by Victoria Stoneham, Teacher, and Lauren Bartle, Leader of Learning
We have always valued Pupil Voice at the OHS and this was recognised when our Investors in Pupils Award was renewed in 2018. Our Pupil Voice programme reached another milestone in the Autumn term when we introduced a brand new forum to gather pupil views and suggestions, and translate them into new teaching initiatives.
Pupil Voice encourages pupils to develop responsibility for their learning and gives them opportunities to influence our curriculum so that our teaching is personalised to their individual needs and interests.
At the end of each term, pupils with chronic and recurrent conditions who have spent a significant time at the school will be invited to a Pupil Voice meeting where they will have the opportunity to share their views on a specific area of our practice, such as curriculum or wellbeing.
Pupils are made to feel comfortable and safe to express their opinions in group discussions or one-to-one sessions with a teacher and the feedback we receive is carefully listened to and used to shape our teaching.
Our first Pupil Voice meeting took place at the end of the Autumn term. As a result of the ideas we gathered there, we have now introduced reading time at the beginning of each Primary Values workshop and a new World History workshop for secondary pupils.
Our pupils are at the heart of every decision we make across the school, and we believe this forum will give us valuable information to help us continually improve our care and teaching.
We are now looking forward to our next Pupil Voice meeting, where we will focus on wellbeing and consider how the OHS can support pupils with issues such as anxiety about coming to the classroom and maintaining a positive growth mindset.