Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) says that children and young people should have a say in decisions that affect their lives.  A school council can provide a meaningful way in which pupils can voice their opinions and have their views taken into account in decisions which impact upon them.

Experience from many schools shows that a school council that is supported and nurtured helps to improve many aspects of school life. It is an important and useful way for schools to provide leadership and development opportunities for their pupils. 

Within the school curriculum, one of the key areas making up the ‘Personal Development and Mutual Understanding’ theme is active participation. The curriculum requires that young people are provided with opportunities to participate in school and society. School councils are an excellent way in which to increase participation, teaching young people about democracy, local and global citizenship and accountability, whilst also significantly fostering their self-confidence, self-discipline and self-control.

Last year, our school council started a stationery shop, to raise funds for playground equipment. They have taken responsibility for the stocking and daily running of the shop. The shop is open Monday to Thursday, during break. They also organised their first ‘Break-the-rules’ day, raising over £600 for school council funds. Some money was donated to a pupil raising funds for another pupil in school, to help them pay for the purchase of a mobility bed. They have planned a loose change collection for classes, scheduled to start in the new term.