At Fleet Infant School we have a School Council, made up of two representatives from each class in Key Stage 1, who are chosen by their classmates and one child from each Year R class in the summer term.

The School Council meets regularly and the meetings are facilitated by a teacher. The School Council works on a wide range of issues. We believe that every child has a voice in our school and that every child can contribute their ideas and opinions through their class representatives for discussion by the School Council.

The children take back suggestions and ideas to their class and report back on the best ones to the whole School Council.  These are then acted on and shared with all children through assemblies, which School Council may sometimes lead.

Ideas for this Year

This year the children have been very creative around their ideas for helping our school community be a happy, fun place. 

Their suggestions include:

• Kindness Week to help everyone remember how to play and be kind to their friends 
• New toilet rules so that children are respectful of our resources and to keep the toilets tidy
• 'Be helpful to your teacher day' - to thank the teachers for their hard work
• Adding painting to lunchtime activities
• Auditing the outside play resources and suggesting new ones
• Reminding the children in their class about that half term's school value
• Looking after our environment
• Food waste

Kindness Week

This will be held during week beginning 6th December 2021.  The children asked their classes for ideas on how we could show kindness to each other in school and at home and how we might show kindness to strangers.  Their ideas included:

• donating a toy to a charity shop for another child to have at Christmas
• completing an act of kindness at home e.g. setting the table, playing with a sibling
• learning a new game to play with friends in school
• circle time in school to remind ourselves about what kindness is and how we can show it
• smiling

The staff and children will complete these challenges during that week.

The week went very well and most classes were able to collect information on what acts of kindness were completed at home and in school.  The School Council's posters were amazing and showed very clearly all the different ways that people can show kindness, well done!

Eco Warriers and Save our Planet

One member of the School Council wrote to the council and asked whether they coulld focus on a number of issues linked to saving our planet.

Following a discussion they decided to get each class to vote for two Eco-Warriers who can monitor the recycling, electricty and water use in their class. These will change half termly.

They also feel that we waste food in school so they will monitor this at lunchtimes, ask the children why they have left over food and report back.  This may lead to the school council meeting with the kitchen staff and holding an assembly for the whole school.  This will be linked into supporting 'Mary's Meals' a charity which provides a hot meal to children attending school around the world.  The aim will be to give Fleet Infant School children an understanding that not all children have food to waste. 

The School Council monitored the food waste and fed back to their classes.  They discussed why certain foods were thrown away more than others and made suggestions to the kitchen staff.  For example, could they have a smaller helping of peas as most are thrown away? Maybe half a jacket potato?   These changes were implemented and waste improved slightly.  The school council also tasted the new menu, making suggestions as to which meals they thought our children would like best.

Litter

One fo the School Council members felt we should improve our use of single use plactics and teh general litter around the area.  The Council decided that they would like to support a local park (Oakley Park) by making posters reminding people to put their litter in bins and to do a litter pick around the park.  They will be doing the litter pick in June.