Democra School
What is a Democra School?
- Democra-School is a programme designed to support and encourage the development of meaningful school councils and the practice of democracy in the school environment
- Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child says that children and young people should have a say in decisions that affect their lives
- Experience from schools in Northern Ireland, England and further afield shows that a school council that is supported and nurtured helps and improves many aspects of school life.
- As part of NICCY’s legislation is to make sure children and young people can participate in key decisions that affect them we developed Democra-School
- On May1st NICCY will launch a guidance pack which shows how practical steps can be taken to involve pupils in school councils
- The pack was developed with the co-operation and involvement of teachers, pupils, and key officials at board and department level
- Every school in Northern Ireland will receive a copy of the pack
Information Resources
As well as being able to download a copy of the Democra School pack you can also get other resources including:
- Election Guidelines
- First Past the Post System
- Sample Nomination Form for School Council
- Proportional Representation System
You can read the press release about the launch of the guidance here and the Commissioner's speech here.
Democra School Guidance Pack
You can view the Democra School Guidance pack here, this includes:
We also have a number of additional resources which you can download here:
Tell Us What You Think
We would very much welcome your feedback on the Guidance so please tell use what you think here.
Web Painting with NICCY
We have also developed a web based interactive version of the Democra School Guidance poster. This is a fun and eductional resource that teachers and leaders can use to help children learn more about what a school council is. Select this link to colour in online the cartoons from our Democra School poster. Once you have coloured in each cartoon they can be printed out for fun or further discussion.
If you would like to find out more or have any questions please contact a member of the Participation Team on 028 9031 1616 or participation@niccy.org.