At Caedmon Primary School we have a pro-active school council consisting of 20 children in each new academic year. Children elect a boy and a girl from each year group during September. We have also introduced the 'wild card' which is when staff elect a third member from each year group that represent the school ethos well. We choose three Head Teacher 'wild card' choices from Year 6. This means that every year there are five Year 6 representatives. Once a child has represented their class mates on the council, they are not allowed to be put forward again for election. Therefore, by the time each class leaves at the age of 11, over half of the class has been fortunate enough to represent their peers. It enables a higher percentage of each class to have had the opportunity to be part of the school council by the time they leave Caedmon Primary.

The school council take part in the following activities: write their own self evaluation form, support the development of projects around the school (Rights and Respecting - UNICEF), decide upon how some of the school budget is spent, help senior teachers make decisions about improving the school, meet with the full governing body throughout the year and they have also helped appoint new members of staff including the current Head Teacher and Deputy Head Teacher.

At the end of each year, the school council travel to London for two days and visit the following places: The House of Lords, House of Commons, an established London restaurant, the London Eye and a west end show. Sometimes children will also visit Buckingham Palace (time dependant). 

This visit has several functions. Firstly, it helps the children understand about parliamentary procedure and how Parliament represents the same election and representation process as the school council. Additionally, it raises the profile of the school council across the school, with the potential visit increasing the numbers of children who wish to put themselves forward for election. Finally, the trip is also a 'thank you' to the children who have worked so hard through the year helping make Caedmon the best school it can be, Children often give up their play times and lunchtimes to be part of meetings. As always, we will be visiting London once more this coming June.

Our main focus this year is to celebrate different cultures at Caedmon. This links in well with the UNICEF Rights for Children and we will be working towards gaining our bronze award and developing into a Rights and Respecting school.

Our next event will take place in the spring term and parents/carers will be invited to set up a food stall in our main hall so that the children can taste a range of foods from different cultures. We are also have a day of celebration for Chinese New Year. 

What it's like to be on the School Council

Check back soon for comments from our newly elected 2023/24 school council members...