Having a voice, having a choice: effective pupil participation

School councils became law in 2005, as result of a Welsh Government decision to embed the principles from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).

Every child has the right to express their views, feelings and wishes in all matters affecting them, and to have their views considered and taken seriously.” (Article 12) 

Pupil participation

Of course, there’s more to effective pupil participation than having a school council. In many schools, pupils act as mentors or ‘buddies’ to their peers. The Welsh Government has developed the Children and Young People’s Participation standards to identify the key issues that all workers should be aware of when working with children and young people in Wales.

• Information – which is easy for children and young people to understand
• It’s your choice – enough information and time to make good choices
• No discrimination – every child and young person has the same chance to participate
• Respect – your opinion will be taken seriously
• You get something out of it – you will enjoy the experience
• Feedback – you will find out what difference your views have made
• Improving how we work – adults will ask you how they can improve how they work for the future

What are the challenges?

Just having a school council doesn’t magically result in effective levels of pupil participation. A 2002 report by the National Foundation for Educational Research found that only two-fifths of children thought school councils were an effective way of listening to their ideas.

Numerous articles and reports, for example Having a Say at School,  a 2010 report produced by Edinburgh University, have identified the most common pitfalls that can be obstacles to effective pupil participation. These include:

• the council being dominated by adults: teachers setting the agenda and controlling the discussion
• discussion only focusing on aspects such as the canteen and the toilets, as this article explains
• the council having no budget or any say over spending
• only a very small number of learners being involved
• the council not being able to communicate effectively with the rest of the student body
• the pupils and staff involved having little or no training to undertake their role.

How to make it work

Earlier this year, School Councils UK published a summary of research carried out for the Children’s Commissioner in schools with excellent student voice practice. We also published our own report in 2016: Pupil participation: a best practice guide.

Key factors that can encourage effective pupil participation include:

• Vision and ethos: make it a central part of the school’s vision and have a clear strategy for promoting participation and for building good relationships.
• Inclusion: make it clear that everyone should be involved.
• Breadth: ensure that there’s a wide range of opportunities for pupils to participate, not just those on the school council.
• Making it real: help pupils to learn that they don’t always get what they want, but make sure they feel that their voice is heard in real-life decisions that affect their lives.
• Focus on learning: never forget that toilets and canteens can have a significant impact on pupils’ wellbeing, but they should also have a say in what and how they learn.
• Resources: ensure that staff and pupils have the time, resources and training to allow them to develop the necessary skills and knowledge.
• Communication: make sure everyone in the school community knows what’s happening.

Effective pupil participation in action

Getting right this aspect of your school’s work is a challenge, but it becomes even more difficult the larger your school is.

A good example can be seen at the federation between two Carmarthenshire schools, Bryngwyn School and Ysgol Glan-y-Môr. The two schools are six miles apart and have around 1,500 pupils on roll between them. In the schools’ 2017 inspection, we identified that ‘pupils make an exceptionally strong contribution to influencing aspects of school life’.

As well as the school council, the schools developed a range of other opportunities for pupils to participate in school life, such as a pupil-led teaching and learning forum, a Pastoral Council, a Community Council, Curriculum Councils for each AOLE and a strong house system.  Here, they talk about why this work is important:

As a school, we always strive to include pupils/learners at every available opportunity.  Our ethos and culture is based on this philosophy of involvement.  This is the key to ensuring that we stop doing things in school that don’t have a positive impact on our learners, but to continue doing things that are genuinely appreciated by our pupils.