Over the past few months, our Secondary students (Year 7s) have been taking part in the Young Leader Award programme which will lead up to the Sports Leaders UK Award programme in Year 8. The Young Leader Award is a great introduction into leadership, giving students knowledge of how to organise and lead small games and activities.
Miss Lauren Kenny, PE Teacher and Young Leader Coordinator said, “It aims to help learners develop leadership skills such as organisation, communication and teamwork, as well as helping to build confidence and self-esteem as they take on responsibility of leading their peers and younger children. These are all core skills which are important throughout life.”
Each student has been encouraged to use leadership skill in a variety of different ways and settings. This includes at home where parents have supported and guided them to practise their leadership skills by asking them to organise activities, plan a trip out or take responsibility for the completion of a specific task. During this time, each Young Leader has been given access to a Leadership Journal and they have had to document what they have been doing and more importantly, what they have learnt.
Our Young Leaders have been supporting our Class Teachers in morning sessions. Most recently, the challenge for our Young Leaders at the end of Term 2 was to lead a Mandarin-related session with our Year 1s to 4s. They spent some time preparing their sessions, whether it be a presentation or game which required organisation, planning, drafting and creativity. The School’s Senior Leadership Team and PE Team popped into these sessions (see the video above).
Here were some comments from the Class Teachers:
“What a fantastic young man! He certainly has the makings of an excellent teacher, showing amazing ethos and pastoral feelings towards the young children. He understood how to carefully teach them…he had a gift for explaining processes clearly and graciously insisted on good manners, good listening skills and a high work ethic.”
“This young lady is a natural born carer! She was compassionate, caring and empathic towards younger children. Her creative skills were much admired by everyone! Thank you for your dedication, superb reliability and spot-on timing which are great qualities for any Young Leader at NAIS!”
“Her attitude to helping others has been exemplary. A real gem in the classroom, helping and aiding the teacher by sitting down with the children to read, using her own initiative with little or no instruction. She has been a delight to have in the classroom.”
“They both displayed a positive and enthusiastic attitude and was friendly and supportive to the children they worked with. They led the Mandarin task with maturity, engaged with the children and asked them interesting questions. They were very good at offering praise and encouragement to the young ones.
“They were absolutely brilliant and very good at keeping the children calm.”
“He gently coaxed introverted children to step out of their comfort zones and have a go at challenging concepts…”
In assembly this morning, Miss Kenny and Principal Mr. Cooklin awarded our Young Leaders today with their certificates and badges. Some of the students shared what they had gained from the programme.
"I've made more friends, and built relationships throughout the school."
"It takes you outside of your comfort zone."
Miss Kenny concluded, “This has been an amazing learning experience. They should be commended for their commitment, flexibility and continued dedication to leading others. I've seen them grow in confidence and they have become more ambitious in what they can achieve. They can deliver a task . They have gained some life-long skills which will be extremely useful in the future. We are very proud of these fantastic young leaders!"
