Pupil Voice considerations and outcomes

Things to consider before you start Pupil Voice:

There are many issues to be considered.   

• Who will do the work?  Ideally, this work needs to be done by a member of staff who the child trusts and who they feel happy talking to. Is the purpose of the exercise clear to the member of staff?
• Where will it take place?  This need to be a place where the child feels relaxed and comfortable.
• Does the child have any additional communication needs? 
• How will you create meaningful dialogue and show value such that this does not become a fixed Q & A type approach?
• Are you adopting a culturally competent approach, being aware of and valuing cultural identity?
• What method will you use? Recognise there is no one-size-fits-all approach; writing, drawing, visual, play, conversation, role play. Use a variety over time.
• Help the pupil to prepare and rehearse as unanticipated questions can be off-putting.
• Be enquiring, don't take answers as fixed, be curious and find out more.
• The purpose is not necessarily to 'fix' problems but to explore issues and possible ways forward.
• What could school/staff/the pupil do or change to help the situation?
• Be prepared and practice some scripts:

Opening and closing scripts - e.g. "I want to know what you like to do so that..."

"I would like to talk about things that are important to you, about what's happening for you at the moment at school, what you enjoy, what problems you may be having and what you would like to change. Together we will decide what to do about what you feel.  We can draw pictures, chat or play games.  I will write down what you think so I can remember".

Empathise, acknowledge their feelings and feedback that they have been listed to:

• "I would like to hear what you like to do"
• "that must be hard, I understand you feel sad about..."
• "thank you for sharing that with me, I never knew that"
• "let's try and find out about this together so we can work out a plan"

Acknowledge and do not dismiss their opinion, but you can offer a positive example too:

• I am useless at ....  "what do we mean by that?"
• Nobody wants to play with me......"That must be awful if you feel like that. How can I help you?"
• "how can I/school help you with this?"

Feedback, action plan and timescale. e.g. "I am going to pass this information to teacher/parent/others that want to help you.""when are we going to do these actions - shall we meet again in a few weeks to see how you feel then?"

• Time - allow the child time to complete the tasks.  They may find it very uncomfortable meaning they rush rather than giving true answers.
• Think about what you are going to do with this information.Make a record.
• Review - when are you going to follow up what is working and what is not?
• Remember this is only one tool. What other confirmatory evidence is there? Check for facts and does this fit with what else we know? For example, from observation of the pupil, parent views, views of staff.
• Be aware of potential risks. 

What is the outcome?

Pupil voice activities can help elicit information about:

• a pupil's feelings about school generally
• a pupil's attitude toward different curriculum areas
• pupil's awareness of their strengths and difficulties
• their hopes fears, wishes and aspirations
• particular anxieties or concerns that are affecting learning
• self-esteem
• feelings about friends.
• strategies used to help him/herself
• what works, what needs to change
• what would be meaningful targets for that pupil.

The materials can be used to support.

• Adjusting provision at universal, targeted and personalised level to better meet needs
• Target setting for individual pupils
• Transition between Key Stages, year groups, schools etc
• Annual or mid-year SEND Reviews
• Sharing with parents
• Developing staff expertise in listening to children

Regularly seeking pupil voice should result in a tangible impact on their educational provision.

Key questions:

• What are the key or common themes from pupil voice?
• How does this help us to inform provision for this pupil?
• What will change?
• How will this be recorded and communicated to key staff?

How will the pupil be able to tell that their voice has been acknowledged, valued and informed decision making?