School Council
The new School Council introduced themselves to Ranelagh’s leadership team. We didn’t switch the light on in Miss Welburn’s room to not waste energy . Sustainability right from the off .
They continued to talk about how sustainability is still a focus and will continue to be .
‘How about the earlier start?’ we asked , referring to the new 8.30 start to the day . The school has begun the day with physical and mental healthiness. In the Red Pitch, for 2 year groups, there is sport, gardening and painting , whilst other year groups develop their love of reading . This is alternated every week . This gets a big thumbs up.
They want the new Key Stage 1 playground to have more activities . More hoola hoops and to have the older children teaching KS1 new playground games . Developing turn taking and losing with grace .
The School Council absolutely believe that their voice can bring on change .
An absolutely incredible start to the new year - making sure Ranelagh can be the ‘Best that it can be ‘
The School Council children demonstrate enthusiasm and dedication to their school and community by creating, developing and successfully carrying out projects with their peers.
Over the year, the Ranelagh's School Council have volunteered in a variety of on-going daily responsibilities such as the organisation and distribution of milk at play time and lunchtimes, setting up and packing away the equipment for Exercise Mornings and turning off lights at lunchtimes in order to save energy.
Projects such as the Christmas postal service, hot chocolate mornings, the Easter egg hunt, the Mini-Teachers day and Talent show all require teams of volunteers to develop plans and publicity.
Meet Ranelagh's New School Council
The resilient Ranelagh School Council is all about working together and providing all children with a forum to express their opinion and make suggestions. Ranelagh School Council aims to support everyone to recognise the strengths of our school and find ways to make it even better. Members are also aware that they are role models to other children in the school and use their position to support their peers.
There are 2 members from each year group from year 1 to 6 - of a newly elected member and a mentor ( the previous year’s councillor) Every child in Ranelagh cast one vote to elect the new members at the beginning of the year. The School Council members meet regularly to discuss any issues that have arisen in class, important aspects of school life and talk about the global and national projects supported by the school.
Ranelagh School Councillors have already suggested what they would like to achieve by the end of the year.
Aims of School Council 2024-2025:
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To make sure children’s voices are heard
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To become better at teamwork and listening to others
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To work on important projects that make a difference
Our Current Projects:
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Designing a new KS1 playground.
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Supporting physical and mental wellbeing in the community.
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WE village project - Education
You may recognise some of our current school council in this picture
Keep informed of all the remarkable events that are run by School Council, here:
Ranelagh School Council Network with School 21
School Council Transform the Park
On Thursday 9th March, the Ranelagh community gathered together to officially open the brand new park. Complete with a crocodile swing, a pirate ship, climbing frames, an outdoor learning space as well as gardening facilities, our new park promises to be an exciting place for learning and fun for years to come.
The redevelopment of the park wouldn’t have come to fruition had it not been for the tireless work of our school council. Over the last few years, the children have been integral to the whole process, choosing and modifying designs and holding various fundraising events to help raise money for the development. So, it was fitting then that our school councillors were the ones to officially unveil the new park, with our very own ‘ribbon-cutting’ ceremony. Diego, the chair of the council, remarked on how significant this was. “I’ve been at Ranelagh ever since Nursery and it’s so cool to be a part of changing our playground. It looks amazing and the children love it.”
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The ceremony began with the choir singing a brilliant rendition of ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’ followed by our Executive Head Teacher, Mr. Paul Harris and our Head Teacher Mrs. Lawrenson reminding us all of the remarkable journey the school has been on to get to this point. Members of the community were jubilant about the changes to the park, commenting on how even the fences look stunning! Chair of the PTA, Ms. Bixby, added “This is absolutely wonderful. It’s brilliant to see the children having so much fun on new, exciting equipment, enjoying the fresh air, having fun and learning!”
Ranelagh Redevelops Playground
Ranelagh School Council play a vital role in the development and continued improvement of our school. In early October, they held their first meeting with the Leadership Team over lunch. They discussed their agenda for the upcoming school year and what they hope to achieve for Ranelagh.
One of last year’s most notable accomplishments was the development of our playgrounds. They have developed and chosen equipment for the park play area (which you will see very soon) and made valuable contributions to the KS1 markings. They have been there at every step as the vision for the playground unfolds. Well done School Council.
Ranelagh Pupils Scramble for Easter Egg Treats
Following closely on the heels of organising a very successful Sports Relief Challenge, the Ranelagh School Council had no time to rest before they were designing another 'eggciting' activity for the whole school to enjoy. During the last week of the Spring term, with Easter just around the corner, the members of the School Council organised a special Easter Egg Hunt - with a twist. Pupils of all ages were challenged to find a series of Easter themed codes carefully hidden on eggs in the KS1 and KS2 playgrounds and also around Napier Lodge.
Many parents were thrilled that their children were asking them to hurry up for school and were keen to get into the playground and start enthusiastically searching for the codes.
The mother of Samuel in year 4 commented, "Samuel really enjoyed it. We normally come to school just in time for the door to open. He has asked to go to school earlier for the Easter Egg Hunt, Samuel likes searching for things, so he was very excited to go to school earlier. I have also helped him look for codes. I didn't know there was a lodge garden!"
Other pleasing surprises were revealed as the week progressed, instead of being secretive and working individually many of the children worked in teams and shared their knowledge with their friends and they all enjoyed including their parents in the hunt.
Zainab in year two thoroughly enjoyed the activity and her mother added, "I think the Easter Egg Hunt was a spectacular event. Perfect for getting parents and children together for a morning activity."
At the end of an 'eggshausting' week, 20 tired but elated children were presented with Easter Eggs in the end of term assembly
'Eggsecutive' Head Teacher, Angela Tapscott, said, "The School Council members play a very important role in the life of Ranelagh; they attend meetings, with the staff and Governors, where they represent pupil interests, they are on hand to help pupils with a range of issues, they organise events and also raise money for their nominated charities. School Council Leader, Susie Tsui, assists them with all of their endeavours and we are all very proud of how this year's Council members are rising to the challenge."
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Ranelagh Raise Money for Sport Relief
On Friday 18th March, Ranelagh Primary School took part in Sport Relief. The pupils raised money for the charity by wearing red clothing and sportswear, instead of their usual school uniform. The School Council, along with School Council Leader, Susie Tsui, organised a fun-filled day of sporting workshops for the whole school. 4
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The day was a chance for the younger pupils to work alongside role models in years 3, 4, 5 and 6. Marley, a CSP in Reception, commented, "It is really positive for the children from different age groups to work together to achieve the same goals, it helps the older and younger children to relate to each other." This integrated approach meant that the older pupils were able to assist the younger children and not only those on the same team.
Sport Relief is one of the UK's biggest fundraising events and Susie Tsui said, "During the day it was wonderful to see the Ranelagh pupils rising to the Sport Relief challenge. The School Council designed an interesting circuit of activities and it was great to see positive attitudes amongst the year groups taking part. The pupils did not give up when an activity was difficult and they helped others who were struggling. Everyone had fun and at the same time Ranelagh raised money for some of the most disadvantaged people in the UK and around the world."
Ranelagh Primary School is delighted to add the money raised on the day, £260, to the £154 that was raised when the pupils dressed as their favourite character on World Book Day, on Thursday 3rd March. So, in total, the pupils and staff at Ranelagh Primary School raised £414 for the Sport Relief Charity. Congratulations to them all!
The School Council hope that events like 'Sport Relief' will motivate the pupils of all ages to continue taking part in competitive sport and exercise sessions. The School Council are also looking ahead to next year's event and have suggested making the stations harder for the older children and propose to give out more stickers to motivate the children to improve on this year's results.
Rachel Euell, a regular volunteer in year 3, said, "I think that today was a really good event and it got the children excited and involved in Sport Relief. I am impressed that the School Council members organised it and were able to communicate with the children about the different activities. I was impressed to see how very mature the leaders were."
