The Good Samaritan parable is at the centre of our core belief that we should use our skills and knowledge to serve others now and in the future. This way we are ready for everything that is to come.
At St. James, we have established a range of different pupil leadership opportunities to assist in this. We have BEAM Ambassadors, Reading Ambassadors, Sports Leaders, Prefects, School Council and a Collective Worship Committee. We expect our children to take on leadership roles, we give them ownership and in return ensure they are serving others through their work. This we would call our collective responsibility and creates readiness for the future in our pupil leadership programme.
Opportunities to lead exist across school for all our children to attain at some stage.
BEAM Ambassadors
BEAM Ambassadors are selected by staff to receive external Barnado's training. The second cohort has just received this. Once complete they take their ambassador role daily into the school environment. They can be identified by their red hoodies and work closely with Miss Hirst and Mrs Lloyd to manage their timetable of support. They report to Mrs Butterworth and Mr Denton when suggesting rewards or feedback for children living our vision and those providing the Good Samaritan in the playground and offering service to others.
THEIR CURRENT FOCUS IS TO ENSURE THAT THEY MAINTAIN THEIR LUNCHTIME RAINBOW ZONE AND THAT WE CAN ACHIEVE FOUR OR FIVE STARS EACH WEEK FOR RESPECT AND SAFETY.
THE IMPACT OF THEIR WORK
- The children have used their training to create a Rainbow Zone that captures children views, worries and requests for support in the playground.
- BEAM Ambassadors report back to the school on safety and respect awards each week in our vision worship.
- BEAM Ambassadors maintain strong communication between the playground and the safeguarding team.
- BEAM Ambassadors have created pupil voice awards for our vision worship.
- BEAM Ambassadors use their knowledge to promote the Star of Safety at all social times of the day.
Sports Leaders & Prefects
Nominated by staff and children to take on board accountable roles at lunchtimes. They manage our innovative play zones, they initiative games - such as the current training sessions they provide in our football skills zone and they demonstrate technique and support new children in zones such as golf, carpet bowls, basketball, remote control cars and lego. We expect our Sports Leaders (green vests) to manage these areas and communicate well with everyone in there - in return they have ownership and a playground that is different to any other. Our Prefects (gold hoodies) have additional responsibilities in school and contribute to the maintenance of our Star of Safety at all times. It is the role of these children to carry our vision beyond the classroom and show that they are ready for the future by giving them independence and responsibility. These roles are usually awarded to children from year 4 upwards.
THEIR CURRENT FOCUS IS TO ENSURE THAT ALL PLAY ZONES ARE IN FULL USE DAILY AND GETTING NEW CHILDREN ACTIVELY INVOLVED IN THE SPORTS ZONES.
THE IMPACT OF THEIR WORK
- Ensure our vision and service to others is carried beyond the classroom.
- Introducing new children to new games and sports.
- They advise children on technique and how to play mutually, show respect and tolerance.
- There would be no play zones without them!
- They become skilled at communicating with adults in a range of situations.
- They offer strong pupil voice beyond the classroom environment.
Collective Worship Committee
Chosen by staff and peers, these children come together from across all year groups to become a lead voice for worship and to take on board ministries within our daily acts of collective worship. In addition to meeting regularly with our Collective Worship Leader, the children lead worship each Tuesday when they present a special 'Circle of Life' service. They undertake their ministries as part of all acts of collective worship and lead this independently. They play an important role in collecting pupil voice and reflections upon worship. These are gathered daily from our children and are collated and shared with the school. The children help to plan content and review the impact of our messages. They are currently creating a new film to capture the 'Circle of Life' in our school.
THEIR CURRENT FOCUS IS TO ENSURE THAT THEIR MINISTRIES ARE AN EMBEDDED PART OF OUR DAILY WORSHIP.
THE IMPACT OF THEIR WORK
- The committee lead worship weekly.
- The committee collect reflections and responses to worship daily.
- The committee feed back upon the impact of messages to lead staff.
- The committee undertake ministries for all acts of worship. It is theirs to lead.
- The committee collate evidence around living our vision beyond worship.
School Council
The school council is nominated each Autumn Term by their peers and this is currently led by Mrs Lloyd. Their brief is to act as a sounding board for ideas and focus primarily upon physical projects for improvement across school. They are currently spending their time looking at the cloakroom environment and making plans to improve these across school - initially in the main year 4/5/6 cloakroom space.
THEIR CURRENT PROJECT IS: RE-DEVELOPMENT OF THE EXISTING CLOAKROOM ENVIRONMENTS
RECENT IMPACT OF THEIR WORK
- The creation of a new 'Wizard of Oz' themed central library.
- Their contribution to the curriculum review has seen the inclusion of a number of themed ideas.
- The creation of the Rainbow Zone in the playground.
- The introduction of a gymnastics zone outdoors.
Reading Ambassadors
Our Reading Ambassadors are avid readers and book enthusiasts! Being a Reading Ambassador is all about reading for pleasure and sharing the deep enjoyment of reading with others. Our ambassadors have been chosen because of their passion for reading and their enthusiasm to share this. Part of the role of Reading Ambassador is to encourage others in their class to read. We want to instil a love of reading and provide opportunities in which children value reading for pleasure.
THEIR CURRENT FOCUS IS TO ENSURE THAT DEAR (DROP IT AND READ) IS FULLY IN PLACE FOR AL CHILDREN
THE IMPACT OF THEIR WORK
- Help to reflect and evaluate our current reading strategies and work closely alongside the English leaders.
- Create displays around the school, encouraging other children to find out about new authors, celebrated authors and different books.
- Make decisions about which books are added to our school and classroom libraries.
- Read and review books and can help other children through their recommendations.
- Choose reading champions (this could be someone who has particularly excelled with their reading or someone who has shown a dedication to increasing the amount that they read).
- Organise reading events in school to promote reading i.e. Blind Date with a Book, Author of the Term - currently Tom Gates.
- Design reading competitions and rewards
- Communicate on the development of reading via our ‘Between the Lines’ newspaper.
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