Pupil Parliaments

Our Pupil Parliament, made up of four School Councils, gives pupils plenty of say over decisions made in all aspects of school life and fosters independence and responsibility. Understanding how decisions are made, listening to their peers, collaborating and pulling together as a team are habits which will stand them in good stead as they grow up.

Who better to offer advice and wisdom to our hardworking Pupil Parliament than our local MP and former PM, Theresa May? We were delighted to welcome Mrs May to our meeting in February. She answered some very thought provoking questions sent in by our council members and offered very useful advice to our Eco, Learning, Safety and Wellbeing Councils. She was keen to listen to St Piran’s pupils’ opinions and said how important it is that MPs listen to the younger generation on issues such as the environment in particular. Outside of politics, we learned that Theresa loved school (particularly maths and geography) and is a very keen cook with over 150 recipe books on her shelves! We did explain Wake Up and Shake Up which she seemed to like the sound of. Our members left the meeting feeling very inspired!

The Eco-Council have been very busy making St Piran’s greener. Some of the initiatives we have undertaken are glue stick and pen recycling, battery collections and litter picking. Even though we were not at school we kept our eco hats on by making bug hotels in our gardens, growing plants in our gardens and allotments and using our printers less. Going forward we plan to: • Provide bird boxes, baths and feeders • Increase our recycling efforts • Be more mindful of using electricity • Respect our school’s nature areas and protect the wildlife that lives there • Bring bees to St Piran’s!

This has been our first opportunity to be on a council and in Year 3, we are really proud to be part of the Wellbeing Council. At first, it was quite daunting to meet with the older council members, but we have found it really useful to listen to them and they have listened to our feelings and given some good advice. We have really enjoyed representing Year 4 on the Wellbeing Council because we can help people and feel special for doing so. This year has been different in so many ways but we were pleased our meetings were still held, even though they were online. Reflecting on this year, we have been very excited to be involved in making decisions that make people happy, particularly with regards to Wellbeing Week. Next year is going to be great as us Year 5 members will see the results of our hard work in helping to create the school Wellbeing Room. Being on the council is both exciting and a privilege, and we have learned that a positive council member lets people know that they are there for them.

As we look to leave St. Piran’s, in Year 6 we are proud of the impact we have had in helping to support the wellbeing of pupils coming up through the school. It takes a certain set of skills to be an effective council member but on the Wellbeing Council you have to be especially patient, empathetic and kind. When we met Theresa May online in February, she inspired us to develop our leadership skills at our next school and beyond.

Members of our safety council reflected on their year. “I have liked helping make the school safer. During home learning we helped with online safety.” Josh K “It is important to get the message about e-safety out to everyone. My favourite bit has been getting the gate up to help keep everybody safe inside the school grounds.” James A “I have enjoyed being part of the council because we made a Wake Up and Shake Up that the school will see! I think it is important to be part of the council because you can make new ideas and be part of their excitement.” Carolina “The safety council is important because we always need to be safe, even when we are online.” Seb “It is nice how children can make the school safer online and offline.” Sam B

Among other subjects, the Learning Council looked at new names for the classes for the next academic year in their last two meetings. They went with a theme of ‘Motivated Engaged Thinking’ – from the centre of our Leadership Habits wheel (a big focus in our meetings). They looked at things from very small to very large – representing their growth, physically, socially, emotionally and educationally, at St Piran’s.

We are sure with all the great work our Pupil Parliaments have done this year, that they will become great listeners and leaders!