Manchester’s bid for Unicef Child Friendly City Status

Students in key stage 5 had the exciting opportunity to be part of history in the making. Manchester is a candidate to be a Unicef Child Friendly City and Melland High School were invited to present at a Manchester City Council Full Council Meeting. Full Council is a meeting chaired by the Lord Mayor of Manchester and attended by all 96 elected members to discuss the important issues that are taking place across Manchester.  We were asked to present on the priority badge ‘Equal & Included’ To ensure that all children and young people, regardless of their background, culture, ability etc feel welcome in the city, are protected from discrimination and have the same opportunities to grow, learn, explore and have fun. The whole school stepped up to the challenge and helped to create a video for the presentation that ensured as many voices and opinions from across the school were heard as possible. A group of 12 students from key stage 5 attended the meeting to experience what it is like to visit the Town Hall and the Council Chambers with 4 students presenting to the council members. The students demonstrated excellent self-belief and communication and confidently addressed the room to introduce the video. Students also gained an insight into what it is like to work in the public sector and Manchester City Council. We are incredibly proud of the students’ exemplary behaviour and received many kind comments about our contribution.

A huge thanks goes to Paul Morgan for creating the video in such a short time, Debbie Mellows for coordinating the students and organising the visit and Jo Aungier and David Naraynsingh from Manchester City Council for inviting us to take part in the event.