At Thomas Jolyffe we believe in our pupils and all they have to offer.

They know our school best and are important in helping our school 'to be the best that it can be.'  

The pupil voice is important to us all in school; leaders, staff and governors value the contributions of all our pupils. 

We think School Council provides a great opportunity to hear their views and opinions.

What is School Council? 

School council is a group of children from across the school who represent and are elected by their peers to share the views of their class. 

We meet half termly and discuss issues important to the children.

We also use the time to canvas the opinion of the wider student body in a safe and supportive space. The children are also able to raise any issues or concerns and feel heard. 

Why have a School Council? 

To give the children a chance to be heard and share their opinions.

To build positive relationships between children in different year groups and with key members of staff.

To give the children 'real-life' experiences of instigating and initiating effective change.

To involve the children in decision making, to ensure they have a say in their school. 

To develop our pupils responsibility and sense of belonging.

To embed and support aspects of our PSHE and Citizenship curriculum. 

School Council Meeting - March 2022:

The councillors are going to feedback on some key questions they have asked in their classes following the last meeting.

These include: 

What is bullying? 

What do you like about playtime? 

Is there anything you would change about playtime? 

How do you feel about areas of our playground? 

Are there better spaces? 

Is there anywhere you don't like to play? Why? 

We will discuss the outcomes of their findings and what actions we may need to take to address any issues raised. 

School Council Meeting - May 2022

In this meeting we continued our work on safe spaces around school. We then worked together to address concerns raised by some of our environmentally minded Year 5's. They had eloquently written to Mrs Dunnico to express their concerns about the environment and what more the Thomas Jolyffe community could do. They were invited to our meeting to discuss their ideas and school council had some fantastic suggestions. The team are going to take our discussions and questions back to their classes. 

Before our next meeting (8th June 2022) the councillors will:

• Conduct a survey of how children in their class travel to school.
• Facilitate a discussion on reusable water bottles and recycling at TJ. What is working well? What could we do better?