Parliament
Empowering students to use their voices
Each fortnight, the staff and students of Woodbury Boston meet. Parliament is a student run meeting where everyone has the opportunity to show their appreciation for others, celebrate successes and discuss any concerns that they may have.
Participating in Parliament teaches students to:
Understand their rights and the rights of others
Recognise their responsibility to the community
Share helpful insights that contribute to peaceful solutions
Voice their opinions and be heard
Listen to and respect the opinions of others
Problem solve to find shared solutions to issues
Small groups of senior student run each meeting, using the skills they have learned through years of attending Parliament. Adults help guide the process if necessary, particularly when discussions about school policy arise, as the adults can help clarify issues with which students may not be familiar.
Running Parliament meetings teaches students to:
Facilitate conversations between peers in an impartial and sensitive manner
Develop active listening skills
Learn how to conduct peer mediation
Refine conflict resolution skills
Develop time management and negotiation skills
Gain confidence speaking in front of a group
building strong relationships
Parliament offers students the chance to share great news, and also to bring up issues that are troubling them. When it comes to bullying, Parliament offers a student who has been subject to or witnessed bullying behaviour the chance to discuss it with the whole community.
This removes the ‘veil of secrecy’ under which this behaviour thrives. Exposing bullying behaviour in this way undermines the practice, empowers the students and generally makes the playground and school experience happier for students.
Results
Decisions are made in consultation with the whole Parliament, and with everyone’s full knowledge and agreement. Issues are not voted on – rather discussion continues until consensus is reached.
The skills that Woodbury Boston students learn by participating in Parliament stay with them for life. They learn that their opinions matter, and that through respectful and compassionate interaction, they can make change.
