Thursday, July 24, 2008
Learner Voice singing loud in Wales
The Welsh Assembly have committed to nationwide investment in learner voice. The result is a genuine role, value and function for the views of young people in all areas of government.
Learner Voice is well-established in Wales with statutory requirements for all schools to have a school council and to appoint student governors. In fact, all organisations and institutions which are involved in the provision of services for children and young people are required to have young people on their governing or other decision-making boards.
The effectiveness of student voice is also higly developed in Wales. Learner representatives are given training in Learner Voice in order to be able to fulfill the role successfully. Welsh Assembly governance has recognised the principles and the benefits of making sure the views and ideas of young people are incorporated into policy and planning.
Take one example - the planning of 14-19 Learning Pathways in Wales. Representatives were given training on the proposals, the representatives then returned to their schools and consulted with their peers and prepared presentations of their findings for a conference. At the conference after all the presentations, the delegates put together a final set of recommendations on the 14-19 Pathways for the Welsh Assembly. All those involved were in Year 10.
The Welsh Assembly incorporates this process into it's policy and business in exactly the same ways as it does for consulting other expert groups, such as Headteachers. There is an Young Person's Welsh Assembly - The Funky Dragon which actively promotes opportunities for all children and young people to be involved and heard as part of it's remit. They have recently conducted the Our Rights, Our Story survey of 14,000 children and young people in Wales asking "To what extent young people are able to access the rights as set out by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child. The survey took over a year to compile and the resulting report was sent to the UN as well as recommendations made to the Welsh Assembly Government. The entire process was led, managed and analysed by young people.
To give a flavour of the quality of the work, considertheir recommendations on criteria for judging a good school council :
"Meetings should not be held at playtime or lunchtime and a real budget and training should be given. Councils should be engaged in real matters affecting the school."
Good advice for all Headteachers and educationalists everywhere.
As well as visiting the Funky Dragon website to learn more, it is a good idea for everyone involved in learner voice to look at the Welsh experience in order tosee how much further we can go...and to keep watching.
The Funky Dragon website is full of opportunities for young people in Wales to get involved and share their views and opinions. It also leads with the profiles and ideas of young people in Wales who have added to national campaigns and strategies through previous initiatives.