Last week, I posted my reflections about the Participation and Learning Seminar in Edinburgh, and on Thursday of this week we hosted our 2nd Local Authority discussion group  event. This was the ‘Meet the pupils’ evening.

 

These  local events have been organised by the six representatives who attend the National events. We felt that it was important to ‘spread the word’ to others in the Authority who didn’t have the opportunity to attend the seminars arranged by LTS.

We also want to hear what strategies other teachers in Falkirk schools are using to give children their own ‘voice’.

It was a great CPD event for all who attended (and we were pleasantly surprised by the number of teachers who took the time to come along). The children from the various schools spoke confidently to the adult audience about how their voices are heard. During the informal ‘question and answer’ presentations, we heard about innovative ways to use pupil councils and learning logs. We also heard children from one primary school who were encouraged to leave sticky notes about important decisions on a special board in the entrance area of the school.  

The two pictures below show the P5 children from Carronshore  and their teacher, Miss Law.

 

 

 These children talked about the online ‘voice’ spaces they have been given.  It’s a step beyond just being part of their class blog. As I listened to them talk, I wondered if they were getting the same ‘buzz’ from talking to teachers as some pupils from my own class did last year

I was their taxi driver home – and they made it clear to me that they had thoroughly enjoyed the experience as well. Even although they are two years younger than the primary 7 children I taught, I got the impression that none of them would forget the evening that they got the chance to teach the teachers.

Almost a year on and thoughts of that case study are still never very far away:-)