“The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking.”
ALBERT EINSTEIN
Student Voice at Sybil Andrews Academy
At Sybil Andrews Academy, we believe that students should have a voice and that we should actively listen to and respond to what our students tell us. Student Voice enables students to help shape the day-to-day and future needs of the school and local community.
Student Voice is an integral part of our pastoral curriculum and aims not only to increase student participation in the running of the school, but to ignite in them the thinking, whilst instilling in them skills for life.
Our objective has always been the creation and maintaining of an open culture for students to share their opinions and concerns.
To support this, we provide many platforms to support our Student Voice philosophy, both formally and informally. These include:
- School council
- Informal conversations with form tutor
- Informal and formal conversation with pastoral team
- 1:1 tutor conversations
- Informal and formal discussions with Heads of Subjects and Senior Leaders
- Student Voice surveys
- Peer mentors
- Duty prefects
- Student subjects leaders (learning ambassadors)
- WAY – Western Assembly Youth, supporting Suffolk Assembly Youth on local community issues
School Council at Sybil Andrews Academy
Each tutor group is represented on a year council and each year group is represented on our wider School Council.
Our senior students work closely with the school council to examine changes that may need to be made.
Any issues arising from the Student Voice body are presented to senior staff members and assemblies are used to raise awareness of matters that are being addressed.
Students have been involved in a variety of projects, including more benches for students around the school site, supporting various charities and are currently supporting an initiative regarding student wellbeing.