Our School Parliament

'Democracy is the form of government in which the free are rulers.'
Aristotle

At Hillcrest we value the children’s voices in decision making. The Hillcrest Parliament is made up of a representative - a class MP - from every class, from Reception to Year 6.

They meet with Ms Norman each term to talk about an aspect of school life that they can have an influence over. They have the opportunity to talk with their classmates, take on board any suggestions or questions that they may have and raise them with Ms Norman.

Here are our Class MPs for school year 2024/25

What are the three aims of our School Parliament?

1. Improve the school
2. Improve the local community
3. Help to achieve the United Nations global goals
 

This will be achieved by:

• Working and learning together
• Learning about democracy
• Learning how to play a positive role model in our community

Our Committees

In addition to the MPs, Hillcrest has four Committees set up to benefit all the pupils and school community. Children who want to be involved in decision making about their school and work with a team to make changes are encouraged to stand as committee members. Following class  hustings, when each candidate makes a presentation to their peers about why they would be the best choice for a particular committee, each class holds a democratic election to appoint their Committee Members. We have representatives from every class from Reception to Yr 6.

The school Parliament and Committees meet twice each term to work through their action plans.

Here are this year’s Committees:-

How does our school parliament work?

• Each class from Reception to Year 6 elects a class member of Parliament.
• MPs have meetings twice a term.
• In each meeting, MPs will discuss a question to be asked to the children of Hillcrest.
• Each MP will ask the question to their classmates in a meeting in class, facilitated by their teacher.
• The MP will take notes on their class’s point of view to feedback at the next Parliament meeting.
• This means that all children at Hillcrest have a voice that will be heard.

Why do we need a School Parliament? 

• To give over 400 children the opportunity to share their thoughts and opinions
• To work alongside all the children in a collaborative manner
• To improve the school for everyone
• To provide positive role models who ignite aspiration in themselves and others
• To be an extension to the extra work that all the adults already do

Sharing our views

• MPs give feed back to their class during their meetings.
• Each Committee has a notice board for information sharing.
• Committees give feedback in the Hillcrest Blog.
• MPs and Committees give a summary of their achievements and actions to be added to the school website at the end of each academic year.

School Parliament News

Our Class MPs last year agreed on guidelines for healthy playtime snacks.