Whole School
Throughout the school day, there are opportunities to listen to and involve young people in decision making about matters that affect them in school. This section highlights some of these opportunities and provides resources for school management and teachers to get started.
Voice in Whole School: Getting Started
If you are looking to take the first steps in raising the profile of voice in your school, here are some ideas on how to begin:
| Young People’s Voice in Whole School Decision-making Audit (PDF) | Use this audit tool to better understand the status of student voice in your school. |
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| Voice at Whole – School Level (PDF) | Some ideas for getting started with voice at a whole-school level. |
| GROW Model Planning Template (PDF) | A workshop to support a conversation between colleagues acting as critical friends to a proposed voice initiative. |
Voice in SSE
The processes associated with School Self Evaluation (SSE) attach great significance to responding to the perspectives of the young people in school. Here are some approaches to engaging young people through workshops.
| SSE Workshop 1 (PDF) | Find out what your students feel about a particular aspect of school life. |
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| SSE Workshop 2 (PDF) | A workshop to support a discussion with students about their experience of school. |
| SSE Workshop 3 (PDF) | Another workshop approach to support a discussion with students about their experience of school. |
| SSE: Sample Questionnaire (PDF) | A survey designed to help teachers have a better understanding about how students are learning and experiencing school. |
Surveys and Focus Group Planning
Schools frequently rely on surveys and focus group to gain insights into young people’s perspectives about school. These materials offer some guidance on how to prepare for and interpret the results of these.
| Using and Reporting on Focus Groups (PDF) | Advice on preparing for, conducting, and reporting on student focus groups in SSE planning. |
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| Organising, Running and Reporting on Surveys (PDF) | Advice on preparing for, conducting, and reporting on student surveys in SSE planning. |
Young People Involved in Developing the Wellbeing Programme in Newbridge College
Voice in Wellbeing
These workshops are designed to support discussions about wellbeing with young people in your school and to involve them in decision making about the Wellbeing programme.
| Voice in Junior Cycle Wellbeing (PDF) | A workshop to involve students in planning for the Wellbeing programme in Junior Cycle. |
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| Wellbeing in Our School (PDF) | A workshop to reflect on young people’s experience of wellbeing school. |
| What Really Matters for Young People’s Wellbeing? (PDF) | A workshop to prioritise key considerations for the school’s Wellbeing programme. |
Working with Groups
In school, there are different groups of young people with particular needs and interests, e.g. Environmental group, LGBTI+ group, young people who are carers. These planning templates can be used in preparation for working with groups of young people in a school setting.
| Planning a Voice Initiative: A Template (PDF) | A planning template for use in preparing a voice initiative in school. |
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| GROW Model Planning Template for Groups (PDF) | A workshop to support a conversation between colleagues acting as critical friends to a proposed voice initiative. |
Young People Leading
Young people should feel confident to plan and carry out voice initiatives in school and these are some materials to support them to do just this.
| Student Initiated Projects: A Template (PDF) | A resource for use by students in planning an initiative. |
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| Planning Surveys (PDF) | Guidance for students on preparing for, conducting, and reporting on surveys. |
| Planning Focus Groups (PDF) | Guidance for students on preparing for, conducting, and reporting on focus groups. |