The Concept of Class Council at DSM

DSM is dedicated to ensuring students develop the social skills to feel safe in class and build constructive relationships with their peers and teachers. DSM is also committed to engaging students as active participants in their community through independence, choice and accountability to their peers. All year levels participate in Class Councils throughout the week. This pastoral time takes the form of a short session daily after lunch and one larger session each week. The content of these classes is very much tailored to the needs of the individual class and the issues they are facing at a given time. Typically, the smaller class councils will be used to check in with students about their readiness to learn, then addressing and resolving any minor issues, e.g. learning temperature charts, emotional recognition and regulation activities, restorative practice resolutions of playground incidents. Larger class councils can be used to approach significant or ongoing issues such as identifying and acknowledging positive and negative behaviours, developing solutions to negative situations and reviewing the effectiveness of past approaches. By participating in these processes from the early years, students develop the confidence to exercise these skills with increasing independence.