Three North Lincolnshire Councillors were put in the hot seat by Year 6 pupils as they visited Berkeley Primary School in Scunthorpe.

Leader of the council, Cllr Rob Waltham, Cllr David Rose and Cllr Helen Rowson took questions on the workings of the council, what the role of a councillor is and about council tax!

The visit was to help the pupils understand the democratic process in North Lincolnshire and the UK.

Cllr Rob Waltham, the Leader of North Lincolnshire Council, explained what being the leader of the council meant, what councillors do, and what his favourite parts of his job are.  As cabinet member for Children, Families, Learning and Leisure,

Cllr David Rose explained how he was responsible for all the schools in North Lincolnshire and what he does to help them be the best schools they can be.  Cllr Helen Rowson explained the role of ward councillor, and her responsibilities as lead member for farming.

Headteacher, Anna Cvijetic, said “It’s important that the pupils learn about our democratic society, and understand how decisions are made locally.”

“It won’t be too long before they’re at the polling stations themselves and they need to know how they can decide how our area is run.”

“I’m really thankful to the councillors for coming in and taking the time to answer questions from our Year 6s.”

Cllr Rob Waltham, Leader of North Lincolnshire Council, said:

“We were thrilled to visit Berkeley Primary School to help the children learn about the democratic process. They weren’t shy with their questions and we talked about everything from how North Lincolnshire Council started back in 1996, to the new play areas at Normanby Hall Country Park and the future of Civic Centre.”

“I hope that by letting the school children ask questions of their local councillors from a young age – and see that we’re real people doing jobs just like their mums and dads – they’ll continue to engage with local democracy when they’re older and it will encourage them to get involved in making decisions that affect our communities.”

At the question time session at the school, one pupil asked Cllr Waltham, “What does your average day look like?”

“I wanted the children to see the wide range of what we do as a council, and all the people we as elected members work with to secure the best deal for them, their school, and their families at home. I don’t think they’d believe all the things we have to fit into the day if they saw my diary though!” continued Cllr Waltham.