Birchfield Primary School

Birchfield Avenue, Leeds, West Yorkshire LS27 7HU

01132533009

office@birchfieldprimary.org.uk

School Council

What is the School Council?

The school council works to make improvements to the school and the way we do things at Birchfield Primary. We look around for things that could be better and discuss what to do. Everyone gets a chance to speak and when we’ve finished we vote on the best ideas and then start working on changing things. Sometimes we have to talk to teachers and sometimes we have to make phone calls to people outside of the school.

Who are the School Councillors?
Every year we run an election campaign to vote for two new representatives for each class. A good representative will speak at the council meetings about things that their class is interested in. They will also tell their class about what is going on in the council meetings and put the minutes up in the classroom.

Glossary

We try to be very professional in the council so we use a lot of business words. Hopefully this will help.

Agenda - a list of things to talk about

Councillor - someone who has been voted for to work for their class mates on the school council

Minutes - the notes taken during a meeting so people can see what goes on

Motion - an idea for the council to discuss

Leeds Children's Mayor 2022
In the summer term, year 5 pupils took part in the Leeds Children's Mayor project.Leeds Children’s Mayors is an annual citizen project that has been running for over 15 years. It is run in partnership between Democratic Services and the Voice and Influence Team.The project aims to actively engage children in the process of democracy and promote an understanding of rights and responsibilities as well as being an active citizen. It is an opportunity for school to encourage and support pupils to be aspirational, and recognise that their actions can influence change.
Denver from our year 6 class was nominated to put forward his entry and although he wasn't selected, his efforts have been recognised in the letter below by the Lord Mayor himself.
Well done Denver!

ROAD SAFETY AWARENESSAs part of Road Safety Week, and with the ongoing parking/ driving issues around school, Birchfield pupils have completed a road safety patrol of the local streets.Recently, School Council completed a road safety questionnaire which generated some staggering statistics:- 70% of Year 1 pupils feel unsafe walking to school- More children would walk, cycle or scoot to school if the roads near school were safer- 78% of Year 3 children worry that they might be hit by traffic near school.In order to remind drivers to be respectful, our dedicated pupils popped on their high vis jackets, arrived early and shared the posters they had created. Despite the weather, the children were eager to share their thoughts and expectations.Feedback was positive and we struggled to find any irresponsible driving. It appears that our tactic worked (if only we could do this every day).

Cluster Council 

Year 6 school council representatives join the Cluster Council - this involves the children attending a meeting each term with all schools in the Morley area.  The focus of this meeting is to get together to identify issues in Morley that we need to work on and develop an action plan to make a difference to our community.  The children often come back to school with tasks that they share with the school council and their classes.  By working together, we can be responsible citizens and really make a true difference. 

First meeting of the year - 17.11.22
Year 6 school councillors joined the Cluster Council for their first meeting of the year yesterday.The Cluster Council involves the children attending a meeting each term with all schools in the Morley area. The focus of the meetings is to get together to identify issues in Morley that we need to work on and develop an action plan to make a difference to our community. By working together, we can be responsible citizens and really make a true difference.Frazer and Noah were given the opportunity to share their manifestos about why they wanted to be the Chair and Vice Chair of the meetings. Despite being pipped to the post, they did a remarkable job at representing Birchfield. We are very proud of them.
The Mayor of Morley (Councillor Newton) was able to attend for the entire meeting and spoke about the reasons why he wanted to be the mayor. He thought the children were intelligent, well mannered, sensible and a real credit to each of their schools.
Well done boys!