Tag: speaking & listening

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Involving very young children in pupil voice

The previous two ideas have suggested a couple of ways to improve how meetings are chaired and broaden the scope of issues that meetings cover. But how do you involve the youngest children in your school? Sitting them in a meeting, no matter how well run, can be difficult. Here’s a way to get them involved and learning how to participate.

The issue

Including Reception and KS1 (children aged 4-7) in school council meetings is difficult for them and everyone else.

The suggestion

Rather than having children of this age in meetings ask teachers in their classes to set aside 15-20 minutes per week when members of the school council can come and ask them a question. This is how it would then work:

  1. School council decides on one question to ask Reception and KS1 on an issue that directly involves them. This same question will be asked to all Reception and KS1 classes.
  2. Just before the allotted time Reception and KS1 teachers should organise their classes into groups of 3-5.
  3. Two members of the school council go to each Reception and KS1 class to introduce the question and record responses. This is what they should do in each class:
    1. Introduce themselves. (30 seconds)
    2. Remind the class what question they were asked last time. (1 min)
    3. Explain what has happened as a result of their views from last week. (2 mins)
    4. Explain this week’s question. (1 min)
    5. Get all groups to discuss the question and come up with an answer they all agree on. (5 mins)
    6. Get one person from each group to stand up and explain the decision they came to. (5 mins)
    7. This should be written down or recorded by the school council reps – the easiest way to do this is by video camera or voice recorder.
    8. Thank the class and explain when they will be back. (30 seconds)
    9. The school council reps go over the views of class and summarise them in a couple of sentences.
    10. These summarised views are reported back to the school council to form the basis of their decision, or to feed in to it.

The outcome

Young children have the opportunity to genuinely input in to decisions that affect them.

They start to practice skills of: expressing opinions, compromise, taking turns, reporting back and chairing.

Additional ideas

You could create a more direct democratic structure by asking everyone to vote after their little discussions, and recording these votes and aggregating them across the school.

It is very helpful for the school council reps to have a script to follow. This gives them confidence and ensures that each class is being treated uniformly.

You can also start introducing the concept of a chair person, whose job it is to make sure everyone gets a chance to speak.

Try to make sure that a different person from each small group feeds back each week so all have a chance to practice this. The same should be done with chairing. This can be achieved by having children in the same small groups each week. Within each group people should be numbered. In week 1, all the 1s report back, in week 2, the 2s report back, and so on.

Download this idea as a PDF: [download id=”246″]

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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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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)