Having a Say at School. Research on Pupil Councils in Scotland

Why this project?

Having a say


The participation of children and young people in adult decision-making has shot up the policy agenda in recent years.  The UN Convention on the Rights of Child, which the Scottish Government is committed to implementing, includes rights of participation.  In Scotland, it has become common for children and young people to be consulted on policies and services affecting them. Increasingly, this is reflected in legislation. 

Having a say at school


In 2000, Scotland led the UK in enshrining children's and young people's rights to participate within education law. The Standards in Scotland’s Schools etc. Act 2000 requires education authorities to have regard to a pupil’s views in decisions that significantly affect that pupil in relation to his or her school education. The participation of young people in decision-making, at both classroom and whole school level, is now seen as an essential element in citizenship education. It is a key part of Education for Citizenship in Scotland, the Scottish national framework for education for citizenship for young people aged 3-18.

During our research, we discovered that around 90% of Scotland's primary and secondary schools have some kind of pupil council - and that most of these have been created since 2000.

Pupil councils

More and more schools operate pupil councils as their main way of involving students in decision-making and promoting citizenship. Some people view them very positively as important 'laboratories of democracy'; others dismiss them as 'token', 'do nothing' bodies for an elite group of young people; and many don't have a strong opinion or seem to know much about them.

Children in Scotland, the University of Edinburgh's Centre for Research on Families and Relationships and the BIG Lottery Research Fund wanted to shed light on what is true and what seems to be working among pupil councils across Scotland. Our hope is that sharing what we have learned will lead to more pupil councils doing meaningful work that benefits these young people and their school communities.

Principal Investigators

Children in Scotland: Dr Jonathan Sher and Dr Fungisai Gwanzura-Ottemoller
University of Edinburgh: Dr Kay Tisdall and Dr Sue Milne (Centre for Research on Families and Relationships)


The project’s objectives    The project to date     Promoting the findings
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