Frequently, through the year, a variety of members of staff spend time with pupils to hear their thoughts, ideas and opinions on certain subjects. This may be linked with one particular topic such as ‘school lunches’ or have a wider feel. We use the pupils’ comments to inform us about actions we may need to take as a result. 

Annually, we encourage representatives from our Junior Leadership Team to attend the Bedford Borough Council ‘Pupil Voice Conference.’ This gives children from our school the opportunity to talk about issues that are pertinent to them about our local area. 

Our Personal Development programme heavily supports democracy with such topics as ‘rules, rights and responsibilities’  in which children are encouraged to discuss, listen to others’ voices and make decisions. British values are referred to throughout the curriculum and are embedded into our teaching.

Junior Leadership Team (JLT)

We trust children at Castle Newnham to help us make the decisions that shape our school and make it the way that they want it to be. Pupils engage with the democratic process to elect representatives onto our Junior Leadership Team annually. Each class elects a representative. As a continuation in developing democracy, our Junior Leadership Team are led by Deputy Head Pupils (Year 6) and Head Pupils (Year 11) who are selected through an application process and interview. 

The pupils who make up the Junior Leadership Team are an important part of our leadership team and we trust them to ensure that the views of all Castle Newnham pupils are taken into account. We have a dedicated member of the Senior Leadership Team who is their contact, whom they can speak to regularly. They meet fortnightly to discuss issues raised during class discussions and to decide how we are going to help to move things forward, often taking thoughts and ideas to a vote. It is the responsibility of each representative to ensure that they express both their own views and the views of all the other pupils they represent. These skills are developed in the fortnightly school council sessions. 

Eco Committee

Each year group within our school also has members on the Eco Committee who are elected as per the School Council process. The Eco committee is an ideal opportunity for our pupils to get more involved in the way Castle Newnham is run and help it to be environmentally friendly.