Pupil Leadership
We have a number of pupil leadership opportunities at NPS which bring value to both our school community and the individual pupils involved. The school benefits from hearing the unique insights and ideas of our children and harnessing their ideas to build a better school. The children develop a range of skills which will help them to take their next steps in education, in life and go on to be contributing members of society. This is in line with our school vision "to ensure our children are equipped with the skills to become life-long learners, to begin their journey beyond Nightingale and to shape the society in which we live."
Sports Leaders - click here to read more
It is well-recognised that sports and active lifestyles benefit children physically but also help them thrive socially and emotionally, supporting their overall well-being.
Our new sports leaders programme aims to support positive engagement and skills development within sports and activities within the playground and where appropriate within intra and inter-school competitive events.
Our sports leaders aim to:
- promote engagement in physical activity and sports within the school
- support the organisation of games
- further development of skills including coordination, balance, catching, throwing, aiming towards a target
- promote effective communication and problem-solving in the playground
- promote positive social interaction, friendships and fair play within sports and activities that engage quieter play e.g. group reading, construction and or drawing.
Our sports leaders also develop their own skills to:
- enhance their social interaction
- improve confidence and self-esteem
- develop further awareness of compassion to support others, curiosity to promote fair-play and courage to call out behaviour that is not respectful and inclusive.
Sports leaders will dedicate at least 30 hours, over the course of a year, to support sports and activities within the playground and where possible inter and intra-school competitions. Their certificate highlights the key skills, knowledge and understanding they will develop as they volunteers as sports leaders.
School Council - click here to read more
School Council
Each year, our pupils elect representatives from their class to represent them on our school council. Children who would like to be considered by their classmates prepare and present a speech and then children vote for their representatives. Once elected, school councillors act as representatives of their classmates, helping school leaders understand pupil perspectives and contribute to the decision making and leadership of the school. It is the responsibility of each Councillor to ensure that they express both their own views and the views of all the other pupils they represent.
Our School Council benefits the whole school community by providing opportunities for pupils to communicate their feelings as well as influence decisions that are made within school. The School Council is an ideal opportunity for pupils to get more involved in the running of the school. We respect and value the thoughts and opinions of our children; they have unique and valuable insights and ideas about how the school can further develop.
The processes and position of our school council in the school help all our children to develop their understanding of the British Value of Democracy and develop their understanding of the way the democratic system of government works in our country.
For the children who are elected as school councillors, they have the opportunity to develop a wide range of skills including confidence, resilience, communication and negotiation. It is also an opportunity for children to further develop our school values:
- Courage – putting themselves forwards for a role of responsibility and, once in that role, having the courage to act in a responsible manner working for the good of all pupils;
- Compassion – understanding the needs of all pupils they represent and not just representing their own views;
- Curiosity – finding out about their classmates’ perspectives, developing an understanding of how the school is run and learning about a new role.
Each of our School Councillors also joins one of the following pupil leadership groups, to help with development of specific aspects of school life:
- Anti-Bullying Ambassadors
- Restorative Justice Ambassadors
- Equality Ambassadors
In each of these special roles of responsibility, we expect our children to have:
- the curiosity to find out more about peer interactions and pupils’ experiences of school life
- the courage to call-out inappropriate behaviours and actions in the school community
- the compassion to understand how other pupils feel and the skills to support their peers in doing this.