The introduction of Student Voice in our school has widened the opportunity for success in our school immensely. In the November 2007 issue of the on line Newsletter there is a report explaining exactly what Student Voice is all about.

This month those girls involved in Student Voice attended training which was taken by Tom Middlehurst a Student Voice representative from the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust. Tom trained us in methods of promoting Student Voice in school which will benefit both staff and students.

The day involved Tom training Student Voice members how to effectively improve lessons and increase the amount of learning by reducing the amount of negativity within our school and more importantly in the class room. He explained to us how to set up and develop Learning Partners with our teachers. This involves senior pupils from Student Voice being invited by different subject teachers to attend their lessons and observe the behaviour in the lesson, this is not a test of the teacher nor are the students judging their lessons they are simply working together as a team to effectively change the attitude within the class room from a negative one to a more positive one, this will hopefully enhance the relationship between teachers and students.

Tom showed us how we, along with the teachers could design observation sheets which would help us to easily monitor the behaviour in the classroom without making the teacher feel as though the girls are criticising their performance. This system should be a positive experience for those teachers willing to take part as well as the girls both in the class room and the actual learning partners from Student Voice. We hope to begin this in September as a pilot. A few teachers are already willing to participate and we have to meet them and train together. The issues of confidentiality and how to give feedback were also part of the training.

Furthermore, Tom discussed how he had contributed to a scheme by which students monitor the behaviour of students. The students in Tom‘s school set up a Behaviour Council. The Behaviour Council consists of a number of different pupils all from different senior classes being invited to a meeting to discuss behaviour within classes, this could be linked with the Learning Partner Scheme and the pupils and staff will then work in a team to discover how to solve the behaviour problems, if any, in different classes. If a pupil is poorly behaved in a class, students will invite them to the Behaviour Council meetings because they have been nominated by both the teachers and perhaps class mates who feel that their friend‘s behaviour could be helped if they attend the behaviour council meeting for extra support. Those nominated could bring along their friends and discuss in a calm environment how they feel about their lessons inevitably to the effectiveness of learning in the classroom will be enhanced.

This is greatly encouraged in school as all the members of the Student Voice and Student Council along with Mrs Mairs are working together to promote Student Voice as there are a number of fantastic possibilities which could arise from what Student Voice brings. Not only does it benefit the pupils who will begin to have a better outlook on attending classes because they feel that learning in the classroom is a more enjoyable and open experience, by feeling freer to discuss the methods of which the teacher uses to teach without feeling offensive to their teacher. Also the introduction of Student Voice benefits all those who and are involved. Students will develop interview skills, team work and communication skills.

On behalf of the Student Voice Committee I would like to kindly encourage teachers to take part in the learning partner scheme, Tom Middlehurst has seen excellent results from this scheme in a number of schools.

Student Voice - Researchers Team will be:
· Addressing the issues of the lack of a Patrol person and will be carrying out a traffic survey at the end of Dunkeld.
· Setting up Learning Partners with a few teachers who are willing to do so.
· Looking at the possibility of setting up a Behaviour Council. Mrs Mairs is happily to investigate the possibility of a study visit with us.

Student Voice/ Student Council will be:
· Looking at the whole area of bullying and Child Protection in school with a view to informing our school policies.
· Discussing behaviour on school buses.