School, Fairtrade, Sports, Rights Respecting and Eco Councils
"Elected school councils raise awareness of different issues and enable pupils to have a voice which is taken seriously by leaders."
Ofsted 2023
At Heathwood we are very proud of our active, accessible School, Fairtrade, Sports, Rights Respecting and Eco Councils. Mrs Wright assists with the School Council, Mrs Wright with the Fairtrade Miss Romaine with the Rights Respecting, Mr Dicker with the Sports Council and Mrs Wilkins with the Eco Council.
All our Councils are elected by the children in their classes. After listening to a short speech prepared by potential councillors, and read anonymously by the Class Teacher, the children vote for the candidate of their choice.
The Councils pride themselves on being the voice of their peers, bringing issues raised to half termly meetings. They run events to raise money for a variety of charities of their choice. A weekly Fairtrade tuck shop uses its profits to invest in a Shared Interest Bank that offers low-interest loans to farmers in developing countries and to support the education of two children in Sierra Leone and Mozambique. We hear from these two children with updates and at Christmas with Christmas cards.
In July 2023 Heathwood were again awarded the Fair Achiever Certificate for its commitment and support towards Fairtrade. In 2016 we were awarded The Speaker's School Council award for our work 'Fairtrade in the Community and Abroad'. The Right Honorable John Becow, MP, Speaker of the House of Commons said 'School Councils give young people their first taste of democracy in action'. At Heathwood, we believe it is important for every child to have a voice and be heard.
Houses of Parliament Visit 2019
We had our annual KS2 trip to the Houses of Parliament on 25th September and didn’t we choose a busy day!! We had a really interesting tour of the Houses of Parliament followed by a workshop on Campaigns and Voting.
Back at school the following day, Classes 3 and 4 worked together in their Council groups to write and present their slogans and manifestoes to the whole school. The Ballot Box vote identified Rights Respecting Council and Eco Council as having the most successful campaign.
I know all the Councils will work hard and do a great job with their plans for the forthcoming year.
School Council: Working Together To Be Kind, To Be Ready, and To Be Safe
We promise to work hard to make an even better community and environment for learning..
Fairtrade Council: Support Fairtrade, Buy Fairtrade.
We promise to support Fairtrade Farmers by promoting Fairtrade products, having a weekly tuckshop, and taking part in Fairtrade Fortnight. We will continue to support the education of children in other countries.
Rights Respecting Council: A Happy Day, Every Day!
We promise to focus on the following conventions: Everybody has the right to feel safe. Everybody has a right to play. Everybody has a right to education. Everybody has the right to be listened to.
Sports Council: Be More Sporty, Never Give Up!
We promise to help purchase new equipment, look after our equipment and to organise clubs. We want to make PE and Sport interesting and exciting.
Eco Council: ECO Saves The Day.
We promise to have no single use plastic at Heathwood, to keep our school litter free, to save resources and provide habitats for wildlife. We will take responsibility for our actions for the future of the planet.
This year Eco council were delighted to have been
awarded the Green Flag with Distinction. The awarding body commented
“young people in your school are aware of environmental issues and
committed to being active and creating positive change”
Eco Council have signed up to the Charter for Trees, Woods and People. For more information please click on the link below
Charter for Trees, Woods and People
This Year the Eco Council are focusing on Marine, Transport and Water