Welcome to the home of St. Mary’s Catholic Primary School and Nursery Pupil Parliament.
Pupil Parliament, at St. Mary’s, is a group of individuals made up of children and staff that work together and are committed to continually improving our school for all stakeholders. It allows all children to have a voice in our school and to share their contributions in a meaningful way. The Pupil Parliament will not only teach the children how UK Parliament works but also promote pupil leadership opportunities and enable children to develop valuable communication, organisation and debating skills.
What are the aims of Pupil Parliament?
- To make our school a better place for everyone in our community.
- To ensure everyone has a fair say.
- Listen to and consider everyone’s views.
- To take action when decisions have been made or explain reasons when action cannot be taken.
Who is part of Pupil Parliament?
At St. Mary’s, the model for our Pupil Parliament is based on the UK Parliament. UK Parliament is made up of three distinct parts: The Monarchy, The House of Lords and The House of Commons.
In school, the monarchy is represented by the Headteacher, Mr Smyth. It is the role of the monarch to sign off laws once they have been agreed in the two houses (Lords and Commons).
The House of Lords is represented by the staff in school. It is their job to provide guidance and expertise to departments and committees and to work alongside the House of Commons to create new laws (positive improvements) for our school.
The House of Commons is made up of pupils from Years 1 to 6 who are elected democratically by their peers on our annual polling day. These members of pupil parliament (MPs) represent their classes at regular meeting and also join departments to focus on improving our school for the good of all. Each class votes for two representatives for their constituency (class) to become MPs. The House and Vice Captains of the junior houses (Hoghton, Rufford, Samlesbury and Worden) also take a seat making a total of 20 councillors.
Our Pupil Parliament meets once a month to discuss issues raised in class; consider any upcoming events both national and local; to assign projects to different departments; and to feedback from any ongoing projects taking place in those departments.
Our MPs are:
Primary Minister – Hettie Y6
Deputy Primary Minister – Betsy Y6
Speaker of the House – Faith Y6
Hansard (official record keepers) – Declan and Jimmy Y6
Minister for Education – Viktoria Y6
Department of Education – Luke Y3, Jimmy Y6, Faith Y6, Declan Y6
Minister for the Environment – Tilly Y6
Department of the Environment – Clara Y2, George Y2, Billy Y4, Faith Y5
Ministers for Catholic Life – Eva and Harriet Y6
Department of Catholic Life – Keeley Y1, Evie Y1, Rebecca Y3
Minister for Health and Wellbeing – Teddy Y6
Department of Health and Wellbeing – Charles Y4, Cody Y5, Betsy Y6, Hettie Y6
How it will work
The Pupil Parliament will meet monthly to discuss issues raised by classes and in the PP suggestion box. We will also discuss topics relevant at the time. At the meeting we will delegate topics to the relevant Departments. Departments will also meet monthly following the agenda agreed at the Parliament meeting. Any decisions or actions made by the departments will be fed back to parliament by the minister responsible at the next full parliament meeting. Departments are made up of a range of people from the House of Commons and the House of Lords (selected based on the agenda to be discussed).
Please see the minutes of our meetings below:
Parliament Meetings