Pupil Voice
At Westdene Primary School, we pride ourselves in the amount and variation of opportunities that children have to share their opinions and talents. We are delighted to share the vast range of opportunities for children to have a voice in the way our school is run and to develop leadership skills in our pupils.
You can also find out more about our 'Philosophy 4 Children' programme at the bottom of this page.
| Role | Responsibility | How the role is distributed | Year Group | Led by |
| School councillor | Pupils meet together to discuss and complete projects to improve the school. They listen to and represent the views of their class in these meetings. | One boy and one girl are elected from each class. | 1-6 | The Senior Leadership Team |
| Eco councillor | Pupils promote care for the school environment and community by encouraging recycling, sustainable travel and other eco projects. | One pupil is elected from each class. | 1-6 | Ms Fooks |
| Arts ambassador | Pupils promote the arts in their class and across the school and participate in school wide or community projects. | One pupil is elected from each class. | 1-6 | Mrs Laing |
| Junior Friends of Westdene | Pupils meet with FOW committee to help plan fundraising events. | One boy and one girl are elected from each class. | 3-6 | Ms Stratton & the FOW |
| Language Leaders & Cultural Ambassadors | Pupils extend their language knowledge and use in order to act as ambassadors for the Language Department and support and encourage younger learners in the school and suppor cultural enrichment. | One boy and one girl are elected from each class. | 3-6 | Madame Mawes |
| Reading Champions | Pupils support others with reading and share a love of literature. | Pupils are invited to apply. | 4-6 | Ms Hagon |
| Play Leaders | Pupils play, organise games and supervise the equipment for Reception and Infants during their lunch break each day. The children are on a rota which is changed every half term. | Pupils are invited to apply. | 5 | Mrs Brockwell |
| Ambassadors | Pupils show visitors around the school. During prospective parent events all of Year 6 do this together. | Teachers choose pairs of children and keep a record to ensure all pupils have the opportunity to take on this role. | 5-6 | Class teachers |
| Charities Committee | Pupils organise events and activity to raise money for designated charities throughout the year. They take a lead in Red Nose Day/ children in Need/ Harvest Festival etc. | Pupils are invited to apply. | Y4-Y6 | Ms Hagon |
| Sports captains |
Some of the key responsibilities of our Sports Captains include:
As well as the above responsibilities, a Sports Captain is expected to be a positive role model in terms of attitude, attendance, behaviour, manners and appearance to all members of the Westdene community. |
Pupils are invited to apply. | 6 | Ms Elliott |
| Wet play monitors | Pupils are assigned to different classes to support wet playtimes. | Children register an interest. | 6 | Mr Bradstreet |
PHILOSOPHY 4 CHILDREN AT WESTDENE
At Westdene we are delighted to have staff expertise in delivering Philosophy 4 Children.
What is Philosophy?
The origin of the word philosophy come the greek words philos and sophy, whose literal translation is ‘the love of wisdom’.
It is trying to work out our own best answers to questions that human beings will always be wondering about.
Why teach Philosophy?
A 2015 Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) Efficacy Trial carried out by Durham University into SAPERE Philosophy 4 Children (P4C) showed that:
- Teachers and pupils reported that SAPERE P4C had a positive influence on wider outcomes such as pupils’ confidence to speak, listening skills, and self-esteem.
- SAPERE P4C has a very positive impact on disadvantaged children (those eligible for free school meals). These children made 4 months' additional progress in reading, 3 months' additional progress in maths and 2 months' additional progress in writing in the study.
- Key Stage Two pupils taking part in the trial made two additional months' progress in reading and maths.
Our approach so far...
During the spring term 2020 our Philosophy Club met regularly to discuss some big questions that led to lots of deep thinking and rich discussion.
The club was so successful, we are currently working as a team to review our curriculum to ensure we find more opportunities to weave Philosophy 4 Children principles across our curriculum. We are also exploring how we can utilise Philosophy 4 Children principles in our regular school council meetings.
Philosophy Day - 14th June 2024
On the 13th June 2024 we held a Philosophy day at school for pupils and parents. We were visited by Tom the Philosophy Man who had this to say after his visit:
"It was an absolute pleasure to work with pupils (and parents!) at Westdene today. The hard work of staff to embed deeper questioning techniques into their lessons, to unlock children's voices and abilities to think "outside the box" was apparent from the very first hour of my day. I know Philosophy at the school will go from strength to strength, not only through special days like today but also weekly sessions that improve the children's reasoning."
Tom Bigglestone, The Philosophy Man
You can see our Tweet about the day here: https://x.com/WestdenePS/status/1801562966711509174