West Dean CE Primary School has an active Pupil Parliament.
At the beginning of each autumn term, we have a pupil election day, with an authentic polling station and voting booths. In the run up to election day, pupils in Years 3, 4 5 and 6 are encouraged to run for election as members of pupil parliament (MPPs), and are given the opportunity to give an election campaign speech. MPPs are elected to represent each of the following parliamentary departments within their class:
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Learning for Life
- Health and Wellbeing
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Sustainability
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Community
- Digital Technology
Each of these Departments have certain roles and jobs throughout the year and are responsible for giving a voice to the opinions of the children in their class, which they then bring to Pupil Parliament meetings for discussion with the headteacher and sometimes a school governor. This is a really valuable way for the children to contribute to informing ongoing school development.
In addition to the MPPs in each of the five departments, two children in Year 6 are elected as the representatives for our younger children in Apple and Maple Classes.