School Council
FPA School Council
The School Council plays an important role in school life at Firth Park Academy. As well as providing leadership opportunities for pupils, particularly in Year 7, 8, 9 it enables pupils to take an active part in school decision-making. It reinforces the principle that children have rights, including the right to have their opinions taken into account in decisions that concern them. It provides a forum through which pupils play an active part in democratic and electoral processes.
We instil our core values of Respect, Resilience and Aspiration through all School Council matters and use this as a platform to ensure we meet the needs of all pupils.
The School Council is chaired by the Assistant Principal, the Head Boy, Head Girl and includes 1 or 2 pupils from each Form Group called Form Leaders. The team meet every two weeks on a Tuesday morning and engage in discussion around school improvement, fundraising and community work.
The process of electing the School Council is taken very seriously as we see this as a real opportunity for learning. Form Groups vote for a Form Leader using a democratic process supported by learning around elections, democracy and the law. This also provides an opportunity for the children to experience what it is like to engage in a democratic process linked to the real world.
We believe the School Council provides an opportunity for pupils to develop important life skills through active listening, learning to show empathy, acceptance of different opinions, learning to find consensus and compromise, initiating and taking responsibility for specific projects. This is evident in the work that was carried out by the School Council in previous years who have contributed to an improved learning environment for all pupils.
Part of the School Council’s responsibility is to focus on charity and fundraising which is an opportunity for all pupils to be involved. During the year there are 5 charity events along with a Charity Week in December which is competitive.