They helped run a morning of activities framed within the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child, especially Article 12, the right to express an opinion and to take part in decisions about your life.

The morning was managed jointly by Healthy Schools and the Humanities Education Centre, who were the main providers.

The Students Objectives were:

1. To explore children's rights and express their ideas on them.
2. To participate in activities needed for school council working, including;

representation,
group work,
decision-making,
participation,
research &
presentation.

3. To learn from Langdon Park School councillors.

Below are the activities undertaken during the morning.

1 There was an introduction Assembly by Michael Newman of the Humanities Education Centre.

The assembly was introduced by the story of a scientist wanting to make a human being and what they would need. The children came up with an impressive list of body parts.

The children then had to think what else was needed to make the body a person. What things helped them to be themselves? They suggested education, a family, friends, food, a home... These were written onto the parts of the body which were then stuck together to build a person.

The story of the scientist was then concluded, that he had missed out all these other things and the body he had made became Dr Frankenstein's monster! The cut out body was turned around to reveal the image of the monster.

Rights are what we need to allow us to be human. A poster of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child was shown comparing them with what the children had suggested.

Afterwards the Langdon Park students went into different classrooms to help lead the activities.

2 Each class set "Ground Rules" (10 mins) asking

"What do we need to do to make the morning work?"

The class wrote down their ideas on a flip chart. At the end they made a general class agreement.

"Do we agree with this list?"

They used this as poster for rest of the session, and referenced to it when children did not work together.

Matching the Rights to images.

Click here to see a group discussing Rights & Needs

3 Picture activity on Rights (20 mins)

Split the class into six groups, each group is given a picture and an envelope of rights -they need to match the picture with a right and discuss what is needed to ensure the right exists.
The class needs a list of rights displayed on a poster, and one set of laminated large cards for matching with pictures on a whiteboard when the students make their presentations.
One group has the Article 12 card, and instead of matching it to a picture, they need to create their own and take pictures using a throwaway camera.
Groups select a presenter who explains to the class -describing the picture and explaining the right and needs. In the case of Article 12 they act their picture.

Click here to see the Rights document

Click here for rights cards 1 (word doc)
Click here for rights cards 2 (word doc)
Click here for rights images 1
Click here for rights images 2
Click here for a list of the rights (matching the images) (word doc)

The images and cards are copyright to the Humanities Education Centre, and are part of the Human Rights game created by HEC, called "Locococo."

For more details or to purchase the game, "Locococo"
visit the website.

Tower Hamlets schools may reproduce the images and cards for educational purposes in school.

4 Creative Activity with Heads and shoulder pictures. (45 minutes)

Draw a picture of your head and shoulders.

In the head write and illustrate one of the rights, in the shoulders write what you think you need to have that right.

5 When the wind blows
-full class, in circle -survey of children (10 minutes).

Get the whole class to stand in a circle. Give instructions and demonstrate, -this activity is called when the wind blows, when I describe a group I want you to cross to the other side of the circle if you belong to the group.

For example -everyone who is older than 20- you cross over as if a leaf blown in the wind. It makes it more fun if people act as if they are blown by the wind (but they can simply walk over, being careful not to collide with anyone).

Eg. people who have voted for anything; who have helped make a decision about their classroom; people who have played football; who know what a school council is? People who think there should be a school council?

6 . Research:
What is a school council? (40 minutes)
In small groups create four questions for either the councillor or the teacher. The groups gather into two groups; one for the councillor and one for the teacher.

Each large group shares their questions and chooses the best six. The questions are written on a flip chart/sugar paper and students vote on the questions they want.

The groups gather as a class and ask their questions of the teacher and school councillor who are sitting at the front. The questions alternate between the teacher and the councillor. Someone acts as a scribe.

View some of the answers to the students' questions asked below:
You will need Quicktime to view these movies

Why is there a School Council?

How can you become a School Councillor?

Who organises the School Council?

What does a School Councillor do?

What do you discuss?

Do you get homework?

Do you have a School Council Newspaper?

7 The values line (20 minutes)
A line is placed on the floor, using masking tape.

"This line is called a values line. You can stand anywhere on the line to say what you think."

For example; I love fish; I eat it everyday, I cannot get enough fish - you can stand at this end.

Or if you hate fish, it makes you feel ill, you wouldn't touch fish -then you can stand at the other end.

If you don't mind fish you might stand in the middle- or if you quite like it then you might stand here."

-Split class into groups of four. They choose a representative and they must decide as a group where someone stands and why. The reps stand on the line, are interviewed and the group is asked for feedback, if the person correctly represented the group.
The lines explore school council issues and answers during the interviews should include explained reasons.

Lines:
a.The school council should make decisions about everything in the school or nothing.
b. Everybody should be on the school council or no-one
Ask questions to discover what decisions should be excluded, and how many people should be on the council.
The teacher can record the line on a sheet of sugar paper and where people stood as X's.

Everybody should... XXX -XXXXX -XX -X ...No-one should

Follow up:

The class findings and discussion can be put together for a presentation at an assembly.

School Council Consultation: From the morning a survey could be created that could then consult the children on how they would like their school council. How many people should be elected from each class?

Next Step:

Organising elections- How to stand:

-Nominations?
-Making Speeches?
-Who votes?

Create the School Council.
(With ongoing training & support supplied by Langdon Park students, with support from Humanities Education Centre)

The day were planned by:

Franka Kalvelage; Tower Hamlets Healthy Schools Team, and Michael Newman; Humanities Education Centre.

Langdon Park students were trained to lead activities by Michael Newman