At Penwortham Primary School, we believe pupils should be at the centre of school life and have meaningful opportunities to share their views, influence decisions and take responsibility within their community.
Our approach to pupil leadership and voice reflects The Penwortham Way and supports pupils to:
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Be Ready – to take on leadership roles and responsibilities
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Be Respectful – by listening to others and valuing different viewpoints
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Be Responsible – by representing their peers and contributing positively
Pupil leadership also supports our school values of Aspire, Belong, Care and Discover, helping children to feel confident, included and empowered.
Pupil Leadership Roles
We offer a wide range of leadership roles to ensure pupils can contribute to school life in different ways.
Head Boy and Head Girl
Act as role models for the school community, represent pupil voice and support staff during assemblies, events and visits.
Deputy Head Boy and Deputy Head Girl
Support the Head Boy and Head Girl and help represent pupils’ views across the school.
School Council
Represents pupils from each class and meets regularly to share ideas and suggest improvements. School Council members work with school leaders and the PTFA to help decide how funds are spent and to arrange fundraisers to enhance our school environment and we support local and national charities.. Recent pupil-led decisions include funding for new school fish, classroom resources and new books.
House Captains
Promote teamwork, positive competition and school spirit through house events and activities.
Buddies
Support younger pupils by helping them feel safe, settled and confident in school.
Play and Sports Leaders (OPAL)
Play and Sports Leaders support high-quality playtimes in line with our OPAL (Outdoor Play and Learning) approach. They act as positive role models and help encourage inclusive, active and imaginative play during breaks and lunchtimes. Play and Sports Leaders support younger pupils, help organise games and activities, and promote safe, respectful play, contributing to improved wellbeing, positive behaviour and enjoyment of play across school. They help to ensure that all of the children in Reception and KS1 are engaged in active, fun and safe playground activities.
Eco Council
We meet as a group at least once per half term to discuss ways in which we can improve our school environment and reduce our carbon footprint. We encourages environmental responsibility and sustainability across school. The Eco Council’s work has been recognised through achieving the Eco-Schools Green Flag Award.
Digital Leaders
Promote safe and responsible use of technology, support digital learning and help pupils and staff with ICT where appropriate.
The Digital Leaders are responsible for:
The digital leaders attend a club after school to complete different projects.
Reading Ambassadors
Reading Ambassadors play a key role in promoting Reading across school. We hold regular meetings where they share and discuss ideas. Reading Ambassadors are responsible for planning and helping to run events like World Book Day and fundraising days. They read with younger pupils as part of our whole school reading buddy time and help take care of reading areas around school, and also promote a range of authors and new texts to different classes.
STEAM Ambassadors
Our STEAM Ambassadors are passionate about science, technology, engineering, arts and/or maths. Their role within school is to share STEAM experiences with other children, roll out initiatives and play an influential part in developing wider STEAM opportunities.
Wellbeing Ambassadors
The Wellbeing Ambassadors at our school support pupils to be emotionally healthy and improve their wellbeing. The Wellbeing Ambassadors have delivered assemblies for the whole school, they have and continue to be proactive during playtimes; supporting pupils as and when needed and they have recently introduced ‘connection-boxes’ into each class which they check on a weekly basis and act upon any concerns identified. They are also about to implement ‘5 C'S of Wellbeing' :
The 5 Cs of Wellbeing at Penwortham
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Connect
Build positive relationships and friendships.
Talk, listen and include others. -
Care
Look after yourself, others and the environment.
Show kindness and empathy. -
Calm
Learn how to regulate emotions and manage feelings.
Use strategies to feel safe and settled. -
Create
Express yourself through play, art, music and ideas.
Be imaginative and curious. -
Contribute
Take part, help others and make a difference.
Pupil voice, leadership and responsibility
and are looking to establish a ‘Wellbeing’ club at lunchtimes.
How Pupils Share Their Views
Pupils are encouraged to share their ideas and opinions in a range of ways. We gather pupil voice through:
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half-termly pupil voice surveys
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school and class council meetings
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leadership group discussions
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pupil questionnaires
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regular conversations with staff
Pupil feedback is listened to and, where appropriate, used to inform decisions and improvements across school.
You Said, We Did
We ensure pupils can see how their ideas lead to real change. Recent examples include:
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You said you wanted a calm, safe space to relax and regulate
We did – built a sensory room called The Beach Hut -
You said you wanted opportunities to learn outdoors
We did – developed a Forest School provision -
You said playtimes needed more equipment and variety
We did – invested in new equipment and enhanced playtimes through our OPAL programme -
You said you would like fish in school
We did – introduced fish for pupils to care for and enjoy -
You said you wanted a better school library
We did – redesigned the library with pupils, working alongside architects to create a welcoming reading space shaped by children’s ideas
Celebrating Our School Values
Each term, pupils vote for ‘Star’ winners who demonstrate our school values of Aspire, Belong, Care and Discover. These pupils receive an award during a celebration assembly, where parents and carers are invited to attend.
This helps pupils recognise positive role models, celebrate success and feel proud of their achievements.
Wellbeing and Pupil Voice
Wellbeing is a key priority at Penwortham Primary School. Our Wellbeing Ambassadors help promote kindness, inclusion and positive mental health, supporting pupils to understand how to look after their wellbeing and seek help when needed.
Anti-Bullying and Pupil Voice
Pupils play an active role in promoting positive behaviour and inclusion. Our Child-Friendly Anti-Bullying Policy, created with pupil input, helps children understand how to keep themselves and others safe and how to seek help if they are concerned.
The policy can be found below.
Pupil Leadership in Action
Use the tabs on this page to find out more about each leadership role and how pupils contribute to school life at Penwortham Primary School.
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