We have now introduced a Pupil Parliament to our school which incorporates the roles and remit of the School Council, Eco Warrior's and RRS Champions.

Aims

• To give children a voice and contribution in improving the school and having an active part in how to the school is run - through the use of class MPs
• To develop all children’s understanding of democracy within the UK, reflecting the structure of the UK parliament

Structure

Monarch (Headteacher)

House of lords (other members of staff)

Speaker (teacher in charge of Pupil Parliament)

Members of Parliament (MPs – children elected by class)

Eco Committee       Community Committee       Learning Committee

Election of MPs

Each class from Y1-6 will elect 3 MPs who will sit on each of the committees for the academic year.

Before elections, teachers should discuss the structure of the UK parliament and the relevant structure of the Pupil Parliament. They should also talk to the children about the skills needed to be an MP.

Any child can ask to be elected for one of the roles and should have an opportunity to explain to the class why they feel they should be elected. The MPs should be elected using a democratic process appropriate to the age of the children (e.g. raising hands, writing names on a piece of paper and putting in class ‘ballot box’.)

Parliament and Committee Meetings

The Pupil Parliament will meet once a term. Each committee will meet half termly to set, develop and review projects linked to whole school development.

Our most recent project

Community MPs have been thinking of ideas to improve links within our school by looking after our grounds and working with children in different classes. They have also considered how we could involve our local community in life at Balfour by welcoming nurseries, elderly people and other groups into our school. 

Learning MPs have been coming up with ideas to make our learning even more active and fun! They love the drama, art and sport that we do at school and would like to do even more. We have also been talking about how children can direct more of their learning within the classroom. 

The Powerpoint presentation below demonstrates how the UK Parliament operates.