Pupils consultation ‘not flawed’, say council

A consultation exercise at a local school which asked pupils for their views on the ongoing review of secondary education in Mid and North Pembrokeshire, was not flawed.

An investigation by Pembrokeshire County Council concluded that the pupils at Sir Thomas Picton School in Haverfordwest responded to the questions on the consultation form as they wished and were not pressured into giving particular answers.

As a result, no further action will be taken.

The Authority launched the investigation following a complaint from a pupil at the school.

The complaint was that at a school assembly, pupils were given a partial and one-sided presentation on the education review by pupils from the Joint School Councils, after which they were told to fill in the consultation form. No specific members of staff were named in the complaint.

Subsequently, the Council’s Children and Young People’s Rights Office (CYPRO) carried out a survey of a representative sample of pupils at the school. The survey asked six questions, and also gave space for free text responses. Some 108 questionnaires were sent and 25 returned.

When asked whether teachers and staff had given pupils a balanced view of the options, 24 per cent of respondents answered ‘No’.  This was reflected in the free text responses, with around 30 per cent indicating some concern about the process, such as being told they could fill in more than one form; lack of a balanced view, or that the teachers were biased.

Some 40 per cent of respondents said that they were told they had to fill in the form which is disappointing as consultations must always be voluntary exercises and pupils should not feel compelled to take part in them.

However, 96 per cent of respondents to the survey said that they were left to fill in the consultation form as they wanted and that they were not expected to give particular answers to the questions.

The Council’s Cabinet Member for Education and Safeguarding, Councillor Sue Perkins, said: “We are satisfied that whatever may, or may not, have happened in the school, pupils have responded to the consultation as they wished.

“Consequently the investigation will go no further, and the consultation forms from the pupils at Sir Thomas Picton School will be analysed in the normal way as part of the Council’s response to the consultation.

“The Council is committed to ensuring that all points of view are heard in the debate on the future of secondary education in the County and to treating different points of view with respect.”

She added that using the lessons learnt from the matter, the CYPRO will be issuing guidance to all schools in the County on best practice in engaging pupils in any future consultation exercises.