Last week I went to Rodborough Community Primary School where I met the Prime Minister.
Not Kier Starmer, but perhaps a future PM in that of an elected year six pupil. Children in years 5 and 6 are given the opportunity to run for Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of the school. Candidates have to do a full election campaign with posters, flyers, and speeches to the whole school.
This, for many children (and adults!) would be an extremely daunting task. Running a political campaign is not an easy thing to do and I was impressed at the way in which the children engaged with politics and Parliament through the Pupil Parliament.
I also was able to sit in on a full cabinet meeting to hear more about their roles and how they were getting on. They had ministerial positions ranging from children’s rights to playtime and online safety.
The Pupil Parliament work closely with the Student Leadership Team to feedback students’ thoughts about their school and how it could be improved. They have idea boxes in every classroom where children can write what they’d like to see at school. These requests are unfortunately sometimes out of reach for the school’s budget, but it is up to the children to get the cost for the ask, work out the budget, and explain to their peers why they can or cannot have an outdoor swimming pool at school (a genuine request).
What I learnt from these pupils is that giving children these roles is massively beneficial to their own personal development and their school experience. Teachers benefit from hearing what children would like at school and children benefit from taking a leadership role in their community.
With the possibility of lowering the voting age to 16, it is increasingly important to engage our young people in politics. The Pupil Parliament is an excellent way in sparking children’s curiosity in both the politics of their own school community but also that of Westminster and the wider world.
I’m looking forward to continuing our conversation about what happens in Westminster (and why there are so many weird rules and traditions), when they come to visit in the summer.
