Welcome to Pupil Voice
At St Ursula’s we aim to provide an environment which is both secure and stimulating, within which everyone is appreciated and valued and are happy to give their best. We believe this type of environment can only be created for the pupils by involving the pupils. Our aim over the past few years has been to increase the involvement of pupils in decision making at St Ursula’s.
The following groups meet regularly with staff to discuss current issues. The minutes are taken and shared through the display boards in our school. These display boards are regularly updated to give all pupils up-to-date information regarding events, decision made and changes. Our pupils are playing an active role in their education and schooling and as a result our school has become more attentive and responsive to those it serves. The process of voting and decision making celebrates Children’s rights and reminds us as that we must ensure children know their rights, including the right to have their own opinion which can differ from others – WE ARE A UNICEF RIGHTS RESPECTING SCHOOL! Our use of a school groups and councils promote ‘Active citizenship’ and throughout the year our pupils organise events to support the local and wider community.
Our pupil groups drive school improvement, which recognises that consultation with pupils can lead to better school performance, whether in terms of improved behaviour, engagement or attainment among pupils. All schools are different and unique and we utilises pupil voice to ensure that we are meeting the specific needs of our St Ursula’s Pupils.
Please choose one of the tabs below to find out more.
Faith in Action
Our Faith in Action group, formerly known as RE monitors are comprised of 1 pupil per class, from Year 1 to Year 6. They lead our prayer and liturgy sessions within classroom and work with Mrs Hall to consider how they can put their faith in action within the local community and within the school they are responsible for maintaining the prayer table within every classroom. They also write and produce our monthly payer focus which is displayed on our school website and in each of the school entrances.
Travel Ambassadors
The JTAs have decided to first tackle the problem of illegal and dangerous parking and they will be patrolling outside the gates with a member of staff regularly in the hope the number of illegal and inconsiderate parkers will be cut dramatically!
In the coming weeks the JTAs will give talks in assemblies to the whole school and in the classrooms. These assemblies will be about teaching road safety, traffic awareness and parking issues. Competitions and other initiatives will be introduced during these assemblies.
They would like to remind everyone to take their bike, scooters or brand new welly boots out instead of taking the car to school! Keep our air clean and our bodies fit.
Online Buddies
Our Online Buddies have a key role to help keep all the children in our school safe in the online world. They meet with Mrs Marshall to learn more about online safety, they share key messages and events with their peers e.g. Safer Internet Day.
During the first term, they discussed their role and talked about their learning. They each received their online buddy card and completed a pupil voice questionnaire about their computing lessons within the Autumn term.
Games Crew
Our games crew is excited to let everyone know when we have school sports tournaments everyone is invited to join in a sport that maybe they have not tried before! They will be able to give you more information soon about the plans they have lined up!
Super Scientists
Their role is to promote Science at St Ursula’s Catholic Primary school in an exciting and stimulating way. Throughout the year, they will be taking part in scientific investigations and will be sharing these activities with their classes.
Music Maestros
At our school we learn Music through our weekly class recorder lessons, weekly hymn praise assemblies and lessons within our creative curriculum. The Music Maestro's role is to share their passion for Music to all pupils within the school. Throughout the year they will help with the organisation of musical events for the whole school.
Pupil Chaplains
Our 2023-24 Pupil Chaplains were appointed in Autumn 1 following a robust selection process. Applying for the role of Pupil Chaplain required our Year 6 pupils to write a letter explaining how their qualities and skills were best suited for the role. In addition to the letter, pupils were also interviewed by Mr Ashburn and Miss Gilligan. The role of the Pupil Chaplain is to help the school to be a community of faith, to encourage the pupils to live their faith in daily living and to support liturgy, prayer and the spiritual life of the school.
Art Crew
At our school we learn Art, DT, Geography, History and Computing through a creative curriculum. The art crew's role is to carry on this learning outside of lesson time and engage pupils in fun and exciting activities. Throughout the year, they will be running art competitions and will also be involved in organising an art gallery.
Wellbeing Warriors
Our Wellbeing Warriors are a pupil voice group (aged Year 2 – to Year 6) dedicated to caring for their peer’s wellbeing. They were all voted for by their classmates because of their caring and kind qualities. They work to encourage others, through our faith, to treat each other with compassion, respect and understanding. Our Wellbeing Warriors receive training so that children can approach them on the playground if they are worried or upset. They run charity events across the academic year which have raised money for wonderful causes such as Winston’s Wish and the funding towards St Veronica’s Room (our new Calm and Prayer room).
Reading Champions
As Reading Champions, it is our job to help younger pupils in our school find their love of reading. We want to spread the joy of reading in our St. Ursula's Community by sharing stories, developing the library and helping out at Book events. Reading is a way for people to expand their imagination to something even bigger than it was before!
Eco School Councillors
Our Eco School Councillors work together to ensure that our children’s rights are reflected in the changes in our school and that every child has the opportunity to speak their mind. We encourage all of our children to be proud of who they are and where they come from. Each child can and will use their voice in our school to make changes for the better.