This council is made up of eight Year 6 members. Four pupils are voted for by the pupils in the Year 6 cohort and four pupils are chosen by the staff in the School Leadership team. Each candidate writes a letter of application in response to an advert. They then perform a speech to explain why they are a good person for the job and what they could contribute to the school community if elected. Year 6 Children then do an anonymous vote, demonstrating democracy in action. SLT discuss whom they recommend for the position and a vote is taken. Successful candidates are announced in an assembly and in the school newsletter.
Being on the Executive Council is a role which is held in high esteem and is evident by the wearing of a blue shield badge so all know who these are, so they can approach them with ideas /concerns. Each Executive Council member has a role within the committee: Chairperson, Vice Chairperson, 2x Treasurer, 2x Secretary, 2x PR. Executive Council also help with tasks which help with the running of the school. Outcomes of meetings are fed back to the school in assemblies and to the Chair of Governors. This Council is overseen by Mrs Ward, the Deputy Head.
Our School Council are chosen by a class vote. Each class has two representatives. Each class has a School Council book in which they record class items they wish their representatives to bring to the School Council meetings. Being a School Council rep. is a role which is held in high esteem and is evident by the wearing of a red School Council badge for all to see. Meetings are held each half term. following the rules of a real council i.e. chairperson and only speaking when asked etc. The class reps bring ideas, issues and requests from their class, referring to their School Council notebooks.
Executive Council sometimes lead these meetings alongside Mrs Ward the Deputy Head. The impact of this council is powerful as children can see things from a child’s view and identify problems, issues and ideas which are real to them within their school. All ideas are taken seriously and given time is allocated for Executive Council to ponder before responding. School Council reps also meet with relevant staff to discuss eg the cook re ketchup, the business manager re more glue sticks, the playground supervisor re new equipment.
School Council assemblies are held when needed, when reps give feedback to all children about current ideas and solutions.
Positions for Playground Friends are advertised on Mail on Friday and Years 4 and 5 children apply for the role with a letter of application, stating the reasons why they are suitable and how they would be an asset on the playground daily.
Playground Friends are recognised by their red shield badges and red Playground Buddy sashes. They look out for the children standing by the Friendship Stop and encourage them to play and organise games with them or find someone to play with them. Mrs Ward oversees the Playground Friends, along with Mrs Smith the playground supervisor.
Children in Year 3 and 4 apply for this role by filling out an application form and write a letter of application to Mrs Ward Deputy Head and Mrs Williams Geography subject leader. In this they indicate what difference they can make to raising awareness of safety. As part of their role they promote safety in assemblies e.g. what to wear when riding a bike, crossing the road etc. They attend local and national networks and have thought of ways of promoting travel safety.
This is led by the Junior Road Safety Officers to promote all aspects of travel e.g Walk to School week. The focus of this group is to encourage children to lead a healthier lifestyle and to promote safety awareness in the community.
As a Fairtrade Achiever School we have a dedicated Fairtrade Committee which meets to discuss how we can raise awareness of what Fairtrade means to the farmers in this country and globally. Children can apply for a position on this committee by letter of application from any year group in Key Stage Two. We now have a very big committee of enthusiastic children. The Committee runs events and stalls every term eg in the Summer fayre, Christmas fayre and during Fairtrade Fortnight. The Committee welcome guest speakers to speak about Fairtrade and write flyers to promote fair trade products to hand out.
Our S.A.F.E committee (Safe and Friendly Environments) are a group of eight, years 5 and 6 children who are chosen by class teachers and Mrs Ward (Deputy Head) for their empathetic and sensible nature. Parents are informed by ‘phone call due to the sensitive nature of some of the task then sign a letter to give permission for their child to be part of this. Mrs Ward trains this group in counselling skills and works with them on safeguarding issues. A safeguarding suitcase has been set up so all children can post their worries on a slip and this is then responded to by the committee or Mrs Ward depending on the nature of the worry. S.A.F.E deliver assemblies; eg PANTS, and write Top Tips for classroom display on safeguarding themes. S.A.F.E committee is identified by their green bar badges in school and S.A.F.E caps which they wear in the playground.
Year 5 and 6 apply in writing to Mrs Richards (English Co-ordinator) to be a librarian. We have Senior Librarian and Librarians positions. They work on a timetable to man the library checking and tidying the library, reporting damage, signing out books to different year groups and reading to the younger children. Our librarians can be identified by their green shield badges.
Applicants from Year 3,4,5,6 apply to Miss Spandrzyk to be a member of The Music Council. They are responsible on a timetable to operate the music and put on the computer in the assemblies, tidy instruments and to arrange musical events.
Applicants apply to Miss Freestone (ICT Co-ordinator) to be part of the committee, stating why they should be chosen. They produce leaflets and flyers to give to all children promoting subjects such as: e safety, online bullying etc. They meet regularly to discuss actions, resources and ideas. The committee lead assemblies during special awareness events eg E Safety Week.