FORTY pupils from local primary schools ‘took over’ East Devon District Council for a day and had their say on how it should be run.

On Friday, November 21 pupils visited the council’s HQ at Knowle in Sidmouth to learn more about its services and meet staff and Councillors.

The youngsters were from:

• Marpool Primary School, Exmouth

• Broadclyst Community Primary School

• Honiton Primary School

• Whimple Primary School The 10 and 11 year olds were taking part in national Takeover Day, which aims to get children and young people involved with how decisions are made.

It also provides organisations with a fresh perspective on the services they run.

Throughout the day youngsters got the chance to take part in a number of activities, including mock food hygiene inspections and recycling workshops.

The council’s Chairman (Cllr Graham Godbeer) and Vice-Chairman and Member Champion for Youth (Cllr Christine Drew) joined staff and children to take part in a special mock council meeting, where pupils got to decide how to balance the budget.

Hosting

Meanwhile, staff from the council’s Housing team helped children plan community events for local housing estates, finding out what they’d most like to see. The council will follow up by making the plans a reality next year and hosting the events in the children’s communities.

Elsewhere, ‘Sam ‘n’ Ella’s’ mock-up cafe kitchen gave pupils the chance to play detective and spot all the things that would be a danger to food hygiene and health and safety. The scene included several memorable moments, including the owner’s unique take on personal hygiene in a kitchen with no hot water and several blocked sinks. The lessons from the grotty kitchen not only showed the job the Council does in inspecting restaurants and food premises, but also meant youngsters will be more aware of risks at home.

The Waste and Recycling Team worked with the children to teach them about how countries trade resources.

Followers of the council’s Twitter and Facebook accounts were also able to see events unfold throughout the day, with picture updates posted under the hashtag #takeoverday