Every child has a right to be involved in decisions that affect them. This article explores how schools can involve students in such decisions.

Do Schools Have an Obligation to Involve Students in Decisions That Affect Them?

This right is also found in the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations (National Principles), 10 principles designed to make institutions safer for children and which were derived from the work of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse and endorsed by all Australian jurisdictions. In particular, Principle 2 requires that children and young people are informed about their rights, participate in decisions affecting them and are taken seriously. In most jurisdictions (Tasmania, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, South Australia and Western Australia), schools must, either by law or to comply with school registration requirements, implement the National Principles or their state-based equivalents. Although currently outliers, Queensland and the Northern Territory have recently signalled their intent to also require implementation of the National Principles.

In some jurisdictions, there are also specific school registration requirements to promote student consultation and involvement. For instance, there are express registration requirements in Western Australia for schools to consult students in relation to things such as their student code of conduct and, more broadly, the policies, procedures and practices that aim to ensure students’ safety and wellbeing.

This means that in most jurisdictions it is either a current or coming requirement that schools involve students in decisions that affect them.

Why Is it Important to Involve Students in Decisions That Affect Them?

It is also important because it:

• gives schools a chance to better understand their students’ issues and needs
• helps schools to tailor their policies and procedures to address the specific needs of their students
• allows students to feel included in decision-making which can result in them feeling more invested in decisions
• helps students develop their social and decision-making skills
• provided that, when they give their views, students feel heard and that their input is actually valued, encourages students to speak up when they identify problems.

What Types of Decisions Can Affect Students?

The types of decisions that may affect students include, but are not limited to, decisions about a school’s:

• policies and procedures
• planning
• facilities and services
• learning and assessment environments .

For example, a school’s decision about their student safety and wellbeing policies and procedures, including how these are accessible to the student body, clearly affects students. In a previous School Governance article, we discussed how schools can and should involve students in creating child-friendly versions of such policies so that students are aware of their rights and responsibilities.

Similarly, certain decisions relating to how lessons and assessments are carried out may also impact students. Involving students in determining what activities occur during lessons, where practicable, may result in more meaningful engagement from students during those lessons.

How Do You Involve Students in Decisions That Affect Them?

As for the actual methods that schools can use to make sure that students are involved in decision-making, these will depend on a variety of factors including the matter at hand, the age and capacity of the students concerned, timing and resources. Common ways of involving students in decision-making include through formal student representative bodies, holding individual or group discussions, conducting surveys, and providing access to feedback forms and suggestion boxes. However, this list is endless.

Regardless of what methods a school settles on, there are several important things to remember when involving students in decision-making processes. These include:

• making sure that students feel safe to participate
• not forcing students to take part in decision-making processes
• ensuring that students of all backgrounds and ages are afforded an equal opportunity to participate (for example, schools may choose to engage interpreters for students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, make reasonable adjustments for students with disabilities, or provide shy or quiet students with non-verbal methods for participation)
• acknowledging that students bring a unique perspective and knowledge to certain issues
• respecting students’ opinions and taking these opinions seriously
• informing students of all relevant information and providing them with appropriate resources to enable participation
• presenting information in a child-friendly and accessible manner
• maintaining privacy
• determining the objectives of and limits to students’ involvement and outcomes of any consultation, and communicating honestly with students about these
• ensuring that processes for responding to and reporting any incidents of harm, abuse or other concerns are clear to staff, students and their families
• using a combination of methods for involving students in decision-making
• ensuring that student involvement in decision-making is an ongoing process and regularly reviewing processes and making improvements as necessary.

Schools should also remember that merely consulting students on important issues that affect them is not enough. To create an environment that encourages students to feel comfortable participating in decision-making, communicating their opinions and voicing any issues or concerns, schools must truly consider the views of students and take appropriate follow-up actions, such as keeping students informed of the results of any consultation and providing sincere explanations for not accepting the suggestions of students. This will reassure students that the school actually takes their opinions seriously and that students are active participants in the decisions that affect them.

While it can also be helpful to involve other stakeholders in the decisions that affect students, it is important to remember that, even when consulting with other stakeholders, schools should continue to make sure that students are still able to voice their opinions freely without any influence or interference from these other persons.

Participating in the decisions that affect them is every child’s right. This means that, wherever practicable, schools must attempt to consult with students about the issues that involve them. Schools do not have to agree with or act on every idea that students suggest or involve them in all decisions related to running their organisation. However, they must ensure that students are given ample opportunity to participate in meaningful decisions that affect them.