CLS is wholly committed to ‘hearing the pupil’s voice’ and is something we take very seriously. This is rooted in an understanding that actively inviting and, more importantly, responding to pupil voice has many benefits. We are consistently struck by the mature engagement by pupils in how the institution functions and their willingness to contribute ideas, often innovative, about how we might best improve.
Receptive and approachable
In every facet of school life; be it teaching and learning, safeguarding, day to day operations, skills development, promoting inclusivity, the modelling of respectful relationships; the perspective of the pupils is listened to in our efforts to improve. We recognise that each pupils’ journey through the school is unique, and we must remain flexible in our approach.
This commitment starts at the top, with the Head operating an ‘open-door’ policy every morning where pupils can make appointments to speak with him. He has an informal lunch with every pupil in the First Form over the year and an after-school pizza with groups of pupils from the Junior Sixth Form (Year 12). The Head meets with the Senior Prefects weekly and invites them to raise pressing issues.
Our Approach
We seek to be:
- Purposeful, clear in the aims of the strategy
- Committed to really listening to and actioning the information that is gathered
- Transparent about how we engage with, and use, pupil voice
- Strategic about the opportunities for gathering the pupil voice to ensure they are as effective as possible, and for them to become embedded into the culture of the school.
- Inclusive, to ensure every pupil is able to be heard.
The pupil voice is heard in a myriad of ways, but the most important avenues are:
