With a clear focus on inclusion in the new inspection framework, what better way to show your commitment to this than through enhancing student voice and leadership mechanisms at your school? SSAT’s Student Leadership for IMPACT offer helps schools to focus on inclusion and address the first principle of inspection teams in assessing schools, considering the extent to which students achieve, belong and thrive.
One key strand of our work is providing professional learning and training for student leaders and in October we had our biggest assignment of the academic year (so far). We were asked to provide a whole-day conference to the combined student leadership cohort – over 100 students in total – of the Future Schools Trust based in Kent.
The ambition of this trust was remarkable, as they had invited student leaders from five different schools: New Line Learning Academy, Cornwallis Academy, Tiger Primary School, The Gateway, and The Trust Sixth Form. As a result, the student leader conference included children and young people from Year 5 to Year 13 and from mainstream and alternative provision settings.
Beginning with a keynote focusing on what research tells us about impactful student leadership, the day started by asking the assembled throng to reflect upon what they have already achieved and what more they could do.
Our sessions then focused on how student leadership can strengthen the vision and values of the trust through effective alignment, and on how student leaders can think about the context of their schools and communities to meet the needs of others. Each of the schools within the trust also contributed a session talking about leadership from the perspective of trusted adults.
The day concluded with a session where mixed-age, mixed-school groups of students took ideas for next steps generated during the day to create strategic plans for their enactment. The idea behind this was that students would be left with some concrete actions to take back into their work as well as experiencing processes they could use again in the future.
As I said earlier, this was a truly ambitious project focused on generating a sense of inclusion not just within a school but across a multi-academy trust. What was fascinating to see from an external perspective was just how well these students managed to bond through the shared experience of considering their school communities and trust community. And, yes, if you really want to know, the Year 5s were frequently amongst the leaders of this group of leaders.
Since then, we have run student leadership training days in several schools across the country. And wherever we go – from Kent to Leeds, from Skegness to March – we deliver bespoke material to meet the needs of the specific school or trust and the specific needs of the young people whose work we are supporting. Please do ‘book a call’ if you would like to know more about how we can support the ways in which you support inclusive student leadership to drive achievement, belonging and thriving in your setting.
Student Leadership
How do you ensure that student voice and student leadership is both meaningful and effective in school? SSAT provide a range of training for staff coordinating student leadership as well as in-school training for students.
