School Council host conference

On Thursday 19^th November Chew Valley School invited leaders from Primary and Secondary Schools in Banes to attend a conference to share in the success of our School Community Council.

The conference was lead by enthusiastic students involved in the Community Council at Chew Valley and Learning to Lead. Learning to Lead is a non-profit organisation that is working with schools across the country to change the way that students and teachers work together and encourage positive involvement in the management of their school.

With the support of Learning to Lead, Chew Valley School Community Council was launched in 2005. Through an inclusive school council approach we hoped that students would explore opportunities to discover more about who they are and what they want to do in the future.

Students self–elect to form Project Teams to fulfil the plans they make to contribute to their school community in ways they have perceived need their help.  All the Project Teams’ plans are put together to form the School Council Development Plan.

The teams lead and manage their own projects and are accountable to the whole school community for the successful completion of their projects.  We currently have 8 teams that are involved in project areas around the school.

In a multi-media presentation, the Chew Valley students shared their achievements and sought to encourage participation in the initiative from other schools in our area.

The day was a resounding success. The teachers present were absolutely overwhelmed by the presentations from students and it was evident how strongly they felt about bringing the initiative into their schools.

There are plans for Chew Valley School to act as a hub to support similar work in feeder primaries.