School Council
What is a School Council?
A school council is a group of students who are elected by their peers to provide a meaningful way in which pupils can voice their opinions and have their views considered in decisions that impact upon them.
Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) says that the opinions of children and young people should be considered when people make decisions about things that involve them. They have the right to have opinions and for their opinions to be heard and taken seriously.
Our School Council
At St. Peter’s Catholic Primary School, we operate as a family with each individual having an important role in our school. We want our pupils to feel that their views and opinions are valued and listened to.
In previous years, our School Council initiatives have been varied, with children helping to organise projects that support learning and development, such as fundraising ideas and events for the school, theme days and representing the school at outside events. They have promoted road safety, the importance of walking to school and have worked alongside the Eco Council to implement recycling across the school.
Our School Council aims to prepare our pupils for global citizenship and to be life-long learners by teaching them about roles, rights and responsibilities by:
Ensuring our children have:
• A safe, happy and fair learning environment
• A forum to voice their concerns and act upon them
• A structured opportunity to learn problem-solving skills
• An opportunity to take an active role in the organisation of the school
• An opportunity to experience a democratic process
Encouraging our pupils to develop:
• A sense of ownership over policy and practice
• A consensus over school issues such as behaviour
• A responsibility towards the school community and environment
Giving our pupils the experience of:
• Planning, organising and monitoring small projects
• Speaking and listening skills
• Debating skills
• Mediation and negotiating skills
• Basic budgeting and managing money
Meet our School Council representatives:
Every September, two children from each class in Key Stage 1 and 2 are elected to represent the views of our pupils, giving all of our children the opportunity to have their voices heard and be part of the whole school community. The elected School Council Representatives meet regularly with our School Council Teacher Representative (Mrs McGuinness), Headteacher and other members of staff which provides pupils with a forum to share their opinions and help to makes decisions about school life. After each School Council meeting, the representatives take ideas back to their class to discuss and vote on, so all the children have their say. Feedback is then provided by the representatives at each School Council Meeting.
It is a very responsible job!
This year our School Council representatives are:
School Council Updates 2022-2023
September 2022
In the first week of the new school year, the previous year’s School Council Representatives met with Mrs Baron to discuss the re-design of our ‘Be Your Best’ behaviour policy. Mrs Baron wanted to hear the children’s voice on changing the wording of one of our school rules. The School Council representatives took the suggestion back to their classes and it was agreed unanimously that the 4th school rule would change to ‘Be your best’ which then also formed the new name for our behaviour policy.

Each class elected their new School Council representatives and the new members met with Mrs McGuinness. We discussed their role as School Council representatives, how they will be known to all in our school family and will be actively involved in planning, leading and evaluating initiatives to make our school a better place in which to live, love and learn.
Mr Dowling asked the School Council to talk to their classes about what improvements they would like to see in OPAL, with particular focus on creating ‘nice’ seating areas. The School Council representatives were tasked with going back to class and discussing this and any additional areas they would like to improve in our school ready to bring their suggestions to the next meeting.
October 2022
The School Council badges arrived and were presented to the School Council representatives during Celebration Assembly. The children were thrilled to receive their gold shield badges and take great pride in wearing them to school every day.
November 2022
School council met at the start of November and fed back on class suggestions for improving OPAL play seating areas. There were lots of fantastic ideas to pass on to Mr Dowling and we look forward to seeing these improvements. We were also asked by Mrs Pollard to choose a charity to support with the money raised from our Odd Socks Day that took place on 18th November as a part of Anti bullying week (14th-18th November). We looked at lots of different charities and voted for Kidscape, a charity that provides practical support, training, and advice to challenge bullying and protect young lives so that all children to grow up in supportive communities safe from bullying and harm.