Swaffham Church of England Primary Academy’s

School Council

Ofsted June 2023:

'They have many opportunities to take on responsibilities.  These include as members of the school council and as eco warriors.  Such experiences help to develop pupils' confidence and prepare them to be active citizens.'

Our school vision is underpinned by 3 core principles and one of these is:

Everyone has a voice.

At SPA, we believe that it is vital that our pupils play a genuine and active role in shaping and supporting our school community.  Everyone is passionate about pupil voice and we all recognise the importance of an effective School Council which represents the views of all children.

SPA School Council have been democratically elected by their peers to represent them and to work together with the Senior Leadership Team to improve our school.

A key part of the role of the School Council is to support pupils to understand that their opinion is of value, that their voices should be heard, and that their suggestions have merit.

The School Council work as a team and meet regularly to discuss key objectives and progress made towards these.

Key Projects:

• What is bullying...what to do if you think you are being bullied.
• The SPA Way- what does READY, RESPECTFUL and SAFE look like/ feel like.
• Pupil Voice Questionnaire- behaviour, safety and learning.
• What does kindness mean?
• How can we PEACE MAKERS not PEACE BREAKERS- a project focused on social times and socail interactions.
• Lunchtime Friends- a project focused on supporting early years and KS1 at lunchtime and building pupil leadership roles.
• How can we improve our outdoor areas of the school?
• How can we make a difference- a project linked to being a more sustainable school and being good stewards of our school.

We were delighted that the Ofsted Inspectors who visited our school in June recognised the impact of the School Council's work.  When reporting on pupils, they stated;

'Bullying is rare.  When it does happen, staff deal with it effectively.  Pupils know that adults will help with any worries they may have.'

'They understand the SPA Way and the schools' values of being ready, respectful and safe.'  These underpin all aspects of school life.'

'Pupils enjoy coming to school both to learn and to spend time with their friends.'

Anti- bullying Week:  November 2022

The School Council delivered an assembly to the whole school for Anti- bullying Week.

They spent time before this in class finding out what pupils already knew about bullying including; what it means, what it feels like, why it happens, the different types of bullying and what to do if you think you are being bullied?  They felt that there was some confusion around some of the answers.  In particular, the difference between bullying and a friendship fall out and also what children should do and who they should talk to if they think they are being bullied.

They shared this in a fantastic assembly which included child speak definitions and acting out scenes for the school to see the difference between an argument and bullying.  They made colourful handprints with the names of people on the fingers and thumb of who to go to for help and support in school if someone is being bullied or thinks they are being bullied.

We are looking forward to the whole school making these and displaying them around our school.

The School Council shared resources with teachers to use in class for Anti- bullying Week and the whole celebrated our uniqueness for Odd Socks Day.

Photos will be coming soon.

Jubilee Garden

Our School Council were delighted with the kind generosity of Abel Homes, Lamberts Civil Engineering and Homecare Landscaping for creating our Jubilee Garden.

You can read the whole story here:  https://www.abelhomes.co.uk/latest-news/local-companies-come-together-to-create-jubilee-garden-for-swaffham-primary-school/