The national student voice initiative was created to bring students from across the Trust’s 43 academies together to encourage them to use their voices to drive change and make a difference.

This year marked the introduction of the first fully-fledged democratic elections, which gave the students the opportunity to take part in a 10-step election that included nominations, full in-person campaigning, ballot elections and an exciting results day.

The students campaigned on a range of issues that mattered the most to them and used their voices to effectively communicate their points and inspire others. Their campaigns have centred on issues such as mental health, championing diversity, and bolstering the voices of those who are disadvantaged.

The elections were split into OAT’s four regions, with academies electing up to 4 students, dependant on the size of their academy to represent their voices regionally. Now the regional student teams have been elected, they will nominate and elect 20 members to form the National Student Voice who will represent and act on behalf of OAT’s 33,000 students.

Each regional student leadership team selects three issues to focus region-wide projects and initiatives on. Last year, the student leadership team for the West highlighted LQBTQ+ campaigns as a salient issue and as a part of this commitment organised a pride campaign to celebrate diversity.

A crucial part of the Trust’s national student voice councils is their contributions to the #WeWill campaign, a national social action project. Through the campaign, the student councils have supported the creation of various projects that centre on health, recycling, the arts, eco-sustainability, and all share the same goal of making a difference in the communities in which the academies serve.

The student voice teams were also instrumental in organising the Trust’s Ukrainian humanitarian appeal which utilised the collective power and support of the community of academies. With the student network already in place, the national student voice team were able to quickly and effectively organise a Trust wide appeal that enabled them to raise over £15,000 for the Disasters Emergency Committee.

The final round of elections will take place over the next few weeks, where the incumbent regional student voice ambassadors will have the opportunity to put together pitches for their campaign to be part of the national council.

Holly Weaver, Former Chair of National Student Voice at Ormiston Academies Trust, said: “I thoroughly enjoyed my experience as Chair of National Student Voice, working closely with other passionate students to enact change and draw attention to the issues we really care about.

“It was good to see how our opinions were valued and were influential in deciding the #WeWill projects. It is important that these projects are shaped by pupils’ ideas as it will ensure they have the most impact on our community.”

Debbie Kinsella, Lead Practitioner for Enrichment at Ormiston Academies Trust, said: “This year’s student voice elections have been truly fantastic. Hearing the passion, thoughts and ideas of our students has been inspiring and I look forward to seeing the amazing work that they do in their time as ambassadors.

“We created our regional and national student voice as a way to bring our students together and to motivate them by showcasing how they can affect change and make a difference. It has been wonderful to see our students be so dedicated and enthusiastic about making the most of their positions.”

SPOKEN WORD POWER is a 3 year national spoken word poetry programme for school age young people. SPOKEN WORD POWER embeds spoken word poetry teaching, practice, writing and performance skills into the nation’s school life. By first providing young people with the support to create and perform their own spoken word poetry, then supporting schools to provide a platform to showcase their work, SPOKEN WORD POWER will engage a whole new generation of primary and secondary school students with the spoken word art form.

Matt Lane, Eastside Chief Executive Officer and Artistic Director said: “Creative education in many schools across the nation continues to be threatened by Covid restrictions, demanding STEM targets and reduced budgets. At Eastside, we believe that training in the arts is more important than ever.

“The three year project that we are launching today, SPOKEN WORD POWER, will provide thousands of young people with exciting opportunities to use the spoken word to develop their creative thinking, unlock their imaginations, broaden their horizons and build up their confidence. The project will support young people to articulate their opinions and develop their voices, approaching key issues with a critical mind and a positive attitude.”

James Bridge, UKNC Chief Executive and Secretary-General, commented: “The UK Commission for UNESCO is delighted to work with Eastside Educational Trust and partners in supporting SPOKEN WORD POWER. The project and the young people’s poems are inspiring and help unlock creative potential. The SPOKEN WORD POWER poetry slams are a key contribution to UNESCO celebrations on World Poetry Day.”

Through participation, young people will develop the confidence, skills and creative acumen to write and perform their own spoken word poetry, showcased at over 180 school slam events, 15 major regional spoken word events (celebrating World Poetry Day) while becoming published in annual SPOKEN WORD POWER anthologies.

Matilda Thaddeus-Johns, Eastside Schools Programme Manager said: “We are excited by the potential of this project, and would like to encourage as many schools as possible to engage with our free classroom resources online to get their pupils writing and performing their very own original spoken word poetry.

“This year’s theme is Speaking My Truth and Eastside’s experience of running poetry programmes for schools has demonstrated just how effective spoken word poetry is in enabling young people to find their voice whilst accessing the English curriculum in new and exciting ways.”

By first providing young people with the support to create and perform their own spoken word poetry, then supporting schools to provide a platform to showcase their work, SPOKEN WORD POWER will engage a whole new generation of primary and secondary school students with the spoken word.

Find out more https://www.eastside.org.uk/eastside_programmes/spoken-word-power

World Poetry day is on 21 March https://en.unesco.org/commemorations/worldpoetryday