Council of Portsmouth Students Meeting

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Council of Portsmouth Students Meeting 27th
November 2008 At Mary Rose School
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Attended

• Admiral Lord Nelson
• City of Portsmouth Boys James, Ricky and Sam
• City of Portsmouth Girls Atiya and Georgie
• King Richard Abbey and Amy
• Mary Rose Guy, Regan and Jade
• Mayfield Steph, George, Samantha and Niall
• Miltoncross Kimberley, Natalie, Tamzin and
  Kellie
• Priory Emily andEskarina,
• Redwood Connor, Kyle, Abigail and Shelbie
• Springfield Aimee, Louis and Alice
• St Edmund's Axell, Bailey and Lily
• St Luke's Gary and JakeParker
• The Harbour Vallion and George
• Cath Burton,
• David Hart and Sarah Heaword

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Welcome

• Steph (Chair of COPS) welcomed everyone to the
  meeting
• Introductions were followed by an ice breaker to
  help people from different schools to work
  together

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Makaton

• CoPS is an inclusive organisation.We held this
  meeting at Mary Rose so that we could learn some
  simple Makaton sign language so that students
  with special needs can find a voice and be
  listened to.

• After this discussion we noted the following
  ideas for how schools and CoPS might take this
  further.
• Thanks to Lyn Turner from Mary Rose School for a
  good fun Makaton Session.

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Makaton feedback

• It would be useful if all secondary (and possibly
  primary students) learnt some Makaton. It has
  been found to be useful in learning English but
  not by all.
• Lessons could be included as part of the
  Citizenship curriculum, as an after school club
  or as a subject focus for a day.
• It was agreed that in order to build on what CoPS
  has already learnt, Mary Rose Students would
  teach COPS members new words and phrases at each
  COPS meeting.

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Tour of the school

• We also went to Mary Rose School to look at a
  recently designed school to help us think about
  Building Schools for the future.
• Regan, Jade and Guy from Mary Rose gave us a tour
  of the school.
• COPS members were asked to think about and ask
  what aspects of the school worked well and what
  Mary Rose staff and children would do
  differently.

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Tour of the school (contd)

• CoPSTERs discussed whether they would like their
  schools to be similar to the Mary Rose School and
  discussed how they would adapt the design to meet
  the needs of their students.

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Tour of the school (contd)
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Publicising CoPS

• CoPS represents every young person in Portsmouth
  and needs to ensure that every young persons
  views get heard.
• We recognise that each school is responsible for
  running their own student voice and linking the
  voice of all young people to CoPS.
• Whatever we do the whole idea is to reach out
  to every young person in every school.
• Minutes, agenda items, CoPS discussion forums are
  available through www.pompeystudentvoice.co.uk

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Hong Kong Feedback

• David showed the group pictures of the Portsmouth
  Delegation in Hong Kong. Danni (City Girls and
  last years Chair of CoPS), Ben (Miltoncross)
  Olivia (Admiral Lord Nelson), Rory (St Edmunds)
  and Anna (Wimborne Junior) were the student
  representatives.
• David shared with us some of the technology that
  could be used as part of Building Schools for the
  Future. We discussed what pupils would make of
  this and how they would treat the new equipment.

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The Environment

• Springfield and Admiral Lord Nelson School
  explained how their schools try to improve the
  environment.
• Springfield has an ESD group which looks at how
  the school can be more environmentally friendly.
• Admiral Lord Nelsons year 9 were put into
  enterprise groups as part of a project to
  improve the learning environment.
• Springfield school have stickers on their light
  switches to remind people to turn them off.
• Admiral Lord Nelson have a nature area, they have
  also made it more accessible for people in
  wheelchairs and with frames

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The Environment (continued)

• We discussed how to make the schools more eco
  friendly in the future.
• We listed what we would like to do to help the
  environment and then marked the ones that schools
  would be willing to start right away.
• CoPsters committed to take the following
  suggestions back to schools.

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The Environment (continued)

• Student Participation (turn off computers and
  lights, litter picking, responsibility for an
  area to ensure lights switched off)
• Recycling (wheelie bins, appointing recycling
  monitors)
• Facts around schools which would make people more
  aware.
• Set up a nature / conservation area (vegetable
  patches) and environmental or gardening club
• Changing equipment used (towels instead of hand
  dryers, recyclable materials and stationary,
  energy saving lightbulbs and computers). Whole
  School events (walking week, ecofriendly day,
  trips)
• All students to discuss ways to reduce carbon
  footprints (not just school councils)
• Installing solar panels and improving schools
  windows
• David Hart mentioned a scheme where pupils could
  measure the effect of their work by the fuel
  savings in the school. Half of the saving could
  be directed to the student council to decide how
  to spend the money to improve the school.

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A link between CoPS and Secondary Head Teachers
in Portsmouth

• Steve Labedz (Head Teacher at Admiral Lord Nelson
  School) has offered to be a link Head Teacher and
  CoPS thought it would be a really good idea.
• Steve would like to keep CoPS connected to the
  developments in the 1419 curriculum and to tap
  into our ideas and suggestions about its further
  development.
• Steve was also part of the Portsmouth and Hong
  Kong Student Delegation to Hong Kong and is keen
  to help keep the connecting classrooms link
  between Portsmouth and Hong Kong schools.

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Inviting Private Schools to join COPS

• Louis proposed an idea from Tim Stokes that
  students from Independent Schools were invited to
  join CoPS so that CoPS can be a really inclusive
  organisation
• After some discussion, CoPS decided that it would
  useful to invite private schools and an
  invitation from CoPS was written and signed by
  Steph and Louis.

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Any other business

• Steph explained that she felt unable to take on
  the Youth Parliament Representative role and
  therefore had decided to step down and asked for
  some else to take on this role. Alice from
  Springfield school put herself forward for the
  role with immediate effect.
• David asked the CoPSters to read though a
  resource pack about meeting the needs of asylum
  seekers and refugees in secondary schools and
  discuss it with their school councils
  http//www.refugeecouncil.org.uk/Resources/Refugee
  20Council/downloads/researchreports/RC_HandtoHand
  .pdf

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Actions from meeting

• Mary Rose to prepare and teach CoPsters Makaton
  at each meeting (Exec to ensure on CoPS agenda.
• Louis and Steph to sign letters to send to
  private schools
• David to contact Steve Labedz on COPS behalf to
  thank him for offering to link with COPS.
• All COPSters to look at Refugee pack and discuss
  with their school councils
• Alice to attend Youth Parliament meetings.
• All CoPSters to report back on progress on these
  at the next meeting.

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Next Meeting

• Tuesday 13th January 1030 230
• at Portsmouth Student Union