Pupil Voice and Leadership

Pupil voice refers to the impact, value and power pupils have over matters that affect their lives. At Cleeve Prior CE Primary School we believe that children and young people should have opportunities to express their opinion in matters that affect their lives. Some of the benefits of involving children and young people in school decision-making are: 

• It encourages pupils to become active participants in a democratic society by holding school council meetings which develop skills such as co-operation and communication and encourage them to take responsibility.
• It contributes to achievement and attainment - young people involved in participative work benefit in a range of different ways.  Increased confidence, self-respect, competence and an improved sense of responsibility have all been reported by young people who contribute in school.  Schools also report increased motivation and engagement with learning. 

We believe that it is the responsibility of educators to work with pupils to build a well-balanced group of pupils who are supported in developing their identities and individual voices so they can vocalise matters that are important to them.

Intent

• To foster leadership skills within pupils and provide opportunities for these skills to develop.
• To ensure school leaders are aware of pupil perspectives on teaching, learning and school operations.
• To enable pupils to play an active role in decision-making on matters that are important to them.
• To give all pupils across the school a voice to share their opinions and ideas. 

Implementation

One way pupil voice is implemented at our school is through its pupil leadership. We have appointed House Captains and Vice House Captains for our three houses (Arrow, Dene and Isbourne). These pupils are our oldest and lead their houses in all activities. They are role models and share behaviour expectations with the younger members of their houses.

At the start of each academic year, pupils put themselves forward to be a part of our school council, with a democratic vote held for pupils to elect the members for each class.  The school council and House Captains are instrumental in all decisions that impact our pupils, from lunchtimes and uniform to charity events and extra-curricular activities.

We also have 3 peacemakers in school. After hearing about the Beatitudes, we, as a school, decided that we would ask 3 of our pupils to become 'Peacemakers' in our school. Their role is to intervene on the playground to help resolve friendship issues and ensure that everyone is happy and enjoying their playtimes.

Other leadership roles:

• Librarians
• Worship Crew
• Eco-committee
• Sports Captain

Impact

• Empowered children will engage with their learning and take pride in their school
• More engagement at lunchtimes and happier playtimes
• Confident children who can engage meaningfully with their peers and adults
• Our children transition to next settings with more confidence and resilience
• Our children have aspirations and strive for more