Discussions about leadership in schools often focus on adults: are school leaders driving the right vision? Is subject leadership up to standard? What CPD do we need to do next?
While these are important, pupil leadership deserves just as much attention to ensure any opportunities on offer are meaningful and feel worthwhile - and that is evolving as required.
Doing this for secondary leadership roles, such as prefects, is often in place for many schools, but primary leadership can be overlooked.
Strengthening pupil leadership in primary
Indeed, when I took on responsibilities as pupil leadership lead for primary, I realised that, although it was positive that we already offered prefect and student council roles, the lack of anything more left many pupils unable to participate, and many important topics for young people were being overlooked.
As such, we set about creating new roles that young pupils can apply for, including sports leaders, sustainability ambassadors, library prefects and buddies - broadening opportunities for all.
These roles are not just honorary; they carry real responsibility, too. From mentoring younger pupils to assisting in school events, our leaders play an active role in shaping school culture.
Furthermore, as the primary prefect role is only applicable to Year 6 pupils, and we have grown as a school from a five to six form-entry school, there was a demand for extra roles, so we expanded it from 30 to 36 roles.
Expanding the Leadership Summit
Another major change we made was to integrate primary leaders into the Leadership Summit, an event that takes place at the start of the academic year and brings prefects and the student council together to hear speeches from senior staff in the school and participate in team-building activities, leadership discussions and watch a keynote talk.
Previously, this event was only attended by secondary students, but for the past two years, we have extended this to invite primary pupils.
I did this by working with the deputy head of secondary to balance the day to work for both sets of pupils.
Now, we begin together in the same room where we give a welcome talk and give the pupils from primary and secondary time to introduce themselves and be congratulated on the appointment of their roles.
I then take the primary prefects to complete tasks with them, while the secondary student leaders complete a separate task with secondary staff. This is a process that has worked well and has benefited the pupils.
We also asked primary pupils who took part in the first year for feedback on how to make it better - something they really enjoyed, as they knew their involvement was meaningful and they could continue to make it even better.
Leadership challenges
We also use their involvement as a key way to help us select the primary head prefects.
Throughout the day, senior staff observe pupils as they engage in leadership challenges, including a team-based task to define the role of a head prefect.
Their performance informs our final selection, alongside a video application and interview with a staff member.
We then announce the primary prefects at the start of the academic year.
For the upcoming academic year, we plan to expand this further, inviting all pupil leaders to make it a truly unified event. This will ensure leadership in primary is not just an add-on but an integral part of the school’s vision.
Impact of early leadership
By embedding leadership opportunities early, we equip pupils with the confidence, resilience and teamwork skills they need for the future.
The Leadership Summit, in particular, has helped bridge the gap between primary and secondary, reinforcing the idea that leadership is a journey, not just a title.
As we continue to develop our pupil leadership programme, the focus remains on empowering young leaders who will carry these skills forward - both within and beyond our school walls.
Sinead Chambers is a Year 6 teacher and student leadership and enrichment lead at The International School @ ParkCity, Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia
