What is Pupil Parliament?

At The Howard Academy Trust, our Pupil Parliament comprises of two representatives from each of our eight schools. 

Our representatives range from School Council and Student Voice members to Head Pupils and Form Captains. The group works collaboratively by sharing their views and discussing ways to make improvements in their respective schools. The group meets three times a year with the Chief Executive and Director of Education. These meetings are beneficial for the entire THAT community as they provide opportunities for pupils to communicate their feelings as well as influence decisions that are made within the Trust. Through Pupil Parliament, our representatives develop key skills such as confidence, communication, and negotiation. 

Pupil Parliament provides student leadership opportunities across the Trust. Representatives are able to engage with their peers to talk about issues impacting on their education. This space allows young people to have a voice in their education and can discuss any issues or things that work well in their schools with Trust leaders. Our Pupil Parliament does an invaluable job in helping Trust leaders to make decisions that will improve their education journey.   

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Our most recent meeting was held on Tuesday 1 October 2024 in the Conference Room at Waterfront UTC. 

Once cookies had been munched and the introductions made, the pupils leapt into action, voicing ideas for positive changes they would like to see across the Trust from environmental impact to inclusion and shared clubs and activities.

It was a lively session, and every pupil was engaged, sharing and offering advice to each other and to the senior leaders of the Trust with the unified goal of making a positive impact on their education, their school and their peers. 

Their excellent ideas have been heard, and we, as a Trust, can not wait to start implementing ways we can facilitate these ideas into a reality that they can both see and feel at their schools. 

We look forward to hosting the next meeting to share these improvements with the Pupil Parliament.