgement (non-commercial use only). © School Councils UK 2007. 10. What equipment do you need? 11. What refreshments will you provide? 12. Will there be a charge? How much? 13. How will you publicise the event? 14. How many helpers will you need on the day? What will they do? 15. What is the budget for the event? (You should calculate this on the separate budget form) Money going out Money coming in 16. What needs to be done after the event? 17. How will you know if the event has been a success and how will you learn from those things that didn’t go so well? School Councils UK, 3 Floor 108-110 Camden High Street, London NW1 0LU Tel 0845 456 9428 Fax 0845 456 9429 Email info@schoolcouncils.org www.schoolcouncils.org rd
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Being a Good Class Rep (Representative)

The most important job on any council is being a representative. Most people forget after they’ve been elected what they were elected to do: be a link between the people who elected them and the council they sit on.

Created by Lois Canessa and Asher Jacobsberg at School Councils UK.

Print or download (‘save’) this resource using the ‘More’ button.
Being a Good Class Representative

So you want to be a … Representative (Rep) School Councils UK Role Guide 01 What is a rep? Reps are elected by their class, form or tutor group (we’ll just call these all ‘classes’ from now on, to make it easier) to represent those people who elected them. They act as a link between their class and other groups – year councils, school councils and other committees. Reps have to be willing and able to put forward other people’s views even if they disagree with them. What kind of person makes a good rep? • • • • • • • Approachable Good listener – everyone in the class has to feel comfortable talking to you Organised – it will be your responsibility to make sure meetings happen in your class on a regular basis Assertive – the opinions of your class are just as important as everyone else’s Efficient – class discussions must cover a lot of issues in a short space of time Fair – everyone has the right to express a point of view Good communicator – you need to be able to work with staff and students from across the school So if I were a rep what would I actually have to do? As a rep you have three main jobs: • Collecting the views of your class and passing them on to other committees. Letting your class know what goes on in the meetings you attend. Taking an active part in meetings. then your job to talk to the chair of the other committee and get your class’s concerns on the agenda. You will then need to put forward your class’s views at year council or whole school council meetings. You are the link between the school/year council and your class so you need to let your class know what happened in the other meeting, any decisions that were made or questions that need to be asked. It’s particularly important to make sure you know what is happening to suggestions made by your class: it’s your job to let them know that their ideas are being taken seriously. You need to be prepared to go to meetings and make yourself heard, but also be willing to listen and discuss. Remember, you are there to represent all the different points of view that people in your class may have, so you need to spend time listening to your class and be flexible enough to put across a range of opinions. • • To do these jobs well you should have regular meetings with your class where you will listen to people’s concerns and issues and note them down. Remember that not everyone likes talking in meetings, so make sure you are approachable in other ways. Make it clear that people can talk to you at break times; have a suggestions box or suggestions email account. With your class you should decide which of these issues can be dealt with by the class itself, and which need to go to another committee (the year council or school council). It’s 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 Lois Canessa and Asher Jacobsberg. Please feel free to reproduce this resource with acknowledgement (non-commercial use only). So you want to be a … Representative (Rep) School Councils UK Role Guide 01 That’s quite a job, what help can I get? Yep, being a class rep is the most important job on the school council, but don’t worry you’re not alone! Most schools elect two reps from each class who can help each other. Some schools have class reps and deputy class reps who can help out generally but don’t go to meetings unless the main rep is away. Also, How often would I be doing things? Well, each school is different but this is what we recommend: make sure you use your class teacher, without his or her help you’ll find it difficult to organise meetings with your class. Also, don’t feel that you have to run the class council meetings. Get other people in the class to take it in turns. It’s easier for you to take notes if you’re not chairing too. When? All the time All the time What? Listen to your class-mates Make sure there is a running agenda that class mates can add too Run a class council meeting (following the class agenda) Make sure a record ( called ‘the minutes’) is kept of what is discussed and decided Work out which things you can do as a class and create an action plan Take your class minutes to the year council and represent your class and their views Report back to your class which suggestions have been actioned and what decisions were made Stand for election With whom? The other rep in your class Any one in the form/tutor group/class should be able to add to it The rest of your form/tutor group/class Your whole class, you may ask other class members to act as secretary and chair Your whole class Once a week Once a week Once a week Once a month/ fortnightly With the year councillors and a member of staff Once a month/ fortnightly With your class tutor and your form/tutor group/class Once a year Your form/tutor group/class School Councils UK 108-110 Camden High Street, London NW1 0LU 0845 456 9428 info@schoolcouncils.org www.schoolcouncils.org Can I get any more information on being a rep? There isn’t a huge amount of information around about being a school council rep, but there are reps for all sorts of other organisations (your MP is a rep!) so there is information on how to do those similar jobs. Go to www.schoolcouncils.org, click ‘resources’ and go to ‘download resources’, there you’ll find a list of links to other websites with information about what it means to be a representative. In the resources section you will also see our Handbooks for primary and secondary students which give you loads more ideas about how to get things done through your school and class councils. © School Councils UK 2006. Written by Lois Canessa and Asher Jacobsberg. Please feel free to reproduce this resource with acknowledgement (non-commercial use only).