Rationale
To encourage and engage pupils in leading a variety of improvement groups and discussions forums in order to further build on, and enhance the skills embedded in the 4 capacities of CfE: We strive to ensure our young people will become successful learners, confident individuals, effective contributors and responsible citizens. The leadership programme will also provide a platform for our young people to enable them to play a key role in shaping the direction of the school in terms of being an integral part of the school’s self- evaluation processes, decision making and forward planning.
UNCRC
The leadership programme promotes and is in line with the UNCRC Article12 ‘Every child has the right to have a say in all matters affecting them, and to have their views taken seriously’ and Article13 ‘Every child must be free to say what they think and to seek and receive all kinds of information, as long as it is within the law’.
The leadership opportunities will help build capacity in our young people and allow them to flourish under the direction of senior staff.
St Stephen’s Leadership Council will be held in the Assembly Hall at the end of every month. It will be comprise S6 Captains, S3 Vice – House Captains and 2 pupils from each registration class from S1 – S5. Under the direction of the Head Teacher, pupils will co- create an agenda and lead meaningful discussions on matters that affect them in a responsible manner. The Leadership Council will have the school values at its core and will encourage effective communication, collaboration and creativity as well as recognising and valuing the importance of all opinions in a culture of inclusion and equality. This regular process will process will allow pupils to be clear about how they can share their ideas and have a role in leading and shaping change.
Over the next three years, the members of the council will lead a variety of discussion forums using How Good Is Our School Part 2 as a vehicle to gain pupil voice. The information will allow action plans to be created and pupils to monitor progress and work collaboratively before evaluating success. In terms of 2023/24 and in line with the School Improvement Plan, the focus will be on Learning and Teaching.
Learning and Teaching 2023/24
Health and Wellbeing 2024/25
Success and Achievements 2024/25
Relationships 2025/26
School and Community 2025/26
St Stephen’s Leadership Council Format
- Elected members of the Leadership Council will meet with the Head Teacher at the start of the term to discuss a key area of school improvement (Learning and Teaching)
- Pupil representatives supported by the staff and S6 pupils will conduct a series of pupil voice exercises from How Good IS Our School Part 2 discussion points (questionnaires and focus groups) and summarise three key themes from their findings
- Key points raised from each focus group and the questionnaires will be fully discussed at the next Leadership Council meeting and (if relevant) an action plan will be created.
- Pupil representatives and those in working groups will share the decisions made and actions taken with their class to ensure that all pupils are kept informed.
- House and Vice-House Captains will also present any information at House Assemblies and post updates on notice boards.
- At each meeting thereafter, progress on the action plan/school groups will be discussed.
At the end of the school year, pupils will evaluate and reflect on the success of the action plan.
Young Leaders of Learning
St Stephen’s High School will also undertake the Education Scotland Young Leaders of Learning Programme in ‘23/’24. One of the main principles behind this is to encourage pupils to participate in structured reciprocal school visits to gather pupil voice and become confident in the language used in terms of school improvement. NB Pupils will not observe teaching, the focus will be on pupils leading discussions with their peers. Their role is to give information on learner views and experiences in order to help schools identify ways to make these even better.
In August, we will recruit members for this group from S1 – S3. Pupils will be trained in all aspects of the programme including understanding and unpicking a theme from How Good is Our School Part 2, planning for a reciprocal visit, hosting a visit and leading discussions. Pupils will also look at school websites to help them devise more questions.
After visits pupils will be guided through prompt questions to help them create a summary. This will take the format of key strengths and areas for development and allow staff to make reasoned judgements about change based on evidence.
