School PARLIAMENT
Burraton School Parliament
Pupil Parliament - Welcome to the pages of the Burraton’s Pupil Parliament.
Who are we?
We are a body of pupils, from Year 1 to Year 6, who make up the school’s own Parliament. Within our Pupil Parliament, we have five different committees, chaired by members of our Year 6 Leadership Group. Each member of this Year 6 Leadership Group is responsible for a committee. The school has committees for:
- Curriculum
- Eco Schools
- Pupil Wellbeing
- E Safety
- Community
The Year 6 Leadership Group prepare the agenda for their committee meetings, which are held at the start of each half term. The Year 6 team also take the responsibility for keeping the minutes of each meeting and ensuring that any action points are completed.
At regular intervals, the Year 6 Leadership Group meet with the Headteacher and school Governors. The meeting is chaired by our two Pupil Parliament Leaders, who act like Prime Ministers. At this meeting, the committee leaders are able to discuss their progress towards their projects, ask any questions and seek the permission and support of the adult members of our school community.
How are we elected?
During the summer term, we hold an annual Democracy Day. During this day we explore what a democracy is, the merits of a democratic society and we learn about the Parliamentary organisation within our own country. Later in the day, we think about the democratic organisation of our Pupil Parliament. Every pupil is asked to choose a committee that they would like to be considered to become a member of and to then prepare a manifesto. Once we have shared our manifesto with our peers, we hold an election, and members are voted on to represent each class for the following year.
Why a Pupil Parliament?
At Burraton, we are very proud of our school community. Schools are for children and we are lucky that our school leaders and Governors recognise how it is important for us to share our views and to also be responsible for what happens at our school. By having a Pupil Parliament with different committees responsible for different aspects of school life, we can ensure that we make significant progress in making our school the very best it can be. We are forward thinking, generous with our time and dynamic in making exciting suggestions on behalf of our peers.
Our Year 5 committee members support and nurture our Year 1 pupils and help them make contributions in meetings. Every child is valued and encouraged to take responsibility for some aspect of our Pupil Parliament projects.
Do you want to know more?
Take a look at the minutes from our committee meetings to get a flavour of the broad range of projects we currently have underway.
At Burraton Community Primary School we promote the idea of being a listening school where children’s views are valued. Each class elects a representative to form the School Council, which meets twice each half term. Regular circle times and class discussions provide opportunities for the children to raise concerns and put forward suggestions as to how certain aspects of school life can be managed or improved. Additionally, the children are able to submit suggestions via a class School Council ‘post box’ which is checked prior to each meeting.
