The term pupil leadership refers to education principles and practices that reflect the importance of providing children with the opportunities and support to play a role in making the decisions that affect them. The principles of effective pupil leadership include:
- Recognising that pupils have logical perspectives and opinions on issues that matter in the classroom, in the school, and in the community.
- Giving pupils an active role in influencing decisions about these issues as well as in the implementation of these decisions.
- Enabling pupils to participate as active young citizens.
There is much evidence to suggest that when pupils engage with pupil leadership programmes that have a positive impact their capacity for learning increases.
Developing participation and leadership skills
In order to develop a leadership model which builds upon the knowledge and skills of all pupils within a school, pupil leadership can take a number of forms. These include classroom-based practices, whole-school projects and programmes, and the joint leadership of community-based research.
In the classroom:
- Involving pupils in conversations and decisions about “Codes of Conduct”.
- Engaging pupils in conversations and decisions about teaching, learning and assessment.
- Encouraging pupils to develop and share their own opinions about issues and to engage in debate, discussion and analysis of those issues.
In the school:
- Involving pupils in the decision-making of the school through participating in the School Council.
- Electing pupils to meaningful roles of school ambassadors or representatives.
- Engaging pupils as members and participants in key school processes such as staff recruitment
- Involving pupils in peer support, buddying, mentoring or coaching programmes.
- Inviting and enabling pupils to undertake research and consultation about aspects of the school that may need change or improvement.
In the community:
- Supporting pupils to develop and implement community-based projects, possibly in partnership with other agencies, to enhance and support learning.
- Enabling pupils to engage with local government and the wider community.
Good practice in a primary school
Encouraging pupils to participate in pupil leadership opportunities in order to develop new skills forms an important part of each child’s development at Eastlands Primary School in Rugby.
The school has a strong PSHE and citizenship programme which includes a wide range of pupil leadership opportunities. Pupil leadership is specifically identified on the School Improvement Plan each year.
There are many opportunities for pupils to contribute to the life of the school through their engagement with specific roles which have been successful for both the pupils and wider school community including: School Council, Anti-Bullying Ambassadors, e-cadets, Eco-Committee, “Rotakids”, play leaders and peer mediators.
Eastlands staff and children were trained as Anti-Bullying Ambassadors in December 2014. This programme was selected in order to enhance the existing pupil leadership opportunities available within the school and maximise the number of pupils engaged in these roles.
The Anti-Bullying Ambassador Programme, part of the charity of the Diana Award, has now completed its fifth year. The programme offers resources and training to schools and youth organisations throughout the UK. After receiving national training pupils become Anti-Bullying Ambassadors in schools. In their role, they help educate their peers on the issue of bullying, lead on anti-bullying campaigns, promote a culture which celebrates and tolerates difference and helps keep their peers safe both online and offline.
Eastlands has successfully achieved three Diana Awards and feature as an Anti-Bullying Showcase School. The Anti-Bullying Ambassadors at Eastlands, led by an elected chair person, are a group of 10 children from across key stage 2 who apply for their roles when vacancies become available in advance of each school year. In order to be an effective Anti-Bullying Ambassador pupils need to be:
- Passionate about stopping bullying and working together to stop it.
- A caring person who keeps an eye out for their peers/class mates.
- Friendly and approachable and willing to listen to other pupils’ problems and provide support to them.
- Active in promoting kindness within their community.
- Up-to-date on the work of the Anti-Bullying Ambassador Programme and happy to get involved in the work they do.
- Regularly updating the programme with the anti-bullying work they are doing in school and being able to ask for help when they need it.
Members of staff select the successful applicants and the children then attend professional training to prepare them for their role. The pupils write a constitution and following a whole-school audit write an action plan to identify their priorities for the year. Regular meetings are held in order to find the solutions to any issues identified within the analysis of the audit data.
Events the group has organised include a Smile and Compliment Day, a Kindness Day, and whole-school assemblies to share the impact of their work. They also find innovative ways to fundraise for the Diana Award.
At the start of each year they set themselves the goal of applying for a Diana Award which motivates them to have maximum impact in their roles. In 2015/16 the group also had a representative on the National Youth Board which provided an opportunity to represent the voices of thousands of Anti-Bullying Ambassadors across the country.
Over the last year, in his role as a national youth board member, Lewis has arranged a “Stand up to Bullying” campaign, attended a national anti-bullying conference at Alexandra Palace, met with HRH Duke of Cambridge to share plans for Stand up to Bullying Day, been a guest speaker at the Anti-Bullying Ambassadors Professionals Conference and has been awarded a Diana Award for the impact of his work.
Liz Vikmanis, a member of staff at Eastlands was also selected as a “Regional Staff Champion” during 2015/16, which enabled them to share good practice from the school on a national scale.
Ms Vikmanis recognises the impact that this national role has had on her as an individual and on the success of the programme at Eastlands: “We have been extremely fortunate this year to have members of our school community represent the anti-bullying programme on a national scale. This has provided our pupil leadership group with a high level of motivation to find innovative ways to stamp out bullying within our school and the wider community.
“I have seen a real difference in Lewis as a result of his involvement with the national youth board. He has grown in confidence, contributed ideas within school and on a national level, motivated our school to ensure the programme had a positive impact and spoken at high-profile conferences.”
Lewis said: “I have gained confidence in who I am and when speaking to a large group of people. I have got a better understanding of how to support people who are being bullied.”
How can our school enable student leadership?
Ms Vikmanis and Tracey Stonell, who jointly lead the successful pupil leadership group at Eastlands, offer the following tips for schools to consider and implement:
- Demonstrate to pupils that you respect their views and opinions by providing a range of opportunities to capture them.
- Foster leadership skills in the classrooms by actively engaging pupils in the learning process and identifying leadership skill development in the curriculum.
- Think beyond traditional leadership roles and involve as many pupils in as wide a range as possible.
- Ensure all staff are supportive of pupil leadership ideas and practices in order to promote inclusivity and encourage pupil participation.
- Provide professional training for staff and pupils to ensure that they are fully prepared for their role and engage fully with the programme in school.
- Recognise and value students as active citizens through a range of opportunities and responsibilities.
- Work with the community to form partnerships to support the development of leadership skills in young people.
- Regularly share knowledge and information about which approaches are successful on the school website and in social media.
- Jo Corrigan is the head of primary networks at SSAT.
The Student Leadership Accreditation
An effective whole-school approach to pupil leadership would integrate a range of programmes and partnerships into the daily life of the school. The SSAT Student Leadership Accreditation (SLA) formally recognises students’ leadership skills, encompassing all activities pupils are engaged in. It offers a formal way to champion and celebrate the leadership skills pupils develop in and out of school, requiring them to create a portfolio in which they gather and upload evidence to showcase their skills. They grade their work using a self-assessment framework that covers 10 core skill sets, grouped into three themes: developing myself, working with others, contributing to my community. For details, email joanne.corrigan@ssatuk.co.uk