A whole-school approach means listening to the voices of everyone in the school community.

We at St John's believe that children e can offer unique perspectives on what it is like to be a pupil at their school; involving them in decision-making can create meaningful change and better academic outcomes, as well as facilitating a sense of empowerment and inclusion.

What is it and why is it important?

Pupil voice in schools means a whole-school commitment to listening to the views, wishes and experiences of all our children. It means placing value on what children tell school staff about their experiences.

Children  need to be provided with meaningful opportunities to share their experiences, views and hopes about their school. Pupils need to know that it is safe and that it is important for them to express their views on what happens at our school. They need to know that what they say is valued and will be listened to and considered.

Schools with a strong commitment to pupil voice have reported many positive outcomes. These include a reduction in exclusions, better behaviour, better relationships across the whole-school community, and improving attainment and attendance – all of which can also improve your school’s rating by the school inspectorate.

What does it look like in practice and how can we work towards it?

There is no one way to promote the voice of children and young people in a school or further education setting; every setting is different with a unique cohort of pupils. Here are some ideas that we use:

• Create regular opportunities for children to share their views with each other and school staff.
• Vary the ways in which pupils can participate; for example:
  • School councils can make useful contributions to shaping school life but only a small number of pupils can get involved and some may find this type of formal engagement challenging.
  • Holding a meeting to discuss the agenda of the next school council meeting.
  • Assemblies to provide opportunities to make sure pupils understand a school’s commitment to knowing what children want and need.
  • Decisions and comments passed onto the school council, staff, senior management team or head teacher.
• We make sure consultation is varied and includes many different aspects of school life. For example: the curriculum, how pupils like to learn, facilities and the physical environment of the school, break times, after-school clubs, uniform, welfare and bullying. 
• We make sure the values and ethos of the school reflect the commitment to pupil voice.
• Embed children participation into all aspects of school life rather than just seeing it as an add-on. 
• Review regularly; something that worked once might not be working now. For example, involve pupils in reviewing the anti-bullying policy. Does it work? What needs to change
• Parent forum for parents to involve them in decision-making.