Student Council

The main role of our Student Council is to involve our pupils, working in co-operation with leadership, parents and teachers, to address key issues affecting Ipsley C of E Middle School, and to promote the interests of the school. Members of the council will develop and use skills in building partnerships and effective communication.

Improving communication within the school community is a shared responsibility and our Student Council contributes to this process as we have representatives from years 5, 6, 7 and 8.

Key functions of our Student Council

The Student Council will set the agenda, determining aims and objectives which promote the development of the school and the welfare of its students. To achieve these objectives, the Council will plan and deliver activities during the school year. They will:

• work closely with school management, teachers and parents.
• consult regularly with students in the school, learning to listen to the viewpoints of others.
• involve as many students as possible in the activities of the Council, working collaboratively with children across different year groups.
• present the views of the student body to the school management. After listening to the student body and considering their views and concerns, Council members discuss these with the school management on behalf of the students.

The aims and objectives of the Student Council are wide and varied, but here are some great examples of how our council has enhanced our school in past years:

Supporting the educational development and progress of students

• Our Student Council members can contribute to the learning environment. In previous years, our Council has set up homework clubs and organised lunchtime activities and clubs.

Assisting with induction and/or mentoring for new pupils to Ipsley C of E Middle School

• Starting a new school is a challenging new experience. Our Student Council supports a mentoring programme with Student Councillors helping new pupils to find their feet and aid integration into the school community.

Contributing to the development of school policy

• The Student Council actively contributes to the development of school policy in a wide range of areas, such as bullying, uniform requirements, behaviour and extra-curricular activities.

School sporting and cultural activities

• Our Student Council assists in organising and developing sports and cultural activities within the school, including sports days and teacher vs pupil matches.

Fund-raising charity events

• Ipsley’s Student Council organises events both within the school and involving the wider community, for the purpose of raising money for designated charities.

Liaising with Student Councils in other schools in the Trust

• New for 2024/2025, our council members will have the opportunity to collaborate with representatives from across our trust, to discuss issues affecting all schools. Our Council members will represent our school with pride, both within our school community and amongst the wider family of schools.  

Christ Church Christmas Dinners 2023

Twenty-six members of the Student Council laid tables and served Christmas dinner for sixty people at Christ Church. All our pupils represented the school with politeness and were eager to share the Christmas spirit with the community!

Mrs Bishop, who organises the lunch said:

‘The School Council were an immense help, so willing to make the experience enjoyable for all the guests, who really appreciated their service; they enjoyed the choir singing too! Many thanks to all involved.’

Charity Week 2024

Wow, Team Ipsley! What an amazing few days we had raising money for Birmingham Children’s Hospital!

We cannot tell you how proud we are of how the whole school community came together behind such a good cause.

Our fundraising started early in the week with Birmingham Children’s Hospital wristbands being sold around school. Cakes started to arrive for the Bake Sale and plans were being made in each tutor group to ‘grow a fiver’. Each class had five pounds to spend on setting up a stall for our charity afternoon on Friday, and the ideas came flooding in. Decorations and posters were made ready for the big day!

By Thursday, we were completely overwhelmed by the number of cakes we received! Biscuits, cupcakes, jam tarts, homemade fudge, brownies, blondies and chocolate cakes filled up the food tech room. We clearly have some very talented bakers who produce some beautiful and very tasty treats. The queue for the bake sale stretched the length of the courtyard and beyond, and we had enough cakes to sell again at lunchtime.

On Friday, we had a non-uniform day and each key stage ran their stalls. We had to guess the sweets in the jar, a penalty shoot out, guess the name of the rabbit, tombolas and more. The atmosphere was just lovely.

A huge thank you to Mrs Lamb who worked tirelessly to organise the whole charity week and make it so successful. Well done to our school council who helped with the planning and to our amazing tutor groups for their great stall ideas.

And to our families and pupils who have supported these activities so enthusiastically – THANK YOU!

Of the £6750 raised by 9 CRST primary/middle schools, Team Ipsley raised an incredible £2,206.37 of that total!

Student Leaders

When they join Year 8 at Ipsley, pupils are able to apply for the privileged role of ‘Student Leader’ of our school. These pupils are trusted with significant leadership responsibilities, such as: meeting and greeting parents and visitors, conducting school tours, supporting younger pupils in their learning activities, presenting at whole school events and representing Ipsley at Trust and local school experiences.

Pupils apply for the role by completing an application form, and then are invited to a formal interview with senior members of staff. If they are successful, pupils become Student Leaders, with some specialising in becoming sports or technology leaders.

Two pupils become Lead Ambassadors – the most prestigious role in the school. These two pupils take on a lead role in the Student Leaders group and are also expected to play a lead role in the School Council. They attend the Trust School Council Conference and lead events such as Open Evening.

The Student Leadership application process is designed to give pupils experience of application writing and interview – a great introduction to the skills they will need in their future career journey. Pupils develop their communication, organisation and social skills as well as develop attributes of resilience and confidence. The role of the Student Leader helps our pupils to be ambitious, courageous and kind and contribute significantly to school life.

Collective Worship Team

The Collective Worship team support staff with facilitation of Collective Worship every week. They meet every week to create reflection slides to display in the hall linked with the value and bible quote of the week. These are then displayed throughout the day to enable pupils to have a moment of reflection and spirituality at any time.