Pupil Voice

As a school we truly value the views and opinions of our pupils. We have four pupil voice groups who meet on a weekly basis:

• School Learning Council
• HUGG Club
• Eco Team
• Wellbeing Club

School Learning Council 

School Learning Council meet weekly to discuss and plan their next steps. We have representatives from each class from Year 3 to Year 6.

The SLC plays an important role at Duston Eldean Primary School. Last year, we focused on one of the key threads, 'Exploration'. We promoted opportunities for children to explore the world around us. 

School Learning Council achievements to Date:

• We celebrated St Patrick’s Day by learning how to Irish dance and made 'Shamrock packs' for children to plant at home. We made our own instructions and packaging for the seeds. 
• We celebrated women in sports by focusing on a different sport each week. Then, we developed these sporting skills on the field by helping children with organising a game and helping to break down each skill. 
• We have been busy after school raising money to buy new resources for children to use at lunch times, along with cleaning our current resources. 
• We had an orienteering challenge to find our F.I.S.H around Duston by following a map with clues to help.

This year, we are looking to focus on our key thread of ‘Diversity’.  As a group, we look at the world around us and upcoming events that we would like to celebrate as a whole school.  

• For Diwali, we decorated the school with lanterns and pom poms. We also made rangoli patterns on the playground with chalk. 
• We will be hosting a Christmas Quiz and craft session later this term.

The Wellbeing Team  

The Wellbeing Team is responsible for promoting wellbeing and mental health throughout the school. Wellbeing representatives, from Year 3 to Year 6, meet weekly to plan activities and discuss whole-school approaches to supporting children’s emotional wellbeing.   

Yearly actions undertaken by the Wellbeing Team:  

• Promote the ‘speak-out’ loud boxes and worry monsters for children to share any concerns or worries with their teacher.
• Regularly update and promote grounding techniques for children to help them feel safe and “rooted” when fears or worries become overwhelming.  These offer a way to gently train the mind, in the same way that we might train a muscle, to regulate emotions.
• Organise activities for the whole school in line with the focus of National Children’s Mental Health Week.
• Help to raise money for Children in Need and organise activities, linked to the theme, for children to complete within their classes.

The Eco-Team

ECO CODE - WE CARE FOR OUR ENVIRONMENT

The Eco-Team meet weekly to discuss progress and plan their next steps. We are always looking for new ways to make our school more environmentally friendly. 

The ways in which we do this at the moment are:

• Using our Eco mascot for the school called ‘Eco Elephant’, to remind everyone about switching off lights, closing doors, turning off interactive whiteboards, turning off taps and recycling paper.
• Litter picking around the school grounds and by the local shops.
• We are a battery recycling station for the local area.

This year the Eco-Team are excited to introduce some new initiatives. Look out for updates via Parent Mail to see how you can help.

The HUGG Club 

The HUGG Club is responsible for promoting our Huge Unbelievable Great Goal of being kind and thoughtful. The children from Year 3 to Year 6 meet weekly, planning activities and discussing how to make kindness and thoughtfulness at the heart of the school. 

HUGG Club achievements to date: 

• Organised fundraising events including Comic Relief 
• Updated our Friendship and Anti-bullying Policy 
• Led a whole school assembly in Anti-bullying week 
• Supported our Macmillan Coffee Morning