How to improve your school with student voice
How to improve your school with student voice
SBMs should constantly seek ways to improve the school. An essential way to do this is to gain students’ feedback, as these are the people who are directly impacted by how the school runs. They can give you valuable information to make the correct changes in order to improve your school.
To assist you with integrating students feedback we have sourced some tips on how to improve your school with student voice.
Create spaces for discussion
It is crucial to create spaces for discussions to occur with students. Choose available rooms or areas within your school to hold focus groups or question time and debate groups. It is vital to look for gaps in your school's schedule to hold these groups and ensure a room or area is available. The end goal is to run effective strategies for students to have meaningful conversations with staff. The more conversations they can have, the higher the chance of student satisfaction and improvement for the school.
Ensure to check in with staff to see their availability and if they are willing to take feedback and run the groups. Let them know that open discussions where students feel like they can be honest are more productive than closed questions. Doing this will help staff direct the group in a positive way. Consider sitting in for some of these groups when you have time too, so you are aware of students’ feelings and concerns.
Make sure that these discussions are ongoing and not off and on. Ongoing discussions allow students to feel heard and staff can receive more information from them, therefore helping to improve your school. Plus, it takes a lot of time for students and staff to acquire the skills for productive conversations.
Think of the impact on students
Creating a student voice within your school primarily shapes vital decisions made by the leadership team. However, keep in mind that students can influence one another. Any students who aren’t a part of the student voice group could be invited to share their ideas and thoughts with the student representatives. Doing this ensures that all students are heard and considered, so the impact on students will be more positive.
Begin to create a culture in your school where students aid each other to shape their learning. This ensures that student engagement improves which leads to improving the school. It can also strengthen the school community and encourage students to reflect on their learning experiences.
Manage any risks for students
Taking on a huge change can involve some risks especially when you are giving students more control. It is important for SBMs to forecast these risks and manage them to ensure that the student voice is productive. It is vital to realise that taking risks in a controlled way can provide your school with positive results so don’t eliminate all risks.
Learn from previous mistakes
When actioning any solutions and techniques to help improve your school, mistakes can occur. This is especially the case when it comes to involving the student voice. However, it is good to test all solutions out to see if they work. Plus, students will feel valued and listened to when they see their ideas being carried out.
When a technique doesn’t work, it is best to note down what happened and learn from the experience. Ask yourself why it didn’t work and how it could be improved. Figure out what solutions engage your students most and work on them to constantly improve them. To further help this, encourage teachers to converse with each other to review the solutions. They can be a huge asset in helping you figure out improvements on what students want to change.
Ensure to have a student representation board
Create or build upon a school student representation board to be the one crucial voice for all students. These students will be in charge of bridging the gap between students and staff. They must be passionate about the school and willing to put time and effort into the role. Ensure to schedule times for them to gather student feedback, whether that be an anonymous poll or chats with other students. Help them to plot in time to give feedback to staff and all of the leadership team too. This board can then start to build an image of what students are feeling and thinking to help you make improvements.
Switch this board up by rotating different students every year to make sure that you gain fresh, diverse perspectives constantly. It may also be useful to have a monthly open and inclusive discussion with a larger sample of students too. Doing this gives you a deeper insight into the wants and needs of your students.
Use these tips on how to improve your school with student voice to make significant changes for the better. Ensure to listen to students' thoughts, ideas and feelings and work together to find solutions to try. Find ways to include as many students as possible so that you can receive diverse perspectives on all issues. This can change students' learning experiences in a positive way, enabling them to be more motivated in their learning.
Want some more advice on ways to improve your school? Read our how to improve your school with parent voice blog.
