At Abbey Gates Primary School we actively encourage leadership opportunities and pupil independence. This is with the aim of developing valuable leadership, communication and organisational skills. We believe that it is vital for our pupils to have a voice and be involved in key decisions related to our school.

The Pupil Parliament is structured much like the government as it is made up of different subcommittees. Each of these committees is designed to have a specific focus on improving Abbey Gates Primary School.

It will allow pupils from all year groups to be actively involved in the way that the school is run. Pupil Parliament benefits the whole school, pupils and teachers because it provides opportunities for pupils to communicate their opinions as well as influence the decisions that are made on their behalf. Pupils will relish the opportunity to become a greater part of school life and enjoy making their voices heard.

What are the aims of the Pupil Parliament?

• Represent all pupils and include as many people as possible.
• Take time to listen to all pupils and communicate their views.
• Feedback to pupils about what happened from the views they shared.
• Action decisions that have been made or explain why they can’t happen.

Our Ministerial Roles at Abbey Gates Primary School are:

1. Prime Minister (Y6 only)
2. Treasurer
3. Education Minister
4. Kindness Minster
5. Play Minister
6. Community Minister
7. Diversity Minister
8. Possibilities Minister

How do you join the Pupil Parliament?

Our Pupil Parliament changes Cabinet Ministers once per year. To become a part of Pupil Parliament, children in F2 – Y6 are encouraged to nominate themselves for election during election week.

All children will then get a chance to vote in a democratic election. Following the vote, 2 representatives from each year group will be elected and become members of Parliament. They then attend meetings which are held on a regular basis to discuss issues that are important to the children and work on projects to improve the school. The projects they take on are varied and range from ways to improve the facilities, their learning journey or the best ways to fundraise for outside charities.

Our Members of Parliament Election process is as follows:

• The children are informed about the roles and responsibilities in assembly.
• Pupils, once fully informed of the role and responsibilities, are encouraged to stand for election stating their reasons in their manifesto.
• The applicants then prepare a speech that they present in front of the class describing what they would do if they were elected.
• On Election Day, every child in the school will vote for the best candidate in their class through a secret ballot.
• Successful Members of Parliament will be announced in assembly.