Bishop’s Stortford Pupil Voice Network Launches

Published on isbi School News dated Friday 23rd of March 2018

On Tuesday 6th March, 10 schools including 31 pupils and 11 teachers gathered at Bishop’s Stortford College for the inaugural meeting of the Bishop’s Stortford Pupil Voice Network (BSPVN). School Council representatives from Bishop’s Stortford College Prep School, Hillmead Primary, Hockerill Anglo-European College, Little Hadham Primary, Manor Fields Primary, Northgate Primary, Rickling Green Primary, St Mary’s Primary Stansted and Thorley Hill Primary were all represented with apologies from Farnham Primary.  After an introduction from the College, everyone discussed the value of having a Pupil/School Council in their setting; from the perspective of pupils, teachers, governors and the wider community. Everyone agreed that by establishing a Council in a school all pupils learn valuable life skills such as: communication, negotiation, resilience and co-operation. Councillor Diane Hollebon was than invited to talk to the Network about the work of the Town Council, and asked the School Councillors to take part in a research activity relating to the Bishop’s Stortford Town Carnival. Feedback on pupils’ views about the Carnival will be gathered by individual Pupil Councils and shared with the Town Council in the summer. After a unanimous vote, all the pupil and staff delegates decided they would like to meet again to celebrate the value of the Pupil Voice in their local community and agreed to meet twice yearly with different schools hosting the meetings. Themes were also suggested for future Network meetings, including ‘How to manage disappointment’ and ‘How to prioritise your time and resources effectively’. Following the vote, a logo competition was launched so the BSPVN will have a recognisable identity. Certificates of membership were then awarded to each school, as well as an ‘Album of Excellence’ - a collated set of reports from each School/Pupil Council. Jane Towns, the teacher leading the project at the College said, “It was a fantastic day. Prep School Pupils at the College have long had a Pupil Council Voice but to share this with other local schools and discuss common issues was really exciting. We would welcome other local schools who wish to join the network.” The results of the logo competition will be announced in June when the Network looks forward to meeting the Mayor at the Bishop’s Stortford Town Council Chambers.