school Councils

HC Deb 24 May 2004 vol 421 c1330W

Mr. Hurst

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to promote school councils in primary schools. [173330]

Mr. Stephen Twigg

To support schools to introduce a school or class council, the Department has funded School Councils UK to produce a primary schools toolkit to help teachers and pupils to set up effective councils. The primary toolkit was made available to schools in September 2000. The Department has just issued statutory guidance to LEAs and school governing bodies ("Working Together: giving children and young people a say") on pupil participation, which promotes the value of school councils in actively engaging pupils in decision making processes.

The National Assembly for Wales which has responsibility for Education there has decided to make school councils mandatory in all Welsh schools.