ABSTRACT
Society wants young people to become active participants: good citizens who make a valuable contribution. Many children mentioned their school councils, although a common complaint was that they had no real power. In Scotland, the Children's Commissioner has commissioned research into student voice and a youth parliament has been set up. National forums and focus groups have been established to listen to children's views on different issues. In Wales, the School Councils Regulations 2005 require that all maintained primary, secondary and special schools in Wales must have a school council. There are many different ways in which schools are encouraging student participation. Some schools offer training to a group of students on how to work with their teacher to support learning in the classroom. The teacher may then involve their Learning Leaders in planning the teaching and learning for their class or in developing and trialling participative approaches.
