Cleddau Reach VC Primary School in Llangwm has become the first school in Wales to become an accredited Your Assembly Ambassador.
Run by the National Assembly for Wales Education and Youth Engagement team, the Ambassador scheme aims to involve school councils more in the work of the Assembly, and give them a platform for their own views and concerns.
As part of a day of workshops at Cleddau Reach, members of the school council learned about the work of Assembly Members and its similarity to their role as school councillors.
They were also given the opportunity to feed in to an official Assembly inquiry on changing the name of the institution, where they were able to draw upon their own experiences in selecting a name for their school, following the amalgamation of Burton V.C. Primary and Llangwm V.C. Primary.
Tom David, the Chair of the Cleddau Reach School Council, said: “We enjoyed discussing issues and writing down our ideas. It was great that we were the first Primary School in Wales to be an Assembly Ambassador. All the children who were involved in writing the blog felt really proud when we saw our pictures and ideas on the National Assembly’s website.”
In order to complete the requirements for Ambassador status, members of the school council also submitted a blog to the Your Assembly website, which covered local issues such as speeding cars and the downgrading of Withybush Hospital, and what they would do if they were put in charge of Wales for a day.
Headteacher Nick Groves said: “The children at Cleddau Reach enjoy debating different issues during their Class and School Council meetings.
“Through writing the blog it provided an opportunity for their views to be shared with others through the National Assembly’s website.
“The children will look forward to writing further blogs and developing their role as a National Assembly Primary School Ambassador. They will also look forward to reading the opinions from other Primary Schools who will take part in the future.”
The certificate was presented by Paul Davies, Assembly Member for Preseli Pembrokeshire, who was given a tour of the school building and took part in a question and answer session with pupils from Years 5 and 6.
Mr Davies said he was delighted to visit Cleddau Reach VC School to meet pupils and staff.
“It is a fantastic achievement that the school has become the first accredited Your Assembly Ambassador in Wales,” he said. “It was great to see School Council members clearly putting in a lot of thought into their work which has now been published on the Your Assembly website.
“The workshop carried out with pupils by the National Assembly for Wales Education and Youth Engagement team has clearly sparked a keen interest in decision making processes whether it be by the School Council or the National Assembly for Wales.
“It was fantastic to see the pupils’ enthusiasm in getting involved with politics. I was very impressed with the school’s ethos and the excellent work being undertaken by the staff under the fantastic leadership of Nick Groves as head teacher. I was very grateful to be given a tour of the school and I enjoyed very much taking questions from pupils regarding my role as the Assembly Member for Preseli Pembrokeshire.”
Barry Childs, Chair of Governors at Cleddau Reach, added: “We think it’s a wonderful idea and we are very proud of our pupils and the positive way they have taken on this important project. Well done also to the staff and all those concerned.”
The pupils’ blog can be found at:
http://www.yourassembly.org/your-assembly-ambassador-cleddau-reach-vc-primary-school-council/
- If you run a school council and are interested in taking part in this scheme, please email [email protected]
