Student Leadership
Hartside Primary Academy, we believe that student voice is crucial in helping us to shape our school, so that we can meet the needs of the children in our community. It is also a way in which children can take on responsibility, demonstrate citizenship, build character and prepare themselves for life beyond school.
Student Leadership Roles
At the start of each academic year, we advertise our student leadership vacancies alongside role descriptions (two vacancies for each role, in each class). Children are invited to apply. The process for choosing school councillors is slightly different; they are elected through a democratic class vote.
Student leaders are expected to meet at least once half term with their link teacher, to actively contribute to meetings and projects and to be a role model to other students. To fulfil their duty as representatives of the student leadership team, they are also required to gather student voice through class meetings and to feedback updates regularly.
To help with being organised, we have mapped out student leadership activities on our student leadership calendar. The activities include: meetings with link teachers, leading class meetings and assemblies, clubs, as well as projects and initiatives.
We are very keen that all children have the opportunity to engage with student leadership, even if they do not hold a student leadership role. This is one of the reasons that we introduced a weekly class meeting. This can be an opportunity for the class to talk about pressing or topical issues, or respond to big questions. It is also an opportunity for individual students to present to their class about topics or issues that are important to them. Across the year, there is also time built into the class meeting schedule for gathering student feedback and for school council to feedback back their class.
