Voice at whole-school level

A guide for building meaningful student participation across school life through structured dialogue and audits.

This resource is a practical framework designed to help schools embed young people's voices in decision-making at the whole-school level. Developed as part of the Irish initiative ourvoicesourschools.ie, it introduces three progressive modes of student participation: Consultative, Collaborative, and Student-led. Each form is described in terms of purpose, roles, and actions for both students and staff. The guide provides step-by-step strategies for initiating discussions, conducting self-assessments using an adapted audit tool, and planning inclusive school policies or initiatives (e.g., wellbeing, sustainability). It encourages schools to move beyond symbolic consultation, emphasizing the Lundy model (space, voice, audience, influence), and offers reflection prompts, practical activities, and templates to build sustainable student engagement practices.

Source: Our Voices Our Schools
Language: English

Year of publication: 2019