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How to get involved in 'A Children's Charter for Learning'
'A Children’s Charter for Learning', will only work with your input.
In recent years, many primary schools have established the role of 'pupil voice' and realised its impact on learning and teaching. The principles of this charter for learning build on the good practice already embedded in many school contexts. The independent review of the primary curriculum, led by Jim Rose, will enter a consultation stage in 2009 which makes this a particularly topical time to raise the profile of children's views on the curriculum. For others, this project can be utilised as a vehicle to begin to encourage children to participate in the thinking and decision-making process about learning and the curriculum in - what is learned and taught, by whom, how and in what context.
The worksheet accessible via the link below, will provide you with some points to consider when embarking on the creation of a children’s charter for learning. In the short term this project can give a kick start to the children in your school having an impact on the future curriculum and learning and teaching. In the long term it can become an integral part of the annual school development/school improvement cycle and support the raising and maintaining of standards.
Points to consider when embarking on the creation of a children's charter for learning
(downloadable from the website as a separate PDF)
- It is important that the leadership of the school supports and promotes engagement in the project. It is also important that the leadership gives status to the project by publicly endorsing it within the school community.
- The whole school community needs to understand why you are producing a charter for learning.
- The project does not have to be led by a member of the leadership team. The person who leads the process, will be dependent on your school structure and usual systems of communication, for having discussions with the children. In some schools as well as class teachers, H.L.T.A’s/ Learning Mentors or Teaching Assistants have responsibility for facilitating activities such as this.
- You need to consider whether the charter is going to be developed by a focused group of children e.g. the school council or whether every child in the school will participate.
- The children will need preparation/thinking time in advance of the discussions which take place.
- Staff will need to have reflected on appropriate open-ended questions to encourage discussions with the children.
- How the charter is presented/recorded needs to be personalised to your school setting and demonstrate particular skills that the pupils in your school wish to share with children in other schools.
- It is an opportunity to personalise the school’s aims/mission statement and ethos.
- It would be appropriate to have some sort of action plan to support you in the process of organising work on the charter.
- Be clear about your time scale. A decision has to be made regarding whether the development of the charter for learning is going to be a project facilitated and completed in one day, one week or over a longer period of a series of weeks.
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