The Pupil Parliament at a primary school trust has developed a trailblazing ‘7 musts’ for pupils across its 15 schools.
Focus-Trust’s Pupil Parliament consists of pupils who have been elected by their peers to represent their school at the trust level. The ‘7 Musts of Focus-Trust’ began as a recent Pupil Parliament project, inspired by books such as ‘100 things to do before you grow up’.
A long list of ideas were sent out to the schools via surveys, from which children and staff all voted for their top 10 ideas. Further discussions were held in the following Pupil Parliament meetings, and the members voted for their top seven ‘musts’.
The seven essential experiences will become available to all children at Focus-Trust schools. They are:
- Complete a first aid course
- Attend Young Voices
- Visit London
- Undertake an environmental project
- Visit the theatre
- Plan a charity event
- Complete bike-ability
A pupil representative presented the ‘7 Musts’ to all of the Focus-Trust headteachers, and the Pupil Parliament designed their very own logo.
The aim of the project is to give pupils an even wider set of standard experiences to develop their social and cultural knowledge. By making these activities a ‘must’, they become a core entitlement for all, rather than an additional extra.
Each school is now planning to organise each of these activities from September 2023, with some having already taken their residential visit to London.
Andrew Marlow, Curriculum and Pedagogy Director at Focus-Trust, said: “At Focus-Trust, pupil voice is a crucial element of our work and supports our continual improvement.
“Across all our schools we actively seek out opportunities for children to share their thoughts, opinions, and ideas about their learning and experiences.
“It is important to us because it empowers our children, improves learning, fosters a culture of community, and develops important life skills.”
Focus-Trust is a charitable primary schools trust based in the North West of England and West Yorkshire with a vision of providing ‘great schools at the heart of our communities’, where children thrive, achieve and succeed.
