All students will also follow a Leadership Development programme as part of our commitment to develop outstanding leaders across the school. This programme will be delivered in some PSHE lessons and via enrichment opportunities.
The programme recognises that the barriers to leadership, both at school and beyond, often come from our self-view and the confidence we have to step outside our comfort zones.
The Student Leadership Programme, designed to meet the needs of individual students, will adopt a clear approach with a focus on building confidence and skills required to be a successful leader:
- Know: Know the skills and characteristics that make an effective and successful leader
- Understand: Understand how to use these skills effectively and with success
- Do: Opportunities to put these skills into practice
- Become: Become outstanding leaders
This will be supported through a variety of activities built around 5 themes:
- Community – Helping Others
- Coaching
- Speaking out
- Teamwork
- Ready for an Emergency
- Opportunities to Lead
Activities will include;
- ensuring all students have a first aid qualification;
- opportunities to complete the Duke of Edinburgh and Sports Leaders awards;
- Leadership camps;
- House competitions;
- an annual school Olympics;
- 6 weekly Outstanding Achievement awards for each subject area;
- opportunities to become involved in charity work and fundraising activities;
- an annual Celebration Event to recognise Outstanding Achievement, Leadership and Contribution to School Life.
A key component of the Leadership curriculum will be the development of critical thinking skills. Staff will be trained to enable students to analyse and evaluate the ideas and actions of others and to contemplate alternative ways of thinking and living. Critical thinking teaches valuable life skills and encourages students to have an open mind, to raise questions and to research information for themselves considering the beliefs and intentions that underlie what they are told. It improves a person’s ability to think logically and rationally, as well as improving decision making abilities.
These critical thinking skills are of particular importance when young people live in a world where anyone can post content online that looks quite reliable. Students will need to learn to cross-check information, check reliability of sources, and take time to verify the information they are using. These skills will be taught at both KS3 and 4 in Computing and will be further developed in other curriculum areas such as English Language, Geography, History and Religious Studies.