Year GroupStudent Council Representative: Role Description

What is a Rep?
The role of the Rep is to represent the people in their form at the Year Group Council which meets once every 2 weeks for up to 1 hour (from 2.30-3.30pm).Reps have to be willing and able to put forward other people’s views, even if they disagree with them.

What kind of person makes a good rep?

  • Approachable - people will need to feel they can share their ideas with you
  • Organised – it will be your responsibility to make sure meetings happen in your class on a regular basis
  • Assertive – the opinions of your class are just as important as everyone else’s
  • Efficient – class discussions must cover a lot of issues in a short space of time
  • Fair – everyone has a right to express a point of view
  • Good communicator – you need to be able to work with staff and students from across the school and from all year groups
  • Interested in change- you will need to direct meetings towards issues which can be changed and promote ideas for change

So what will I actually have to do as a rep?

  1. Collect the views of your class and pass them on to the Year Group Council
  2. Let your class know what goes on in the meetings you attend
  3. Take an active part in meetings and attend them every 2 weeks
  4. Meet the Year Group Council independently around meetings
  5. Run projects/ campaigns around areas of interest each year

To do these jobs well you should have regular meetings with your class where you will gain your peers ideas on issues and write them down. These notes can be kept in a folder in your form and brought to Year Group Council meetings.With your class, you should decide which of these issues need to go to the Year Group Council.

You will then need to put forward your class’s views at Year Group Council Meetings. You also will need to let your class know what happened in the meetings, any decisions that were made or questions that need to be asked. You need to be prepared to go to all meetings and make yourself heard, but also willing to listen and discuss. Remember you are there to represent all the different points of view that people in your class have, so you need to spend time listening to your class and put across a range of different opinions.

In order to successfully fulfil the requirements of the role and develop your leadership skills, you will need to complete a success criteria supplied to you by Miss Clarkson (Leader for Student Leadership) over the course of the year.

How do I apply?

You will need to write and perform a short speech to your form group, you might what to think about explaining:

  • Why you want to be a rep? What relevant skills, qualities, experiences you have?
  • What ideas do you have on how to improve the school or school life for students in your year group?
  • What projects/campaigns would you like to run for your year group?

Students should vote anonymously in their tutor groups. The student with the most votes will be elected onto the Year Group Council.