Categories
involver blog Newsletters

Newsletter 10: How do you ‘do’ student voice? Here are some of our ideas


And we're back …

… with some new free school council resources

We've had so much going on recently we haven't had much time to send out newsletters, so we've rather stuffed this one with free resources by way of apology.

Resource: Quick tips for running meetings

4 simple ideas for different ways to run class and school council meetings if you're struggling (or just fancy a change):
http://involver.org.uk/?p=2973

Campaign: Hands Up Who's Bored?

With the changes to the curriculum there's a real threat to the one subject that really supports young people's participation, Citizenship. We've been helping lead Democratic Life to campaign to strengthen Citizenship for a while, but there's a new campaign aimed at young people being fronted by Danny Bartlet with Radio 1 DJ (and Rastamouse) Reggie Yates. Have a look:
Main website: http://whosbored.org/
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXgHjFSzbEQ

Resource: What's a school council for?

I created this school council policy for the school I'm a governor of. It places an emphasis on involving the whole school through class councils. Would it work in your school? What's missing? What would you add?
http://involver.org.uk/?p=2842

News: Walking the walk

involver's directors for the day show off their business cards
It was Takeover Day last month and we were really proud to take part and we got loads of great ideas from the four young people who became directors of involver for the day. This is what they thought of the experience:
http://involver.org.uk/?p=3005

Resource: Children's Commissioner's 'How to' guide on student voice

We carried out some research for the Children's Commissioner in to good practice around student voice, this two-page guide for staff is one of the things that came out of it. Have a look:
http://involver.org.uk/?p=2879

Hope to hear from you all soon,

Asher and Greg

Our new book: How to be a SMART school councillor

Our new book

How to be a SMART school councillor

Get a free copy: we've just written this little guide for primary (KS2) school councillors. To thank you for taking an interest in what we do, we'd like to give you a free copy. If you'd like one, email us your address: info@involver.org.uk
Get more than one copy: if you want more you can order them here: http://involver.org.uk/shop/

Greg in Donegal

On our travels

During the (English) half-term we were invited over to Ireland to train teachers and students from County Donegal's primary, post-primary and Youth Reach schools. It went so well that we're going back in March, after a trip to train up the school councils of Prague. We are living the life!
Although he's difficult to make out, that's Greg outside our first training venue, the Donegal Cultural Centre – the day did get sunnier.

Categories
involver blog

My day as a Director of involver by Martell, Age 11 #takeoverday2011

Today, Welbourne prefects took over as a director for take over day.

I thinked they loved it because it is a big opportunity for them to see how it is to be in someone else’s shoes for a day.

Melanie said:

“I thought it was brilliant because it was very interactive”

Kenoly said:

“Oh it  was the best day ever”

Martell said:

“This day could never get better”

Austina said:

“IT WAS THE BEST DAY EVER!!!!!! COULDN’T GET BETTER”

By your prefect Martell, Age 11

___________________________________

Thanks Martell, great blog and video!

It was a really useful day for us too. As a result of the pupils’ help, we’ve improved the programme for a forthcoming school council event, will do a new student voice quiz, and have lots of new contacts in Haringey schools.

Here’s some more snaps from the day. Thanks to Michael Antoniou for taking them, the students for coming in, and the Children’s Commissioner for organising such an important project.

Categories
involver blog News

Welbourne pupils take over involver

Takeover Day 2011 logoOn Friday 11 November, Tottenham-based, social enterprise, involver, will be taken over by pupils from Welbourne Primary School. Four pupils will be made Directors of involver for a day, running the organisation and deciding on its future strategy.

This is being organised as part of a national day of action by young people, co-ordinated by the Children’s Commissioner for England, under the banner of Takeover Day 2011.

The enterprising young pupils will be writing new resources for other schools to use, blogging about their day, calling up Haringey schools to talk about working together and creating a strategy for involver to follow for the rest of the year.

Martell, 11, who will be one of the Directors for a day, is excited by the opportunity, “I think it’s good that we’re going to get to run involver, because their business is about schools and kids, so we’ll have good ideas about what they could do.”

Asher Jacobsberg, one of involver’s founders and it’s (current) Director, said, “We help schools to get young people learning about democracy by playing an active part in running their schools, so this is a great opportunity for us to practice what we preach. I think we’ll finish this day with better, more relevant ideas for how we can help primary-age students than we could come up with in a year on our own.”

Maggie Atkinson, Children’s Commissioner for England said: “I am very excited about our fifth Children’s Commissioner’s Takeover Day this year, and I look forward to hearing about what people are doing. The day provides such a brilliant opportunity for children and young people to make a difference to their schools and communities, have their voices heard and challenge the stereotypes about them that we hear too often. Children and young people have so much to offer. They bring ideas, imagination and energy which can really make a difference to organisations.”

The Welbourne pupils will start by learning about what a social enterprise is and then move on to the real work: creating a strategy for involver’s work with primary-age pupils. Once they’ve thrashed that out they will be starting to put it in to action.

Pupils might end up outlining books to help school councils involve the whole school, organising events for Haringey schools, or writing sessions for training other young people. Involver are clear that what the Welbourne pupils do really is up to them, they are the bosses.

Involver have committed to carry through on the strategies decided by the young people and credit them as colleagues on any materials arising from their work.

Download the media release: [download id=”239″]