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Pupil Voice

At Woodlands Primary School, we invest in the building of character and resilience, through many ways, but one of these being our Pupil Voice structures. As leaders of the school, we believe that the most important form of data collection is speaking to children, and we use this to inform academic and pastoral strategy. 

Children at Woodlands Primary School are encouraged to develop the necessary skills to enable them to take responsibility for their school and contribute positively to the wider community.

This includes:

  • The Woodlands Primary School Council;
  • The Junior Leadership Team;
  • Head Boy and Head Girl
  • Sports Captains and ‘professional’ teams.

The Woodlands Primary School Council

The School Council team process happens each Autumn term, with the support of the Head Boy and Head Girls. The purpose of the School Council is to develop the personal development priorities across school, in particular the development of lunchtimes. Lunchtimes and play are a huge part of a child’s school day, and so we believe that it is important to ensure pupil voice is present with any decision we take.

The School Council is voted through class elections, and children should be able to stand up and speak to the rest of the class about why they think they are a good candidate. 

Duties include:

  • Auditing lunchtimes and speaking with children;
  • Ensuring materials are played with appropriately, and training is given where needed;
  • Speaking with adults to order more materials where needed;
  • Developing lunchtime strategy, including family dining and outdoor activities.

The Junior Leadership Team

The Junior Leadership team process happens in the Summer term each year, through the process of application forms and an interview with the Headteacher and Deputy Headteacher. Through this, they should show how they:

“The individual can show, and explain how they show, all 7 of the school’s family values: Resilience, Enthusiasm, Self-Respect, Punctuality, Empathy, Character and Talk (RESPECT).”

Duties include:

  • Collecting information from other children about whole school priorities;
  • Attending Senior Leadership Team and governor meetings;
  • Contributing to the school development plan and school improvement.
  • Sharing whole school priorities with the School Council.

Head Boy and Head Girl

The Head Boy and Head Girl process happens in the Summer term each year, through the process of application forms and school elections, through the criteria below:

“The individual can show, and explain how they show, all 7 of the school’s family values: Resilience, Enthusiasm, Self-Respect, Punctuality, Empathy, Character and Talk (RESPECT).”

“The individual can explain how they would apply the protected characteristics to the role, and make sure all the equalities are followed throughout school.”

Pupils complete an application form, and then we hold an election process, in the form of a speech and promotional material. Children need to present in a clear and coherent way and celebrate who they are!

Head Boy and Head Girls are an integral part of school life, and are the ‘public face’ of the school, representing school at public events. This could include:

  • Welcoming visitors to school;
  • Attending public functions with school staff;
  • Making presentations for assemblies and presenting these;
  • Supporting the planning of whole school events.
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