Following the success of Participatory Budgeting (PB) over the last two sessions we are continuing with it for 2023/24. This year the school is awarding ten percent of the Pupil Equity Fund (PEF) budget to PB which means we will have £9065! The main aim of PB is to reduce or remove any barriers children and young people may face in participating in all areas of learning.
PB is a way for the whole school community to have a direct say in how local money is spent. To help decide how this money will be spent I will be facilitating a Participatory Budgeting Consultation Group. Pupils and stakeholders will have the opportunity to come up with ideas on how to spend the money. Then a maximum of five ideas are put to vote with everyone in our school community having the opportunity to vote. The option with the most votes is the winner!
The group will consist of a maximum of 10 members from a cross section of parents/carers. If I have more than 10 volunteers, I will select members that represent a variety of stages throughout the school. There will be two meetings of the group, both held within the school; an initial introductory meeting on Monday 5th September at 5pm and a follow up meeting on Tuesday 12th September at 2.15pm, which will allow the children to attend, to share ideas and to decide how to share our ideas with the wider school community.
Last year we had a fantastic uptake of votes and the winning vote was to subsidise school trips. The money went towards paying for whole class outings, buses and any additional workshops that were offered.
If you would like to find out more about this group or become a member of it, please send me an email gw23calderclaire@glow.sch.uk by Thursday 31st August. Please include your name, your child’s name and class in the email.
I have attached the links to some examples of PB.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6dDEcw5NkY
Thanks in advance for your support,
Claire Calder
Depute Head Teacher
