School Council

Why have a School Council?

At The Hall School we value basic human rights, especially those for children. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child has three main areas which concern their rights:

• Be looked after and cared for
• Have the things you need to survive
• Participate in anything to do with your life

Article 12 - the Rights of The Child:
Your right to express the views that you have, and for your views to be listened to in anything that affects you.

Being part of our School Council supports the right to participate in the life of our school and to be able to say what you think.

What is a School Council?

• It is a way in which children can become more involved in the way the school is run. Each class elects two representatives each term. It is the responsibility of each representative to express both their own views and the views of the other class mates they represent.
• Opportunities are given to express views to each other and to all teachers and support staff. It is a way in which children can influence decisions that are made.
• Our School Council is an opportunity to make a change!
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How does our School Council work?

• Mrs Gohil is the link teacher who helps to organise our council. She organises the election of representatives and calls the meetings (which are usually held on a Friday).
• Mrs Gohil arranges the agendas for the meetings - representatives provide the ideas.
• Mrs Gohil chairs the meetings but every representative is able to control everything that is discussed and has a turn at speaking. 
• When we make decisions we always decide who undertakes to do the various jobs that will need doing.
• Mrs Gohil types up the minutes and distributes them to the classes after each meeting. 
• Each class teacher makes time to read the minutes and display them in the classroom. Other times are put aside if the representatives want to raise issues with their classmates.
• Every decision that we make is voted on.
• If there are any issues we need to raise with the teachers we ask Mrs Gohil to represent us at a staff meeting or we ask the teacher concerned to attend a meeting.
• We can discuss any issues that we want to. They are usually concerned with school rules, policies, equipment, bullying, the playground and school grounds, school meals, clubs, etc. At the end of every meeting we always have the agenda item 'any other business'.
• We have a board in the front hall where we place our photographs 

What have we achieved so far?

• Setting up a school Buddy system
• Improvement to school dinners
• Playtime games for lunch times
• Helped to introduce healthy eating scheme at breaktime
• Organise fund raising activities – Children in Need, Comic Relief, Malawi School project
• Pond/Wildlife Area refurbishment
• 1967 School Lunch
• Christmas and Summer Fete stalls
• Instructions for playground games for children in Malawi
• Writing letters of thanks to visitors