Belleville Wix Academy

School Council and Eco-Council

Our School » School Council and Eco-Council

School Council

Our pupil’s voice and their opinion is very important to us. We are very fortunate to have an active school council which encourages responsibility, democracy and ownership. Every year the elected School Council work together to bring fresh ideas and make improvements to our school. This builds on our teaching and promotion of British Values.

At the start of every academic year, pupils from Reception through to Year 6 are invited to consider running for School Council in our official election. If a pupil decides they would like the opportunity to be their class representative, they prepare a manifesto before presenting it to their peers. Elections are taken very seriously and all pupils are asked to cast their votes for the candidate they feel is the right one for the job. Through this election process, each class selects two pupils from their class to represent them throughout the year.

Our School Council meets half-termly to discuss issues and initiatives, they are then responsible for reporting back to classes.

School Councillors take an active role in whole school events such as helping to run stalls at events, organising charitable events as well as meeting stakeholders to give a pupil perspective on whole school decisions.

More recently, our School Council was involved in the following activities.

Helping others in our Local Area

Pupils asked members of our school community to donate pre-loved warm items for local refugees and asylum-seekers charity

Celebrating World Heritage Day

Councillors helped organise a brilliant World Heritage Day and international food stalls which brought the who school community together.

Improving our school

Pupils designed and conducted a pupil survey to find out what playground equipment their peers would like to have for playtimes and to gather ideas about how we could improve the facilities. The outcome of the survey was the decision to create a quiet reading area/ book corner in both KS1 and KS2 playgrounds.

 

In the Autumn Term of 2024, our School Council met to discuss the changes we would like to implement in school and have decided on three main aims;  to make a positive impact on the food in the canteen, to implement a buddy system in the playground and help run an event for world heritage day. 

The School Council met with our schools caterers Harrisons to discuss future changes to the menu. They looked at our current menu and discussed the items they enjoyed, and some that they wanted to change. They decided on some new menu items with the caterers, thinking about what items were possible to make on such a large scale but were still delicious.

In the Spring Term 2025, they will be meeting to discuss a potential buddy system in the playground. This will be implemented and run by our School Council reps to make sure everyone is enjoying their playtime to the fullest. 

 

School Councillors - Year 6

Chari: "I want to make change in our community. If we have to learn, we should be learning the right way. It is essential that every child contributes something in this society."

Eco Council

Pupils at BWA want to make a difference to the world we live in and are committed to doing what they can to make sure we care for our school environment and beyond. Our Eco Council benefits the whole school, pupils and teachers. By joining up with the global programme ‘Eco-Schools’ we provide our pupils with the avenue to make a difference in the world.

Involvement with the Eco-Schools programme has huge positive impacts on the pupils as well as the school community. Not only do we see an increased confidence in our pupils but also a development of their leadership skills, improved well-being and an overall greater motivation at school.

At the start of every academic year, pupils from Reception through to Year 6 are invited to consider running for Eco Council in our official election. If a pupil decides they would like the opportunity to be their class representative, they prepare a manifesto before presenting it to their peers. Elections are taken very seriously and all pupils are asked to cast their votes for the candidate they feel is the right one for the job. Through this election process, each class selects two pupils from their class to represent them throughout the year.

Our Eco Council meets half-termly to discuss and vote on issues and initiatives as well as share relevant information with their class. At times they are requested to ask their class for ideas or take class votes relating to discussions by the Eco Council. It is the responsibility of each councillor to ensure that they express both their own views and the views of all the other pupils they represent.

The Eco Council has highlight the need to reduce, reuse and recycle. Here are some of things they have done to improve our school environment and beyond.

Reducing Plastic

To reduce plastic waste most pupils now bring in their own water bottle that can be refilled at school.

Recycling paper

We encourage everyone to reduce the amount of paper they use and recycle it when possible.

Gardening

We have an active Gardening Club and gardening is weaved throughout the curriculum. Our parents have helped us develop our outside area to provide more opportunities to grow fruit and vegetables on our school site.

Clean Air Day - CAD

Every year we come together as a whole school community to celebrate CAD.  Pupils wear green and take part in a wide variety of activities through the day, such as assemblies, led by two parents, gardening, learning outside, this could be reading outside, building bug hotels or looking at the impact of pollution through lichen on trees on the common. 

School Streets

We are very fortunate to operate a School Street every morning for drop off and again for the end of day pick up. This reduces the fumes outside of school and encourages more walking.

Travel to School

We actively promote Walk to School weeks. Most pupils travel by public transport, bike or scooter to school.

 

In the Autumn Term of 2024, our Eco Council met to discuss the key areas of focus in school and have decided on three main aims: Clean Air Day, gardening and maintaining a clean school environment. The councillors met to do a gardening project. They explored what type of plants will grow and flower in the winter season. They used this information to create planters with herbs and flowers to improve the school environment. In the Spring Term, they will be meeting over several lunch times to work on a variety of gardening projects, including how to grow veggies from scraps, how to create a windowsill garden, and much more.

 

Eco Councillors - Years 5 and 6

Evie: "I really want to look at ways to reduce food wastage in the canteen this year, maybe by introducing food compost bins."

Aya: "Children's fun at playtimes is important to me so I want to see if we can add more playground equipment this year, like swings or slides."

Anwen: "We are building over the beating heart of our home. We are poisoning our atmosphere with gas. If you vote for me, we can, and we will, break this deadly cycle - one school at a time."

Maya: "I'm not here to just pick up a few wrappers or plant a few plants; I'm here to make a needed change. When you understand that, you'll understand why I need your vote."