Pupil Voice

Why is Pupil Voice Important in Schools?

Every child has the right to express their views, feelings and wishes in all matters affecting them, and to have their views considered and taken seriously.

Children as learners are at the heart of schools. The way that children view their experiences at Broomhill are be used to inform and influence how the school operates. By actively inviting, and, importantly, responding to pupil voice can have massive benefits to our school.

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) is important in our school because it provides a framework to ensure that education is delivered in a way that is child-centered, respectful and empowering. By embedding the UNCRC, we can improve our overall ethos, vision and values, create a safer and more inclusive environment, and this will help our children become engaged, responsible citizens.

Head Boy and Head Girl

One of the most prestigious accolades in Y6 is to be chosen to be Head Boy, Head Girl or their deputies. The Head Boy and Head Girl are chosen to represent the school and act as role models for other children. Many things are taken into consideration when choosing our Head Girl and Head Boy, including attendance, thoughtfulness and care for others, attitude to learning, positivity and perseverance.

The Head Boy and Head Girl support the school at events (such as parent's evening, helping out with productions or extra-curricular events.) They contribute to the effective running of the school, as directed by any staff member. The Head Boys and Head Girls help to take responsibility as role models for younger students and help to ensure that the school is a safe and secure place for all children.

Their roles and responsibilities include:

Being ambassadors for the school
Speaking to visitors and answering questions about life at Broomhill Junior School
Sharing their experiences with children in lower years
Being role models for the rest of the pupil body
Meeting the Head Teacher, associate headteachers, Governors and other staff members to discuss current issues and developments
Presenting awards and certificates
Leading school assemblies
Supporting the school in developing new ideas and projects

The Head Boy and head Girl must have the ability to work productively with others, whilst using their initiative to contribute to the positive ethos of the school. They will need to be organised, responsible, enthusiastic, and a great ambassador for the school. They must maintain excellent behaviour, uniform, attendance and punctuality.

The Head Boys and the Head Girls all share a passion and commitment for Broomhill Junior School. They are the link between the children, staff and governors. They demonstrate positive behaviours and act as role models for all years and demonstrate our school 5R values.

The children are appointed through a rigorous selection process during the autumn term. During this process, children have the opportunity to write a brief application and present their ideas to the senior leadership team, explaining why they believe they are best suited to the role. The pupils with the highest skill set are chosen to represent the school.

School Leaders and Ambassadors

Our School Leaders and Ambassadors play a vital role in the life of Broomhill Junior School. They provide a meaningful way for pupils to voice their thoughts and opinions about the school and well as helping to drive improvement. It means they can have their views listened to and be involved in important decisions which impact upon them. This in turn builds character and helps them to become good citizens of the future.

Pupil Lead and Ambassadors are chosen using the Fundamental British Value of democracy. We provide the Leaders and Ambassadors with Job Specifications which enable them to further develop their responsibility, respect and resilience to become active citizens who are able to play their part in school life and become actively involved in public life as adults.

Job Specification for Year 6 Pupil Leaders.pdf

What are School Councillors?

School councillors are a group of pupils elected by their classmates to represent their views and help improve the school. They meet regularly to discuss ideas, raise concerns, and suggest ways to make school life even better for everyone. Being a school councillor is a chance for pupils to have a voice, make a difference, and work together to create a positive and inclusive school environment.

School councillors are elected through a democratic process that takes place each September. Children who are interested in becoming a councillor put themselves forward as candidates and may give a short speech or presentation to explain why they would be a good representative. Each class then takes part in a ballot, where every pupil casts a vote in private for the candidate they believe will best represent their class. The votes are counted, and the candidate with the most votes is elected as the class's school councillor for the year.

Elected candidates will also be our Eco Warriors for the year.

What is Eco Schools?

Eco-Schools is a global programme engaging millions of children across 67 countries, making it the largest educational programme on the planet.

For over 25 years Eco-Schools has been empowering children to drive change and improve their environmental awareness through the Seven-Step framework in order to achieve the international Eco-Schools Green Flag.

Eco-Schools develops pupils’ skills, raises environmental awareness, improves the school environment and creates financial savings for schools as well as a whole host of other benefits.

At Broomhill we are very proud of our school environment. Over the last few years the children have been working hard to improve our Eco Schools programme, their hard work has truly paid off as we have achieved the Green Flag award since 2022. To achieve this the children have completed an environmental review, this review looked at the Eco Schools 10 Eco-Topics. As a result of the environmental review the committee group chose 3 Eco-topics which they are passionate about. An action plan was soon put together from the collected data, the committee informed others of what they found and thought of interesting and creative ways to monitor their work across school. The committee have also created their very own Broomhill Eco Code.

A huge thank you to Ashfield District council for their donation of hi-vis jackets, litter pickers, bin bags and gloves. As you can see the Eco Council were very pleased. In addition, group of Class 7 children have also been involved with Ashfield District Coucil, these children were invited to take part in a Hucknall litter pick and flower planting.