LEPTON Rowley Lane Junior, Infant & Nursery School has a well established school council.
The children in each year group vote for two representatives, a boy and a girl, their ages range from four to 11 years.
The council has a fortnightly meeting after school during which they work through an agenda making plans for future events in the school, assisted by Judy Haigh (KS1 co-ordinator) and Debbie Pearson.
The function of the school council is to ensure that all children are given a voice in Rowley Lane. They can see how their ideas and decisionmaking skills impact on the whole school.
Through this process the council representatives have a sense of empowerment, noticably developing their self esteem and confidence levels.
For example, last Christmas the children decided to raise money by selling a variety of items with the Rowley Lane logo. The money they raised went towards new equipment to make lunch times an even more exciting part of the school day.
Archie Ford is in Year 3 and was voted on to the council by his year group. Archie's role is particularly important as he is the chairman and as such plays a significant part implementing any new initiatives.
As reported last week, as a follow up to the Kirklees Mayor's visit to Rowley Lane, the council were invited to Huddersfield Town Hall to experience a typical morning in the working day of the mayor.
The children were delighted by the visit and took home many lasting memories.
