Pupil Voice

In order to work towards becoming a Rights Respecting School the pupil council must develop opportunities for pupil participation/involvement in St Margaret's Academy.  The pupil council at St Margaret's aims to go beyond a conventional pupil council and reach out to the entire pupil population; pupils are elected representatives that have gathered the views of their 'constituents'. 

Aims of the School and House Councils

• to aid St Margaret's Academy in knowing ourselves inside out through effective self-evaluation
• to provide a formal opportunity for pupils to raise issues
• to consult, inform and involve pupils in the decision making process in school
• to develop skills for learning, life and work in our pupils e.g. communication, decision making, team work
• to provide leadership opportunities for our pupils
• to  allow a process of consultation to take place between pupils, staff and parents

S6 Leadership Team

The S6 pupil leadership posts have been joined with the pupil council to form the Young Person's Collaborative. The pupils in the Collaborative will take part in a range of focus groups throughout the year with visitors, the council and leadership within the school. They will also have long-term projects such as promoting the Rights of the Child, looking at physical aspects of the building and improving learning and teaching. S6 pupils in leadership positions are encouraged to pursue an initiative they are interested in, this year initiatives include engaging Polish families, running study workshops for S4 pupils and a focus on promoting mental health awareness.

All pupils across the school are invited to speak to their pupil council representative if they wish to raise any issues or contact us directly through the Public Petitions Committee.

Structure of the pupil council

The pupil council has been restructured to be based on the structure of the United Nations to encourage pupils to see the council as a real representative forum that facilitates discussion and development.

• The General Assembly - Every Smart Time class has an elected representative. All representatives meet once a month in their Houses, their meetings are led by the House Captains.
• Executive Council - A smaller group then collate information gathered and meet with SLT or another interested party. On this group are 'Permanent Executive Council Members' (House Captains, Head Boys and Head Girls) and 'Non-Permanent Executive Council Members' (these rotate monthly, they will be one of the elected representatives chosen at random from each house for junior and senior). This allows SLT to meet a wider range of the pupil council and allows more pupils from both the junior and senior school the chance to present research at the top level of the council.

Links to UNCRC:

The pupil council is a fundamental part of the school's journey towards becoming a Rights Respecting School as it ensures pupils can access the following rights;

• Article 12 - the right to have their say in matters affecting them and to have their views taken seriously
• Article 13 - the right to seek and receive information
• Article 15 - the right to join groups
• Article 29 - the right to an education which develops their talents to the full