School Council

Social Enterprise

Social Enterprise - ECS Helping Hands

ECS Helping Hands

ECS Helping Hands is a social enterprise group run by the KS3 School Council with the aim of raising awareness about issues that people in our community are struggling with their daily lives in our borough. This ranges from poverty to homelessness and domestic abuse, and the School Council has made it a mission to address this issue.

As a group, we are achieving our goal through raising awareness and fundraising for our cause. This part of the school website is dedicated to explaining our work and providing further information and sources of support for people in our community struggling with poverty and domestic abuse.

Poverty LBBD

Domestic Violence - LBBD

Domestic Violence - National

Student Council News

Student voice is very important to us at Eastbury Community School.

We have a large school council and several other student voice groups, for example the Student Equalities Group and Cultural Ambassadors. Our aim is to enable as many students as possible to get their voice heard and play an active role in the life of the school.

Through the School Council and other student voice groups students at ECS are able to exercise their right to give their opinions freely on issues that affect them, in the knowledge that adults will listen and take their views seriously.

United Nations Convention of Rights of a Child, Article 12

School Council elections take place at the start of each academic year. Tutor groups elect two representatives who will attend school council meetings and speak on behalf of their peers about issues, which are important to them and the school.

One hundred students are involved with the school council every year.

Key Stage Three school council representatives meet every Monday morning.
Key Stage Four school council representatives meet every Friday morning.

The school council agendas are developed by the school and the school council reps. Weekly meetings are chaired by students who have been elected by the school council. Feedback from school council meetings is fed back to tutor groups each week through School Council News which can also be viewed on this page.

Each half term school council meets with members of the school Senior Leadership Team to discuss the issues that are important to them. During the academic year 22/23 School Council contributed to school policies on anti-bullying, assessment, and rewards, led several projects to challenge prejudice and discrimination including activities to promote Anti-Bullying Week, the creation of the ECS Active Bystander Programme and supporting ECS Fest. Issues ranging from curriculum, uniform, tutor time activities and extra-curricular activities were discussed in meetings.

Being a member of school council provides our students to develop leadership and advocacy skills as well as developing the ECS character attributes of working with others, ambition, determination, patience, courage, helping others, saving for the future and creative thinking.

This is what our previous school council reps have said about their school council:

‘A way for students to get their say in what happens in school’.

‘I’m proud of the school council and what we have achieved because we’ve been able to make drastic changes and improvements to the school. I hope there’s more to come.’

‘In school council I can address issues I have noticed in the school and get them sorted so that our school is a safe environment.’

‘I believe that school council has worked hard to achieve many things this year.’

‘We try our best to change things when people want them changed.’

‘What’s good about school council is that our ideas have been heard and because of this there’s been an improvement around the school.’

‘Our points are heard and many things are getting improved like the menu and planners.’

‘ I am proud of school council because we have made really good changes to the school.’

‘Since I’ve been on the school council I’ve been able to get the voices of my fellow classmates heard. There’s been many chances to get our opinions across and changes have been made to our school.’

‘School Council is wonderful because you come with one thing and then when you finish the meeting your come out with loads of ideas to tell your form class.’