Pupil Voice @ Maybury

“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”

Article 12, The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child

 Our children are at the heart of Maybury.  We believe that the way they view their experiences in our setting should be used to inform and influence how our school operates.

 Maybury School Parliament:

This is led by our Head Boy and Head Girl.  The children in Year 6 are invited to nominate themselves for either of these positions. As candidates, they prepare a short speech which is delivered to the whole school in an assembly. Campaign posters displaying pictures of the candidates and copies of their speeches are put up around the school.  All children in Year 1 to Year 6 then ‘go to the polls’ to vote for their preferred candidates.  A polling station is set up in the hall to replicate the real life experience of voting for a representative. The two children duly elected not only lead the school parliament, but also represent our school for the academic year.

In Year 2 to Year 5, children nominate themselves for the role of School Councillor. Candidates prepare and deliver a short speech to their class and an in-class secret ballot then takes place. Two children from each class are then elected as School Councillors for their class and serve on the Maybury School Parliament for the academic year. Year 1 children are elected to the parliament in the summer term.

Librarians:

Children in Year 6 who are interested in becoming librarians, nominate themselves for the position.  They have an informal interview with our Assistant Head, who then appoints children to the position.  The librarians are responsible for running the school library and promoting a love of reading amongst their peers.

Subject Ambassadors:

Children in Year 5 and Year 6 are able to nominate themselves via an application form to become a subject ambassador.  We aim to appoint an ambassador for each subject area in the curriculum. Subject Ambassadors have a voice in how the curriculum subjects are taught across the school.  Each term they meet with the teacher that is the Curriculum Leader for their subject to discuss what is working well within their subject area and what could be improved.

Subject Ambassadors are the link between their class peers and the coordinators: passing on everyone's views in their meetings.  Our Subject Ambassadors also accompany the coordinators on their learning walks and help monitor work from across the school with them. This enables the ambassador to develop their understanding of how their subject is being taught throughout our school and therefore be able to make more informed contributions to the termly discussions.

 Our Subject Ambassadors are chosen because of their passion for their particular subject area.  They are a role model for that particular subject and are recognised for the effort and interest put into their subject area.

 The Green Team:

Children in Year 4 are able to apply to become the school’s eco representatives.  The children meet to discuss how the school could become more eco-friendly and to promote and monitor initiatives in school, such as our recycling initiative.

Assembly Monitors:

Two children from Year 6 are able to self-nominate themselves to become our assembly monitors.  One child takes on the responsibility for the assembly music and the other for the PowerPoint presentation.