Student voice certainly feels like a more significant part of teaching life now than it did 10 years ago. It would be naïve to deny the way that social media, social justice movements and a culture of immediacy has shaped the way that students engage with school life.
Many schools have felt the dread of students expressing their views and experiences in open forums. Not only can it feel like trust has been broken, but relationships can feel damaged and staff wellbeing can plummet.
However, this is not because students have used their voices – of course, we want to lean in to the experiences of those we teach and we want to progress our practice alongside social changes. Rather, the fallout can often be because the voice has not been captured and utilised in a way that feels manageable, meaningful and motivating.
Here, I offer suggestions for how to utilise student voice effectively.
Checking-in
Regular check-ins with the whole student body can be helpful in order to not miss important things that students are thinking about. A termly survey to all students, including questions about how safe they feel on site, how happy they are, and how well their learning is progressing is a good start. It can mean that important issues are addressed as they are emerging.
As a tutor, you may choose to do a regular “heads down, fingers up” activity where students can put three fingers up if they are feeling fabulous, two if mediocre, and one if they are in need of support. Remember, if you try something new as a classroom teacher, spare a few minutes at the end of the lesson and ask the students how effective they thought it was.
Conversations when on duty, greeting students on their way in and out of assembly, and touching base to praise students for their engagement with school initiatives all offer informal opportunities for students to express their voice.
You may ask students what their biggest take-away from today’s assembly was, which lesson has had the biggest impact on them this week, or what they enjoyed most about their sporting fixture. Though useful, the responses to these questions are not the key focus. Instead, you reassure students that you are approachable, willing to listen and keen to support.
Structure and process
An organised, regular and minuted meeting is an effective way to capture and channel student voice. Not only does this allow all members to prepare for the meeting but it also offers everyone involved achievable and sensible parameters for the discussions. In addition, it means that students and staff have a clear process by which student voice can be captured and acted upon.
At my current school, we call this the Student Congress.
Begin with electing representatives for the meetings. This is how we have structured ours this year:
- The Student Senior Leadership Team (SSLT) was elected in the summer term last academic year.
- Form reps for all year groups were elected during tutor time early in September.
- Any form rep who wanted to be the year rep prepared a speech to present in their year group assembly. Students then voted, electronically, for their preferred candidate.
- One member of the SSLT was allocated to each year group as support.
Next, ensure that meetings are regular and structured:
- Put them in the calendar and book a space at the very beginning of the academic year. We have one every six weeks.
- Release the agenda at least a week before the Student Congress meeting.
- Year reps, supported by their SSLT member, are instructed to hold a meeting with their form reps ahead of the Student Congress meeting. The agenda is available to them and this structures their meetings.
- Allocate someone to take minutes. We have used SSLT for this and the senior leadership team member in the room guides as necessary.
Share the minutes:
- It is important that staff understand what happened in this meeting. We trust the senior leader in the room to share this but SSLT have also shared directly with the whole of the school senior leadership team at times.
- The SSLT writes a half-termly newsletter where they include updates from Student Congress.
- Year reps are responsible for sharing minutes with form reps, who are responsible for updating their form group. Year reps have presented assembly updates to their year groups too.
- Ensure that the next meeting includes a review of actions from the previous one.
In the classroom
Some lessons will lend themselves more naturally to the use of student voice than others. In RE, for example, discussing personal perspectives, the impact of different beliefs and practices and the development of our own personal thoughts are integral to the overall aims of the subject.
It is valuable to invest energy into developing a range of methods for encouraging student voice in these spaces. This may include using varied questioning techniques and question styles, embedding reflection time such as a “think, pair, share” or a journaling task or setting a classroom contract.
Where student voice may feel less intuitive, there are ways it can be threaded into our usual practice. This might include offering choice where appropriate – for example choice over which method to employ, which case studies to use or which style to adopt in a task. If we can encourage students to understand why we do things the way we do them, their voices become informed and supportive ones.
Student and staff wellbeing
We should approach student voice with a little caution. Schools can be an incredible place for intergenerational shared learning but we should remember that students are children in our care. Safeguarding them is a priority and so any use of student voice must ensure that student wellbeing and safety is not compromised.
While student voice can be a valuable tool for diversifying curriculum, for example, it cannot be the only source of information we use. Not only would this put unfair pressure on students, but it also limits our professional growth and does not facilitate the fulfilment of professional responsibilities.
Equally, using students as the driving force for change can have an impact on staff wellbeing. We cannot always predict what students want to say and so it is important that opportunities to engage with student voice are handled with care. In some cases, students will be far more informed on issues than some staff are. This needs to be recognised and staff need to be given time and guidance to learn, reflect and adapt as needed.
Final thought
It would be remiss of me to conclude without including any student voice in this piece. I have had the privilege of supporting and collaborating with Abiola Omotesho, an A level student, this academic year. When asked why he felt student voice was an important part of school life, he told me:
“From a student's perspective, having my voice heard means seeing my beliefs, opinions and concerns validated. It means feeling like what you have to say matters. Students form the core of the school community hence change for the future is fitting to stem from those it affects the most. To ensure student voices are heard and handled effectively, they need to be involved in co-designing and evaluating school practices and frequently updated on the progress being made through student-led initiatives, to forge a community enveloped in trust and respect. These practices induce a greater spur for young leaders dedicated to representing the voices of their peers.”
- Sanum J Khan is assistant headteacher at Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. Find her @sanumjkhan