Much has been written in recent years about the value of listening to the pupils’ voice, not least in terms of the new OFSTED arrangements for self-evaluation. High on the Every Child Matters Agenda, few can now chose to ignore it. So what exactly should we be doing?
Recognising the importance of interviews
Unless you appreciate the advantages of listening to the pupil voice it will not be given high priority. It will always remain that awkward time-consuming task that you know you ought to do, but no-one dies if you don’t. You need to be convinced it is worth sacrificing your time and your colleagues’ personal time if the school structures don’t provide.
What will it tell us that other things can’t?
- Is students’ learning deep or shallow?
- Does it outlive the last lessons plenary?
- Can children connect and make links between different aspects of history?
