What is Votes for Schools?

 It is an online voting platform for schools that:

• Embodies fundamental British Values (debating and voting)
• Provides consistent, accountable delivery of SMSC, Prevent and focuses largely on Pupil Voice
• Supports PSHCE
• Helps prepare young people for life in a democratic country as exploration and debates occur.

Ultimately, it is engaging, fun and thought-provoking!

It is all achieved through topics that have appeared recently on the news.

Topics covered this year at Godolphin:

Autumn 1

Week 1 - Do we expect too much from sportspeople? 

Week 2 - Are world leaders listening to us?

Week 3 - Is gaming good for you?

Week 4 - Could we live without single-use plastic?

Week 5 - Will increased awareness help end modern slavery? 

Week 6 - Should vaping be banned? 

Week 7 - Can music teach us about black history?

Week 8 - Are super-size classes the future?

Autumn 2

Week 1 - Are young people interested in politics? 

Week 2 - Do you think it is possible to reduce bullying in your school?

Week 3 - Can sharing stories prevent extremism?

Week 4 - Is fake news always bad?

Week 5 - Are disabilities still misunderstood? 

Week 6 - Could anyone become homeless?

             - General Election

Week 7 - Has technology revolutionised Christmas? 

Spring 1

Week 1 - Was 2019 an important year?

Week 2 - Would you go vegan for a month?

Week 3 - Should under-18s be given criminal records?

Week 4 - Is the UK a tolerant place to live?

Week 5 - Could you support a friend struggling with their mental health?

Week 6 - Do you want to be internet famous? 

Week 4 - Single-use plastic

After learning about single-use plastic, some of our children went the extra mile! At home, they created bird feeders, toys, plant pots and many more exciting objects from single-use plastic.

What imaginative children we have at Godolphin!

Week 5 - Modern Slavery

Godolphin had their Votes for Schools lesson on modern day slavery. The children were engaged and inquisitive. The questions and discussions they had in class were truly eye opening and they really involved themselves in this topic.

Below are some photos from the lesson and some posters that 5KH created.

It is wonderful to see Godolphin children learning about current topics in the news!

Godolphin grows globally aware children. 

Week 8 - Are super-size classes the future?

Across our school the children were expressing their opinions well on this topic and were interested to learn about class sizes across the world. They learnt that one school in Italy had one pupil, compared to a school in Lucknow that has 44,000 pupils!

The children were set a task to design a classroom that would hold 60 children. Some examples of these are below.

Godolphin grows future designers!

At GJA, we held our own election based on the General Election. The children gained knowledge about the different parties, their leaders and their main aims.

The whole school voted and our results are in:

The winning party is: Labour! (252 votes!)

Second place: Conservative: 52 votes

Third place: Lib Dem: 36 votes

Fourth place: Green: 32 votes

Fifth place: Brexit: 19 votes

Some of our children have given feedback and said: 

3RH - "The voting was great as we learnt about what happens and now understand what our parents do."

Yuvraj (4AP) - "I have learnt about the different parties and their names. I didn't know this before."

Zinneerah (4AP) - "I learnt that the different parties offer different promises to help win their vote."

5AR - "I have learnt that the MP's with the most majority will form a government after elections."

5AR - "I have learnt about democratic rights and I can't wait to vote one day! It is important that we make the right choice about who we vote for because these leaders will make important decisions for our country and our future." 

Votes for Schools: Veganism

In our Votes for School session (Spring 1, week 2) we discussed the topic of going Vegan for a month. The children were engaged in some interesting discussions and learnt reasons of why people choose to turn Vegan, either for just January or decide to make it a lifestyle choice.

Godolphin grows knowledgeable children!