Should children be involved in recruiting new teachers?

Maggie Atkinson, Children’s Commissioner for England, has said that she would strongly encourage more schools to involve their children in selecting new teachers (read the full news story). What are your thoughts?

  1. 3% said Yes! Children are a school’s customers and should be involved in decisions that affect them.
  2. 54% said Children should be involved to some degree – they shouldn’t be involved in the actual decision, but their input could be very valuable.
  3. 43% said Absolutely not! Children wouldn’t make objective decisions about which teachers should be recruited.

Comments

Anonymous said on 15 November 2011

If children are to be involved in selecting teachers then perhaps they should be allowed to be involved in selecting members of OFSTED and MP's

A Tanner said on 8 May 2011

In our school the school council reps are asked if they'd like to talk to prospective candidates once they get through to interveiw stage. The school council are allowed to ask questions (previously checked by class teacher) and are also asked for an opinion after the meeting. It's just as much about the candidates interaction with our pupils as their responses, and we've found our students (aged 7-11) are always very positive and fair in anything they say. They always seem very aware that the adult is in a challenging situation and respond appropriately. THat said, it wasn't a system used when I applied for my post and I think I'd find it quite difficult !

Lynn Ashton said on 20 April 2011

Article 12 of the UNCRC states that children have the right to be consulted on matters that concern them.

anon said on 11 April 2011

depends a lot on the age of the child,

Anonymous said on 2 April 2011

I don't see this as a good idea. If you went for any other job the people you will be managing would not have a say in who gets the job. I think this would blur teacher student boundaries.

anon said on 29 March 2011

We always have a question from the school council for prospective staff to answer. The responses are very interesting. It shows that a school cares about its pupils' voices, and this is a good, positive message to present to prospective staff.

Denise said on 29 March 2011

I think this could work well. Choosing the right pupils is pretty key and of course they would need support. I'm sure prospective teachers will be able to handle any curve balls that children throw at them during the interview process.