Young Person's Guide to the Safeguarding Children Review 2008

THE WESTWOOD SCHOOL CONSTITUTION OF STUDENT COUNCIL

Article 1         The council consists of:

1. An elected President
2. A Vice-President
3. A Secretary
4. A Treasurer
5. The leader of Year 7 Council
6. The leader of KS3 Council
7. The leader of KS4 Council
8. The leader of Year 12/13 Council

Article 2         Rules governing election of councillors:

1. The President is elected by a vote open to the whole school in January every year
2. The candidate who receives the majority of votes is duly elected
3. The Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer are nominated by the President
4. The leaders of Year Councils are elected by the different Year Councils

Article 3         Rules governing Year Councils:

1. A Year Council is composed of 2 elected representatives from each form
2. The Year Councils elect a leader per year who sits on the Student Council
3. Twice every year all representatives meet together in the Student Parliament

Article 4         The Student Parliament:

1. The Student Parliament role is to accept or veto the Student Council’s major decisions
2. What constitutes a ‘major decision’ is decided by the Chair of Parliament who can call a meeting
3. The  Chair of Parliament is elected by the Parliament each year
4. The Chair of Parliament can sit  on the Student Council meetings in order to scrutinise decision making and offer advice
5. The Parliament can dismiss the Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer by a vote of no-confidence

Article 5         Civil Servants of the Student Council:

1. Peer Mentors are accountable to Year Councils
2. The role of Peer Mentors is defined in another document
3. Prefects are accountable to the Student Council
4. The role of Prefects is defined in another document

Article 6         Role description:

1. The President is the representative of all students at The Westwood School
2. The President leads the Council which supports the President
3. The Year Councils and their leaders deal with Year and Pastoral issues
4. The role of the Student Parliament and it’s Chair is determined by Article 4 of this constitution

Article 7         The Constitution:

1. The Constitution can only be amended by the Student Parliament.

THE WESTWOOD SCHOOL YEAR & KEY STAGE COUNCILS’ POLICY

1. A Year Council is composed of 2 elected representatives from each form

2. The Year Councils elect a leader per year who attends the Student Council meetings

3. Twice every year all representatives meet together in the Student Parliament

4. Responsibilities of the Chair:

1. Liaise with HoY about ‘climate’ in the year
2. Call meeting of the Year Council with the support of HoY
3. Work closely with the President of the Student Council as part of the Governing Team

5. Responsibilities of the Class Representative:

1. Listen and be aware of class ‘climate’
2. Liaise with Tutor and Chair of Year Council
3. Advise Chair on issues relating to the Year
4. Attend meetings called by the Chair of the Year Council

6. Responsibility of the Pastoral Team and HoY:

1. Support Year Council
2. Encourage ‘student voice’ and offer guidance during meetings
3. Help pupils to become more independent citizens
   

THE WESTWOOD SCHOOL PEER MENTOR POLICY

1) BACKGROUND

The transition from primary to secondary school is recognised as a time of stress for young people.  Research with young people about their views on well-being and emotional support have found that many refer to the starting of school as stressful; due to having to find new friends and being in a strange environment.  They identified informal networks as an important factor in alleviating these problems.
Data from the Coventry School Survey (1999) in which 16 secondary schools participated equalling 3081 found that;

• 46.1% of males and 63.1% of females worried about at least one problem ‘quite a lot’ or ‘a lot’.
• 40.9% of males and 47.9% of females worried about ‘school problems’.

      This indicates a need for support to cope with these worries.
The Peer Mentoring Project was initially piloted in two local secondary schools for one year.  During the last three academic years transition peer mentors have been supporting Year 7 pupils in a number of secondary schools.
At The Westwood School, Peer Mentoring doesn’t stop in Year 8, but continues through to Year 11.  Peer Mentors are pupil volunteers, encouraged by their tutors to undergo training.

2) ORGANISATION

• Peer mentors are attached to tutor groups.
• They facilitate KS2-KS3 transition.
• They are line managed by a Prefect.
• They help pupils find solutions to potential worries.
• They assist tutors in their duties.
• They can mentor pupils and coach them in preparation for exams.
• Peer mentors become Prefects.
• See Policy re: Prefects at The Westwood School.
• Prefects line manage Peer Mentors and assist Tutors.

3) THE DIRECTOR OF PEER MENTORING:

• The Director looks after the welfare of Peer Mentors
• The Director liaises with the Head Boy / Girl and Director of Transition
• The Director organises rotas

THE WESTWOOD SCHOOL HEAD BOY / HEAD GIRL AND PREFECTS

Organisation:

Pupils in Year 11 with the requisite qualities will be nominated by the Student Council and Staff.  A shortlist will be drawn up from those nominated and the final selections will be made by the Head Teacher and the by the Head Teacher and Student Voice Co-ordinator.

Duties and functions are always developing and open to review but the present ‘job description’ is outlined below:

General duties / expectations

• To act as leaders in the school and maintain close liaison with the School Council and the Leadership Group.  Meetings will be held every term to facilitate this.
• To lead in maintaining an orderly and constructive atmosphere in the school including the implementation of a cleaning rota.
• To assist at school functions as required e.g. Parents’ Evening, Christmas Concert etc.
• To act as guides for visitors, guests and prospective parents / pupils.
• To assist with Primary Liaison and Primary Transition.
• General duties and expectations subject to change during academic year.
• To act as Deputy-Tutor and lead a team of Peer Mentors

Specific duties for Heads and Deputies

• To represent the school at formal occasions and deliver speeches / readings as necessary (Assembly, Carol Service, Awards Evening).
• To compile duty rota and supervise its effective running
• The Head Boy and Head Girl are accountable to the Student Council and the Leadership Group.
• Each Prefect is attached to a Tutor Group with responsibility of Assistant Tutor.