Schools urged to give children more power

Head teachers came under renewed pressure this week to give their pupils more say over how their schools are run.

The Secondary Heads Associations published guidance for school leaders on how to promote and encourage school councils, insisting they should be given more influence and the power to make decisions.

Meanwhile, the Department for Education and Skills launched a school councils’ toolkit for primary school teachers together with an accompanying handbook for school children. Although school councils are already running in a number of primary schools, progress across the board has been slower than in secondary schools.

The resources, which have been produced by educational charity School Councils UK and funded by the DfES, offer advice and techniques to help staff and pupils make a success of their school council. The charity has also produced a pack on using school councils in special schools.

Go to www.schoolcouncils.org; Raising the Student Voice: A Framework for Effective School Councils from www.sha.org.uk