prefects, monitors and mentors at primary

[earbrow]

How does this work in your child's primary school.?
Is it a fair system?

I've
Been thinking back to when I was at school - I was blissfully unaware of any fairness or otherwise and am just wondering how this all works these days?

We don't have any of those at primary school. The primary 7s act as buddies to the new primary 1 pupils but that's about it

AFAIK, year 6 buddy the year 3s as they enter juniors. Year 2 buddy the new reception starters. Mostly involves looking out for them in the playground and making sure they have friends to play with/letting them join in games etc. It's a through primary, but with slightly different playtimes for infants and juniors.

There are prefects, but it seems to work on a rotation system so the whole of year 6 gets to be prefects for part of the year - it changes every (half?) term or so, names are circulated on the newsletter. Not sure what, if anything, the prefects actually do though!

Almost everything at the juniors is voted on by the students. So it's always the same crowd of popular students who, in all honesty, are not generally interested at all in doing it that get appointed.

I think voting is okay in things like school council, although I think schools are deluding themselves if they really think any child votes for someone who would do it better over their friend, but things like House Captains/Prefects etc. should be teacher appointed and a mixture of merit in behaviour plus those whom a little boost in confidence would do a heap of good.

I didn't know primaries had any of those. None of the three I've been involved with have.

I'd like to add the most ridiculous voting occurred over fancy dress competition. The child who won it hadn't bothered dressing up at all. Surely that should tell the teachers exactly how it works.