exe valley federation

Exe Valley
Federation

Pupil Leadership Team

At Newton St. Cyres School we believe that children's involvement in running the school is crucial to enable positive changes to happen. Their involvement  has a profound effect on learning, as invested children make good learners. Additionally, at our school we believe that involving children in decision making will generate an ambitious and aspirational atmosphere in which children will want to succeed and will develop key skills which be invaluable to them in later life, particularly when entering the work place.

The key vehicle for pupil leadership in our school is the school council and eco council. 

School Council

  • Each year every class from KS1 onwards elects two representatives (a boy and a girl) to be their school council representatives.
  • Representatives from year 6 work with out youngest children (EYFS) in school and provide a voice for them in meetings.
  • The school council meets regularly with a member of SLT to discuss whole school issues and it allows the children’s voice to be heard. Topics can range from making decisions on the learning environment to deciding on elements of the curriculum. 

Meet The School Council

Click on the images below to meet our school council and read more about their vision for Newton St. Cyres School.

Impactful Leadership Actions

  • Tuck Shop

At Newton St. Cyres, our school council run a very popular Tuck Shop at break times on Thursday.  They sell healthy items such as fruit, yoghurt raisins, bread sticks, popcorn, crackers and fruit based drinks.

The school council take full responsibility for the Tuck Shop; organising meetings, tasting new products and making decisions about what to sell.  The Tuck Shop is run like a business, with pupils taking on responsible roles, such as Tuck Shop Managers, Finance Manager, Marketing Manager, Purchasing Managers and Stock Controllers.  They keep track of the income and expenditure, count the stock and order replenishments when necessary. 

Tuck Shop Menu and Price List - Autumn2023

  • Reading Club for EYFS and KS1

Members of the school council and year 6 have been giving up their time at break and lunch to support the younger children in school. They have been organising games on the playground and also running reading club, where the younger children choose their favourite book and one of the older children will read it to them. 

Eco Council

  • Each year every class from KS1 onwards elects two representatives (a boy and a girl) to be their eco council representatives.
  • Representatives from year 6 work with out youngest children (EYFS) in school and provide a voice for them in meetings.
  • The eco council meets regularly with a member of teaching team to discuss whole school issues and it allows the children’s voice to be heard. Topics include our vision and actions towards the climate emergency and supporting the local community to make improvements.

Meet The Eco Council

Click on the images below to meet our eco council and read more about their response to the climate emergency as well as their forward thinking and impactful environmental actions.

Impactful Environmental Actions

  • Litter Picking

One of the main duties for our school council is to ensure that the school site and surrounding areas are free from rubbish and waste. Each member of the eco council has their own litter picker and they spend time during break and lunchtimes collecting rubbish. Our new rota for 2023 can be found below:

Eco Council Litter Picking Rota 2023

  • Planet Action Workshop

Planet Action inspire a positive and proactive response to the environmental crisis, motivating students to value the natural world and enabling schools to become beacons of change in the wider community via face to face and online Planet Action Workshops.

  • Tree Planting

At school, we hosted a tree planting day where parents and carers joined us on the field to plant trees. The trees were kindly donated by The Woodland Trust and with the help of staff, parents and children, we were able to plant some trees and begin to develop our own wild life area behind the MUGA.

  •  Newton Environmental Wellbeing Group (NEW)

We are committed to working alongside our Parish Council to address the climate emergency and make a difference to our local community. At the start of this year, members of our eco-council attended a NEW meeting and talked about our commitment to making a positive difference to the world around us. They shared information about the Planet Action Workshop and created display boards, detailing our vision for a 'greener' Newton St. Cyres.