Student Leaders

The vision for Student Leadership at Monkwearmouth Academy is to develop student’s social, cultural and economic capital which prepares them for a range of roles in society as effective citizens, including leadership positions. That students will have opportunities to actively participate in the leadership of their academy experience to provide feedback to academy leaders on aspects of Teaching and Learning, Personal Development, Curriculum and Enrichment provision.

The aims of student leadership at Monkwearmouth Academy are to:

► Provide opportunities to develop leadership skills through a variety of inspiring, challenging and valued projects that impact positively on learning, teaching and well-being for both students and staff at the academy

► Empower students to work with staff towards shared goals

► Enable creativity to flourish as the academy community benefits from the wealth of experiences, ideas, skills, and sense of fun that students bring

► Prepare pupils for Further and Higher Education and for building personal character.

INTENT

As participants in their learning, pupils will contribute to the development, and leadership of their school experience. Through their involvement in student leadership students will develop their communication, self-regulation and critical thinking skills. Students are given responsibilities, which can develop confidence; which are vital skills in any career path. Student Leadership allows pupils to voice their opinion and represent their peers, as well as ensure that the student voice for the academy as a whole is heard; this gives the academy a wider variety of ideas for academy development from the student perspective.

It is the Student Leadership Team that voices the ideas of the entire student body to the academy and ensures that the ideas of the students are considered in decisions made within the academy. They set out to be excellent role models and encourage others to do the same.

This is achieved through a range of student leadership roles which contribute to student leadership development.

Head Students:

All appointed House Captains have the opportunity to apply for the position of Head Student in year 11. These positions are appointed by a whole school democratic vote. The role of Head Student is as those of the House Captains, but with additional duties as delegated by the head teacher. These involve policy discussions, relaying student voice to leadership and supporting academy events. There are also Deputy Head Student positions to help lead the student body.

House Captains:

All students in year 10 have the opportunity to submit a written letter of application for a position to be a House Captain. The role of the House Captain is to act as ambassadors for visitors to the academy and their house. They lead their House Council with the support of their Head of House.

House Council:

The role of the House council is to focus on House specific priorities as identified by the students and their Head of House. All students are welcome to apply and support the House Captains in the fulfilment of their duties. The criteria for this role is that students are to be role models within the academy, with regards to uniform, attitude and effort, attendance and punctuality, respect, and manners.

Peer Mentors:

All students in Y10 have the opportunity to submit a written letter of application to become a Peer Mentor/Educator. Their role involves supporting younger students and they may be attached to a year 7 tutor group during the autumn term. They are trained as mental health ambassadors and peer educators and help promote whole school wellbeing and learning.