School Council and ECO Council

Each year group elects a member from their class to represent the class. They attend regular council meetings. A teacher chairs the meeting and the pupils are expected to decide upon issues such as playground codes of behaviour and to make suggestions to help make the school run more smoothly. The School Council is a highly effective conduit for enabling pupils to air their views.

The School Council sets an Agenda,  takes Minutes and reports back to their class after each meeting. Each class representative brings ideas on behalf of their class which we shared and discussed openly. Any problems or issues are addressed over the year and new resources are  provided wherever possible.

Head of School Council 

Being Head of School Council is a big responsibility because the role helps to improve parts of the school and get other people’s views before we help make the decisions. This year I have enjoyed making and supplying a scarecrow for a local competition; I enjoyed having my picture taken for the newspaper! In the future, the school council are hoping to improve the summer house by buying new beanbags and painting the wood. Part of my role is helping to lead the younger members of the school council and I like that part of the role a lot.

Issues/Requests last year included:

• No goal nets for the football posts and so the footballs keep escaping!
• Huge queues for Tuck shop
• Not many places to sit when outside at play time
• Not enough play time equipment for all of the children at morning break

Outcomes and Actions because of these included:

• New football nets were purchased by The Friends of Caversham Prep
• A significant amount of new equipment was purchased for play times also funded by The Friends including: basketball net, sitting down skateboards, balls and ropes
• The Tuck shop was taken outside so as to allow more children to be served at once
• Benches were purchased by The Friends and placed around the playground and grass areas for break time socialising.

In their response to the questionnaire...

all pupils felt that the school listened to and valued their thoughts on how the school should develop.

...Their suggestions are acted upon wherever possible and reasons for a decision or a necessary timescale are outlined in an assembly. For example, the school council’s request for a greater range of outdoor activities and equipment resulted in a considerable increase in playground resources, much appreciated by the pupils. - ISI Report

Head of Eco-Council 

Being environmentally friendly is really important at our school because we are aiming to be as aware of eco issues as possible. We are going for the Eco Green Flag Project and this means that we are showing how eco-friendly we are in lots of different areas. I read lots of eco books and I get National Geographic magazine. So I’m really passionate about this role and I was excited to be chosen for it. I take part in meetings by doing the minutes and helping the younger members understand what is going on.