'Hear Our Voices on school costs', say children and young people in West Lothian
Eighty young people from primary schools in West Lothian came together to celebrate just how much Cost of the School Day work is already happening in schools to reduce the impact of poverty on learners, and to inspire even more action.
Children and teachers gather to share Cost of the School Day action in West Lothian schools
'Hear Our Voices’ was a learner voice Pupil Equity Funding (PEF) Event, presented entirely by young people in person and on film, demonstrating the commitment that West Lothian local authority and young learners have to reducing the cost of the school day and boosting equity.
Young people and their teachers gathered at Winchburgh Academy to showcase pupil led anti-poverty action in their schools, take part in fun activities and quiz an expert panel on topics like food and devices at school, what more the council can do to help families, and whether we can learn more about tackling poverty from other countries.
Young people sharing ideas
Taylor from Bankton Primary School told us why she was pleased to be part of the event:
“I think we feel quite proud to be here. It feels quite great because we've been able to share what we've been doing, which is a pre-loved uniform shop. Because some families are currently struggling and they're not able to afford uniform from the shops, opening this means children don’t feel left out because their uniform might be too small or old. So it's just making sure nobody feels left out and different to everybody else.”
Taylor and Callum at Hear Our Voices
Callum from Dedridge Primary School thought that meeting people from other schools was also important:
“It's good because it helps you learn what other schools are doing, gives you more ideas for the future and helps you figure out how you can move forward with cost of the school day and learning.”
How local authority support makes a difference
West Lothian Council has made it a strategic priority to support schools to reduce costs, to make sure that there are no financial barriers to learning and participation for children from lower income families.
The impact of this can be seen in schools around West Lothian. Support from the local authority has helped create partnerships with local advice centers to help boost family incomes, helped whole school communities understand Cost of the School Day work and why it’s important, and ensured that pupil voices are central to the work. At the Hear Our Voice event, young people proudly shared what was happening in their schools, including ways to reduce the cost of badged uniforms, creating pop up shops within schools, capping the cost of school trips, and offering earlier breakfast clubs to help parents get to work.
Arlene Black, West Lothian’s Pupil Equity Fund Officer, explains why it’s important to gather children and teachers from schools around the local authority:
“I think it’s really powerful to see and hear the children in action. And certainly that has been commented on by adults today that just listening to what some of the children have to say about their own experiences, about what an ideal school experience would be for them and their friends. I think just that power of almost forcing adults to listen to them, perhaps particularly when this might not reflect those adult’s lived experience. They might have heard certain things in their school, but hearing that collective voice from our west Lothian children I think is what’s been important today."
Sara Spencer, Cost of the School Day Manager for CPAG in Scotland, said that:
“It’s been really inspiring to spend the morning celebrating the young people making a difference in West Lothian schools. We’ve heard so many creative ideas for reducing costs and supporting families, showing exactly why young people must be at the heart of conversations about equity – they know what matters and have great ideas and solutions. The number of schools represented today reflects the huge commitment across West Lothian to embedding Cost of the School Day approaches and making them a priority. We’re proud to have more than 80 West Lothian schools in our Cost of the School Day Voice network, and we look forward to supporting even more young people to share their ideas, influence change, and have their voices heard nationally.”
The impact of talking about Cost of the School Day
After Hear Our Voices, Ayla and Ellie from Blackridge Primary School said that meeting young people from other schools was going to help them make what they do in their school even better:
“Cause we got to see all their ideas, and what we could do to improve everything that we need to.”
Ayla and Ellie reflected on how Cost of the School Day was changing things in their school:
Ayla and Ellie at the Hear Our Voices event
“The difference is, if Cost of the School Day wasn’t here we wouldn’t be chatting about people not having the money to buy school uniform, which can make people feel left out. So I think that we’re talking about it, it makes it a better environment for people to be in.”
At the close of Hear Our Voices, Arlene described what she hopes people will take away from the event:
"Certainly for the adults to recognize the fact that children will shape what happens in their school. They have increased confidence, they’re much more aware now of issues relating to cost of the school day and equity, and their voice needs to be encouraged, it needs to be facilitated. There are lots of different ways that children’s voices can be heard, and I think staff in schools and adults need to recognise that and facilitate that and make sure that what they’re doing is authentic and meaningful based on children’s lived experiences so that collectively they can make that difference so that school is fair and equitable for all children.”
Local authority approaches
West Lothian’s support for Cost of the School Day is helping to embed poverty aware practice into its schools. Read about other local authorities taking action in their areas in our Ideas Bank.