Secondary Leadership

Student Leadership within Gildredge House is a key part of our efforts to develop a school that works to facilitate the needs of our students and supports us in improving our school's offer. To date, we have formed the Student Leadership Academy, which focuses on our School Development Plans Teaching and Learning objectives. We have also developed a Student Leadership Community, which focuses on meeting the demands of our diverse school community. Our fantastic Year 11 Senior Students have led these areas. 
 
The work of our students in these two integral areas of our school helps us reflect upon our current practices and mold our future offers. We are fortunate to have 120 fantastic students participating in the development of the student leadership team and are excited about the results they will achieve. It is also hoped that these students will benefit from their experiences and will develop key core skills that are transferable to their time in 6th form College, University, or eventual workplaces. 

SCHOOL DEVELOPMENT PLAN AND AREAS TO DEVELOP     

• Student outcomes – Attainment across the school.  
• Use of Assessment – Types of ways you are tested in lessons. How effective are they?  
• Removing barriers to learning – What is stopping/reducing our students' abilities to learn?  
• Curriculum planning – How do your lessons link together? Does it make sense?  
• Consistency of Teaching and Learning – How well are students taught? What styles are used?  
• SEN Consistency of progress – Do SEN students progress well?  
• Eco-related theme – Treebourne, CSP, Car Free Day, Eden. Which areas should we focus on?  
• Site-related improvement - Toilets, Canteen, Play Areas, Year 11 Café etc. – What needs to be introduced? 

Formation of the Student Leadership 
 

Friday the 3rd of March 2023, saw the first-ever meeting of the newly formed Gildredge House Student Leadership team. Every student in attendance had applied to become a Student Leader Champ in the Academy or Community sections. Each application was closely looked at by a member of the Senior Students' team from Year 11, who chose the strongest applicants to join. The meeting on Friday saw over one hundred applicants successfully secure their place in their desired Student Leadership area of focus. 
  
To celebrate their success, each student was asked to come to the front of the meeting and receive a congratulations certificate from their respective Senior Student leads. On Monday the 21st of March we received our order of bespoke ties and pins, which each Student Leader was awarded and now proudly wears. 
 
Since March, the Student Leadership Academy and Community sections have been meeting regularly with their respective Champs. Deciding which areas of focus the school needs to focus on, within each section. To facilitate these meetings and to drive each area's progression, Senior Student Leads were present. Each of whom embodies our school's culture of Aspire. 

 Leadership roles and responsibilities within the Student Leadership  
 

Senior Student Leadership Team aims:  
  

• To promote academic achievement of all students regardless of ability to increase motivation, resilience, and confidence.  
• Ensure that all students have excellent communication skills to allow them to access all areas of school life.  
• To make sure every child feels safe and welcome in school.  
• To support students to feel ready and prepared for secondary school. 

Unfortunately, and it was with great reluctance in July 2023, we said goodbye to our pioneering Year 11 Senior Students, as they left to pursue their futures at college and beyond. We would very much like to thank the outgoing Year 11 Senior Student Leaders for their hard work and dedication to supporting their peers and our school. Being integral to the formation of Student Leadership. 

In June, the search was on to form a new Senior Student team, from our current Year 10 students. After completing a written application and enduring a thorough interview process, I am happy to announce the following successful new members of the Senior Student Team are: 
 

• Tilda 
• Harriet 
• Eva 
• Christian 
• Sophia 
• Zayn 

The new Senior Student Team - Tilda, Harriet, Eva, Christian, Sophia, and Zayn. 

 
We are immensely proud to have such a fantastic Senior Student Team and I am sure you will join me in wishing them all the best for what will be another momentous year for the Gildredge House Student Leadership.  
 
The Senior Students will lead on the following focuses within each Student Leadership section:  

Academy Section:  

• Consistency of Teaching and Learning: Sophia and Eva   
• Curriculum Planning: Tilda and Zayn   
• Use of Assessment: Harriet and Christian   

Community Section:  

1. Values: Tilda   
2. Celebrations: Harriet   
3. School Environment: Eva   
4. Eco School: Christian   
5. Student Voice: Sophia   
6. Sports:  Zayn   

The Senior Students have met with the Senior Leadership Team and their respective Academy and Community student Champs and are in the process of pushing forward towards their individual and combined Academy and Community goals. The Senior Students presented to our Governing Board and SLT in July and highlighted their plans for their respective areas with great clarity and authority. 

Academy Focuses and Aims 

1. Consistency of Teaching and Learning - Senior student leads - Sophia & Eva  

Focus - Teaching styles – Active Learning 

 
Champs would like to:  

• See more use of active learning across more of their subjects, within a school culture of promoting greater thinking (De Bono/ Meta cognition).
• They also would like to have extension tasks built into classroom activities, allowing thinking to be stretched further.   

2. Curriculum Planning - Senior student leads - Tilda & Zayn – Staff Lead – Staff Lead – Mr Simmonds 
 
Focus - Extra – Curricular enrichment 

Champs would like to:  

• Have qualification-based courses offered in Twilight times.  
• They discussed courses that could be facilitated by exterior agencies coming in and delivering.  
• They understand the cost incurred but reasoned that having extra elements to their CV's would make them more competitive when looking for
• College courses. They discussed First aid, Mandarin, and Life skills (personal finances, mortgages, loan advice etc.) 
   

3. Use of Assessment - Senior student leads - Harriet and Christian - Staff Lead – Mr Towner 
 
Focus - More effective feedback 

 
Champs would like:  
  

• More feedback from assessments and they would like it more regularly.  
• They would like feedback to be more skills related and allow progress in skills to be more easily recognised.   
• They discussed QR codes in books which generate feedback that the teacher has allocated to each student.   
• They want feedback to be built up chronologically over each year, so they can see their own progress over time. 

Community Focuses and Aims   
 

Our Community Champs represent one of the following six community areas: 
 
1. Eco School - Senior Student lead – Christian - Staff Lead – Mr C Dyer   
 
Focus – Re-establish the Eco Garden 

 
Champs would like to:   

• Re-establish the planting beds.   
• Weed them out and add additional soil. 
• Plant the trees from the Woodland Trust. 
• Clean up the leaves. 
• Install a Bug hotel.
• Add new seating be added to this area? 
   

2. Student Voice – Senior Student Lead – Sophia - Staff Lead – Miss Graffham 
 
Focus - The atmosphere at school and being safe  

 
Champs would like:   

• The Toilets were updated and made more private. Students feel uncomfortable using the current ones.  
• See TVs around the school which notify pupils of safe places to go if they are upset. 
• To show additional relevant information related to the support they can gain from different members of staff. 

 
3. Values - Senior Student lead – Tilda - Staff Lead –  Mr O’Driscoll 
 
Focus – Representation of yourself and others like you. 
 

Champs would like:  
  

• A Poster Campaign around the school to highlight the following: -  
• Racism  
• Religions and LGBTQ+
• This would also be a campaign that appears on the TVs around school. 

4. Celebrations - Senior Student Lead – Harriet - Staff Lead –  Mr C Applegate 
 
Focus – Culture of celebrations 

 
Champs would like:  
  

• A celebration day in the 6th term that celebrates the following:  
• Progress  
• Sporting achievements  
• Under 3 behaviour points (not the most attainment points, as Champs felt that poorly behaved pupils are given to them to freely and this does not represent their overall behaviour).   
• Champs would like to have a day off school for the above where students go bowling, Go Ape, Urban jump etc. 
   

5. School Environment - Senior Student lead – Eva - Staff Lead –  Mrs Logan 
 
Focus - Library and learning centre   

 
Champs would like:  

• Making the ICT rooms more accessible and more up-to-date.  
• A book recycling point has been installed in the reception area.  
• Year 11 gives back revision guides to build up a bank of subject-specific resources.  
• House cake sale competition to raise funds for the library. 
   

Sport - Senior Student lead – Zayn - Staff Lead –  Mrs Taylor 
 
Focus - Improve access to facilities for sports-related activities 

 
Champs would like to: 
  

• Be involved in a sporting event at the following:   
• Saffrons   
• Brighton University. 
• They are also very keen to be involved in the planning and coordination of the Sports day at the Sports Park. Mr Gregory welcomed any help and is looking at how the champs can assist. 

From September 2023, the ongoing work of the Student Leadership sections will be continuing, and we are excited about the positive impacts our work will have on our school and wider community. 
 
Finally, in September 2023, students in Years 5 and 6 are also going to be invited to apply for a Lower School version of the above. Meaning, we will have very experienced and skilled student leaders throughout Gildredge House to help facilitate our school’s continued successful development.