Pupil Voice

Pupil Voice is an opportunity for the children at Hawkinge Primary School to have a voice and express their views and opinions about our school. Sessions last approximately 20-25 minutes and take place once per term, led by Year 6 pupils. Children are placed in mixed age groups and are grouped with their siblings.

Each session has an agenda which the Year 6 leaders follow, with the opportunity to play some team building games at the end of the session if there is time. The Pupil Voice Leaders are expected to establish their own rules and take charge of the session – they do this in the initial session towards the end of term 1. Teachers remain in the classroom in a supportive capacity and give feedback to the leaders so that they know what they did well and also receive advice and tips on how they could improve future sessions.

Pupils are invited to apply to be Pupil Voice leaders at the end of Year 5 and have the opportunity to support the Year 6 leaders at the end of the academic year in preparation for taking over when they are in Year 6.  At the start of Year 6, the leaders are given a series of training sessions in readiness for their first session.  These cover a range of key skills and attributes including how to organise and run a session, how to deal effectively with behaviour and ideas for teambuilding games.

Pupil Voice is a great chance for the children to take on leadership roles and responsibilities, as well as to build their confidence.  The feedback from staff in school is exceptionally positive and the children are always keen to develop their skills even further.  Do ask your child about it next time there is a meeting.