School Council Awards for Primary Schools - Cornwall Healthy ...

Cornwall Healthy Schools PADL (Promoting Active DemocracyLoudly) School Council Awards for Primary SchoolsPADL Bronze AwardCouncil proceduresSchool councillorsare voted foranonymously by allchildren in theschoolAll councillors areequal and have thesame chance to takepart and put in theirideasWhole councilmeetings are held atleast once every halftermThe children areworking towardsholding officerpositions on thecouncilChildren have a sayin the agenda of thecouncil (agenda is alist of things that youneed to talk about ina meeting)A constitution orground rules areestablished for theschool councilA system exists for achange over ofmembers whichensures continuityand gives everyonea chance to takepartCouncil links withinthe schoolA link member ofstaff is appointed tosupport the counciland providefeedback to otherstaffEvery class has theability to feed in andfeed backThe school makessure that every childhas a voice,including theyoungest childrenChildren’s skills inparticipation arebeing developedwithin the curriculumThe seniormanagement teamof the schoolsupport the schoolcouncil and thereare ways for them torespondAn appropriate timeand place isallocated for schoolcouncil sessionsAll staff are aware ofthe school counciland their role inrelation to itCouncil linksbeyond the schoolChildren and staffare aware ofChildren’s Rights (UNConvention for theRights of the Child)Parents andgovernors are awareof the existence ofthe school councilCouncil activitiesThereareopportunities for theSchool Council tocommunicate withthe rest of the school(e.g. notice board,school assembly)

PADL Silver AwardFor this award all the criteria for the previous award must be met, with the changes or developmentsindicated here also being met.Council proceduresSchool councilmeetings are held atleast once a monthDifferent ways are usedto discuss issues in theschool councilWithin the schoolcouncil, officer postsare held by children,and they are voted inThere is an introductionand training process fornew councillorsYear 5 and 6 councilmembers look afterand support youngermembers in the schoolcouncilIn line with thecurriculum, all childrenare taught about thefair process of councils,including classrepresentatives asschool councillors,nomination, manifestosand votingChildren can vote forthemselves as schoolcouncillors and presenttheir manifesto to theclassA written constitution isin placeCouncil links within theschoolEvery class can put theirviews forward to theschool council andthere should be a classmeeting then a councilmeeting then a classmeeting again, and soonA system is set up tohelp the youngestchildren take part (e.g.‘buddying’ by Year 6)outside the schoolcouncil sessionsThere is a clearunderstanding of therole of the link teacherin relation to the schoolcouncilThe school council hasways for two waycommunication withtheseniormanagement teamThe school council hasa system to present ayearly report of itsachievements to thewhole schoolA regular timetable ofmeetings is planned inadvance and displayedappropriatelyAll staff are invited to atraining session aboutschool and classcouncilsDifferent ways are inplace to help children toput issues, concerns orsuggestions to theschool, e.g. asuggestion boxCouncil links beyondthe schoolThe council has links oris developing links tolocal schoolsThe school hasconsidered the role ofthe school council inrelation to the ‘EveryChild Matters’outcomesParents and governorsare informed about therole of the schoolcouncil and its workCouncil activitiesThe school councilcontributes to theschool’s newsletter andwebsite (where theyexist) to inform allmembers of the schoolcommunity about itsworkThe council can showthat it has achievedsuccessful projects andnew ideas, with fundingprovidedasappropriate

PADL Gold AwardFor this award, all the criteria for the previous award must be met, with the changes ordevelopments indicated here also being met.Council proceduresThe school iscommitted to havinga school council inthe long termEvery child has theopportunity toproduce their ownmanifestoThe council has aprocess for checkingand evaluating itsown workThe school councilagenda is agreed inadvance and isdisplayed and givenout to whoeverneeds itWhole councilmeetings are held atleast once a month,with class meetingsin betweenThe constitution isdisplayed in everyclassroomCouncil links withinthe schoolThe council isinvolved incontributing to theSchool ImprovementPlanThe council has clearlinks to thegovernors and theirmeetingsThe school council isgiven a budget, thespending of whichthe children have themajor say overThe school council isconsulted with overimportant decisionsin school that affectchildren, includingcurriculum andpolicyThe school is in theHealthy Schoolsprogramme and theschool council is partof the processWhere a new staffappointment is to bemade, the schoolcouncil will have thechance to have asayCouncil linksbeyond the schoolThe school council isactively involved inthe local communityLocalcouncillors/MPs areinvited to discussissues with theschool councilThe time and placeof meetings areshared with otherpeople, includingparents andgovernorsParents, governorsand other interestedpeople are invited toa session to learnmore about theschool councilThere are chances tocommunicatebetween the schoolcouncil and parentsand the widercommunityThe schoolimplements the UNConvention of theRights of the Childthrough writtenpolicyCouncil activitiesThereiscommunicationbetween the schoolcouncil and thegoverning bodyThe children keep arecord of budgetspending and reporton it

PADL Platinum AwardFor this award, all the criteria for the previous award must be met, with the changes ordevelopments indicated here also being met. The platinum award may be gained oneyear after having achieved Gold level, or longer if Gold level has been sustained.1. The school is an Assessing School, with a minimum of 4 Child Assessors trained inschool at any one time. These Assessors will have received training for this roleand be able to describe the process of assessment to others.2. The Assessors will have visited and assessed at least two schools (at any level)within the last year.3. The school is a Supporting School and on hand to assist pupils and link teachersfrom other schools with their school councils.4. The school will have supported at least two other schools with school council issuesduring the last 12 months, and have the paper work as evidence to show they havedone this.5. The school actively involves its pupils in school policy development, and is able toproduce evidence of this.

GlossaryAgendaBallotBudgetConstitutionCurriculumElectionHustingsManifestoNominationPolicySchool CouncillorsVotea list of things that need to be talked about at a meetinga way of voting in secret by marking a paper and putting it into aspecial boxa sum of moneya set of rules or guidelines that the school council have to agree toand followwhat you have to study at schoolchoosing by voting for people to be school councillorsa chance to say all the things in your manifesto to make people votefor youyour qualities and aims to make people vote for you. It can be inleaflet form, flier or posterputting yourself or others forward to be voted foran agreed course of action, usually written downa member of the class or year group, who puts forward the class’views to the school council and feeds back to the classshowing your support, e.g. by showing of hands or a ballot