A group of pupils from Castlehill Primary in Bearsden took centre stage at an event held at Strathclyde University this week for undergraduate teaching students.
During the week the University students heard from a variety of people about how important ‘pupil voice’ is in terms of engagement and encouraging positive action.
The students at the University are learning about how young children can be given a voice in their own education and life of the school and exploring how children can be given the opportunity to express their views on how they learn and are taught.
And that is where the youngsters from Castlehill come in. They gave a presentation on ‘pupil voice’ to a packed auditorium about how their ‘school groups approach’ means every pupil has a say in, and some responsibility for, some aspect of the working of their school.
Head Teacher Suzanne Kenney explained, “Our approach in Castlehill has developed over a number of years. It involves all of the children from P1 to P7 choosing a school group of interest to them. The groups set their own agenda and share their work with pupils and families. The information and opinions which we uncover through this approach can be surprising at times. It is successful because children and staff are working closely together and we also benefit from the input of parents who attend the monthly meetings. The approach has the added benefit of contributing to our wider Rights Respecting work.”
Strathclyde University’s Evelyn Hart thanked the pupils for attending. She said, “Thank you to all the great children for coming in and delivering their very informative presentation on Castlehill’s committee structure. The students were very impressed and it was very relevant to what they are working on.”
The children really enjoyed the experience. One pupil commented that he had found it ‘less nerve-wracking than he thought it would be as the students had all been very interested in what we were saying.” Another said, “I loved seeing all the different buildings the University has and learning about what people study there. I’d really like to go to University when I am older.”
East Dunbartonshire’s Chief Education Officer, Jacqui MacDonald, congratulated the young people, saying, “It was a huge honour to be invited to speak at this event and the young people of Castlehill Primary did themselves proud.
“It is well understood that giving pupils a voice, a say in their education, is an important way to ensure they get the most out of their time at school. Castlehill is contributing to a much bigger picture by sharing what works for them with these teachers of the future.”
Follow us on Twitter @EDCouncil or like us on Facebook for the latest updates.