Life Skills
Children's personal development and how they engage with society is an integral part of preparing children for their future. As part of our teaching aimed at creating 'the citizens of tomorrow' we run a parallel strand of life skills which enables a focus on personal qualities and skills that are needed in every aspect of our daily lives.
The progression map below shows each week's Life Skill focus.
We also use and encourage critical thinking through structured use of questioning – this helps our children explore ideas and develop a respect for other opinions. Part of this work is completed through our Pupil Parliament.
What is Pupil Parliament?
Pupil Parliament is structured much like the government as it is made up of different sub-committees. Each of these committees is designed to have a specific focus on improving Rustington Community Primary School. Pupil Parliament promotes pupil leadership opportunities, enabling children to develop valuable communication, organisation and debating skills through key roles of responsibility and new experiences. It allows pupil from all year groups to be actively involved in the way that the school is run. Pupil Parliament benefits the whole school, pupils, and teachers because it provides opportunities for pupils to communicate their opinions as well as influence the decisions that are made on their behalf. Pupils relish the opportunity to become a greater part of school life and enjoy making their voices heard.
The aims of the Pupil Parliament:
- Represent all pupils and includes a fair representation of the school.
- Take time to listen to all pupils and communicate their views.
- Feedback to pupils about what happened about their views.
- Action decisions that have been made or explain why they can’t happen.
How do you join the Pupil Parliament?
Our Pupil Parliament change Cabinet Ministers once per year. To become a part of Pupil Parliament, children in Year 2 to Year 6 are encouraged to nominate themselves for election during election week. All children then get a chance to vote in a democratic election. Following the vote, 2 representatives from each class (YR2-YR6) are then elected as Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of the RCPS Pupil Parliament. The Prime Minister will attend meetings which are held on a regular basis to discuss issues that are important to the children and work on projects to improve our school.