A lively Senior Student Council meeting took place this week, with a large turnout of pupils from Years 7 to 13, taking the lead and sharing ideas on a range of issues.
Student Council is one of several mechanisms for encouraging pupils to get actively involved in shaping their community, forging bonds between pupils of different year groups, building communication channels between pupils and staff, and ensuring the pupil voice is heard. These forums also play an important role in building pupils’ confidence in public speaking and oracy, a primary area of focus for the school.
Pupils’ reasons for joining Student Council indicates how motivated Colfe’s pupils are to take an active part in shaping their school, and how important it is for pupils to feel represented. Ursula, Year 7, told us: “Even though I have only been in the senior school just over a term, I really wanted to share my views and hear those of others. It was also so important to me to represent my classmates and year group.”
At the upper end of the school, Isaac, Year 11, said: “I really enjoy being able to hear others’ ideas and bring my own ideas about things that can make a difference to the school and genuinely improve the day-to-day life of students from their perspective.”
A pastoral focused group, Colfe’s Chats, has also been recently established. Pupils are invited to meet in small groups with the Director of Pastoral Care or the wider team to share feedback, ideas and their experiences of school life. A broad range of pupils is invited to ensure diversity of view and voice. With different pupils attending each session, the forum helps staff understand a wide range of pupil perspectives on school life and wellbeing, enabling the school to tailor provision more closely to pupils’ experiences.
Dan Gabriele, Head, said: “I had the privilege of sitting in on the Senior School Council discussion this week. The session evinced the pupils’ genuine commitment to representing their peers across a diverse range of issues that matter to them, from street food options at lunchtime and the placement of Year 7 lockers to the homework timetable.. The Council plays an important role in ensuring that pupils’ perspectives inform our day-to-day practice, and it was wonderful to see how effectively they operate as a group.
“The extent to which pupils’ views are sought, heard and acted upon is a key part of school culture. When your children are given meaningful opportunities to contribute ideas, raise questions and help shape decisions, they improve the experience for everyone – as well as sharpening their own capacity to make their case persuasively and with confidence. This is also a central theme of our whole school oracy focus, from Nursery to Sixth Form.”
