Votes for Schools

At Portfields we use VotesforSchools - a weekly current affairs-based voting platform designed to engage children & young people in political and social issues. Through weekly discussion and voting, not only are our children learning about the world around them, but they are also becoming active citizens and preparing to participate in our democratic processes.

Each week, our senior leadership team holds an assembly to introduce the new VoteTopic for the week. The assemblies are interactive and give children a chance to explore the topic and hear different points of view.

Back in class, the children are asked to vote by answering the posed question with a 'Yes' or 'No'. The votes are then collated by our pupil leaders and submitted on the VotesforSchools website. The children can then compare their year group data not only with other years at Portfields but also with national data.

How can parents get involved at home?

Below are some great ways for you to get involved in the conversation!

Check our the "Votes for School" website

At 4PM every Friday, the latest VoteTopic goes live! Check out our website - www.votesforschools.com - to see what our voters will be debating in the coming school week or click the 'This Week's Vote Topic' button above.

Discuss the topic at home.

Ask your child to give arguments for each side of the debate to encourage critical thinking – the weekly Home Information Sheet can help you with this.

Discuss the results

We share the results in Portfields Post each week. Why not ask your child how they voted and why?

Brush up on your knowledge

Read up on any topics your child is discussing or discussed to see what your take on it is. For more sensitive topics, we also provide a list of useful resources and organisations where you can find out more or seek support.

Share your ideas

Have a think about which topics your child would like to see discussed at Votes for Schools and let us know their thoughts.