Our School Council is an integral part of life at Mayespark and they play an important part in school improvement. 

Elections are held annually. Three children are nominated per class to stand for each position. They canvass for votes through designing their own posters and leaflets and deliver a speech in assembly to their constituency. Voting takes place using ballot boxes and booths borrowed from Redbridge Council. 

Once the members of the School Council are in place, regular meetings commence. Officers are appointed for the roles of Chair and Secretary and children are able to add items to the agenda so that a range of discussions can take place. 

Throughout the year the children meet with Ms. Davies which enables them to communicate and pitch new ideas of ways to improve the school. In previous years the School Council have initiated an additional water fountain on the playing field, mirrors in the Year 5&6 toilets, new playground equipment, the replacement of single use plastic bowls for school lunch desserts, more bins in the playground, improved school lunches, redecorated toilets and lots more!  

School Council meetings are followed up by Class Council meetings where representatives are able to establish the views and opinions of their peers through leading debates alongside their class teacher. 

Current Campaigns 

Rubbish bin campaign 

With the support of Citizens UK, our school council have launched a campaign to persuade Redbridge Council to provide litter bins in our local community.  

So far, our School Council have been for a walk in our local community. Whilst walking around the local community, they did not find one single bin but they did find lots of rubbish! They have counted the number of pieces of litter and recorded where they consider the hotspots for litter to be, using a map of the local area. The School Council have reported their findings back to their class who have been asked to photograph evidence of litter and email this through to the school office.  

Once we have been able to collect enough evidence and have petitioned parents for their support, our School Council will write letters to Redbridge Council to present their recommendation.

Visit to local homeless shelter

As a school, we donate our harvest festival collection to The Welcome Centre, Ilford. This is a day centre for homeless people which provides hot meals and support to those in need. Every year, our new school council visit The Welcome Centre. They learn about the impact of being homeless and also have a tour of the centre's wonderful facilities. During their visit the children see a number of the centre's clients which greatly helps to cultivate a deeper understanding of the needs within our local community.