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School Council

What is School Council?
 
The School Council gives our students a voice on matters relevant to school life.

Proposals made by its members can, and do, have a real impact on the rest of the school. They develop an understanding of democratic principles and gain experience of gathering information, sharing views, running a committee and making decisions.

The students are elected to the School Council by their peers and are supported in their meetings by Duncan Rowley and Jess Doyle that happens every half term and occasion emergency meetings.

Throughout the year the students will have the opportunity to meet with Senior Leaders and the Head Teacher to discuss any changes that they wish to raise with the School Governors.

At the end of the school year the School Council are rewarded with a celebratory lunch and activity to highlight their successes and commitment throughout the year.
 
 
 
What happened at the meetings?
 
At the start of the academic year the school council discussed the following areas:
  • Playground – Pupils said they wanted a very cold water dispenser outside. Pupil also discussed wanting fake grass instead of the AstroTurf.
  • Classroom – Pupils said the library is messy and not organised. They also discussed having more equipment in the classrooms.
  • School Uniform – Pupils said they want to get blazers. Pupils said they find the school jumpers uncomfortable and itchy.
  • School Dinners – Pupils said they want to improve the school lunches and found the menu boring.

The school council then voted which area they wanted to focus on, they then agreed on ‘School Uniform’.
  • They wanted a blazer with the O/L logo on. Pupils said they are fed up of taking off their jumpers. They wanted a blazer with a modern look.
  • Different colour ties for different years/houses.
  • They discussed having the O/L logo on the PE tops.
Deaf School Council Conference
 
On the 7th June we arranged for Oak Lodge and Blanche Neville School to meet for a ‘Deaf School Council Conference’ - this is the first time both school council groups have met.
The aim of the day was to bring the two school councils together to form new friendships and discuss what’s been on their school council agenda in the past year. They joined together for a fun and informative day. Oak Lodge students welcomed Blanche Nevile with refreshments and a tour of the school. The morning continued with ice breaker games – one game involved the pupils making the strongest chair out of masking tape and newspaper! The groups then discussed Deaf Identify and what their highlights and challenges have been this year as part of their school council. The day ended with pizza and chips and a game of football outside.

‘I really enjoyed meeting with Blanche Nevile School, I particularly liked the fact that they made the effort to visit our school. We had lots of fun and games, we worked really well as a team. We really hope we can do more events like this in the future. We also hope we can invite other deaf schools and make it an even bigger event!’. – JW

‘I really enjoyed the event and loved making new friends. It was nice that another deaf secondary school visited us. It was interesting to know what BN have been discussing in their school council agenda and we also gave them ideas. I also loved the pizza!. Thank you to the staff for giving us the opportunities. It was a great day’. – SS.

‘I really enjoyed meeting the pupils from Blanche Nevile School. I enjoyed the games and eating the pizza’. – AG

‘I liked making new friends with pupils from Blanche Neville, I enjoyed talking with them and playing the games’. – KA