Our charity partner this half term has been Autism Hampshire and we were very lucky to attend an interesting and informative assembly led by Dave, from the charity.  The school councillors did a fantastic job of preparing everyone for this event and in both inviting and supporting any of their peers with autism to attend our Autism Forum.  The school councillors took their role in this very seriously, listening to what their peers had to say and asking supportive questions to make discussions easier.  We were very heartened to hear the many positive things that the children said about their experience at school and we were also able to identify some common themes coming through which many children find difficult.  Some of this feedback has been shared with the staff team to look at changes we could make and the school council will also be asked to feedback to the wider school some of the things that everyone can help with, such as moving around school more quietly or helping a friend to get started with their work.

The second task set for the school councillors was to find out how children are feeling about lunchtimes.  The children shared a questionnaire with their classes, listened to their friend's feedback and reported back to Mrs Hughes.  As a direct result of this, the children have now been able to see a number of changes implemented at lunchtimes.  The activities rota has been updated, including time on the wiggle cars for both Key Stages, reflecting some of the things the children asked for.  Mrs Rickman has been looking at the way the hall is laid out to identify ways of making more space so that more friendship groups are able to eat together.  The children now have the opportunity to vote in their classes for the sport they would like when it is their turn in the MUGA, as many children were asking for sports other than football.  The school council should be very proud of the way they have represented their peers' views and brought about real change as a result.  These changes will continue over the next few months, as further play equipment is sourced and we look at outdoor structures at the children's suggestion.