Pupil Voice
At Dean Trust Ardwick, we believe that our young people have the right to be listened to and taken seriously. We know that pupils who feel listened to, included and respected are more likely to thrive in their education and beyond. Therefore, we endeavour to give all pupils opportunities to share their thoughts and opinions on their school, community and learning. We nurture pupil participation in a formal and informal way throughout the life of the school.
Year Council
Each year group has a Year Council and this is made up of representatives from each form group. Pupils take up their positions following a democratic voting process at the start of the school year.
The Year Council meet with the Head of Year, every half term to primarily discuss year issues that are important to themselves and their peers. Pupils feel empowered to take forward their views and debate in a formal way.
Each Year Council votes for a Year Representative who also forms part of the School Council.
School Council
Pupils within the School Council have a very important role and as a result take their positions very seriously. They are the culmination of pupil voice from within the school and are very privileged to be representing their school body.
Agenda items cover global, national, local and school level, with examples of this being:
- Welcoming Refugees (National Issue)
- Knife Crime (Local Issue)
- Dining at Dean Trust Ardwick (School matter)
- Haircuts (School matter)
The School Council comprises Year Representatives from each year group and it is led by the Senior Prefect Team: the Head boy, Head girl and their deputies. Their role involves leading the School Council meetings, communicating feedback to the Senior Leadership Team, updating the School Council noticeboard, writing the weekly newsletter article and decide upon how achievements are communicated to pupils. They are driven and committed to turn pupil voice into pupil action.
Pupil Surveys
At Dean Trust Ardwick all pupils are encouraged to become active agents in their own learning, wellbeing and personal development and pursue this via pupil voice. Pupils take this opportunity to express their individual thoughts, feelings and opinions in an informal way on a range of topics such as:
- Homework
- Rewards
- Revision
- Learning in the classroom
- Enrichment
- Options and the curriculum
- Health and Wellbeing
This feedback is valued and is used to assist in the development of school strategy in order for our young people to thrive and flourish in all areas of school life.