Leadership Opportunities - Beechwood Park School

Leadership through Service

During their time in the Senior Department, pupils at Beechwood Park are encouraged to take on responsibilities and demonstrate ‘leading’ through serving the community. This could be working to help others in either the School Community or their wider community at home.

As a member of the Senior Department pupils can work towards the Leadership through Service Award. They can achieve four levels, Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum. The Leadership through Service programme builds directly upon the Beechwood Park Middle School Award but with an important shift from a focus upon individual development to one in which pupils are encouraged to reflect upon the impact of their actions upon others.

Whilst Beechwood provides senior pupils with a wider variety of opportunities to develop their leadership skills through formal positions of responsibility, such as Head of School, Head of House or Captains of Sports teams, the Leadership through Service award is designed to allow all pupils to lead in areas of personal interest and passion, emphasising that ‘authentic leadership’ is developed in all manner of areas and not simply by the bestowing a formal position or title.

Heads of School

Before the Michaelmas half term the Head and the Deputy Head (Pastoral) run a consultation with staff to seek their views on which two pupils should lead as Heads of School. Teachers can propose two names and there is no requirement that one pupil should be a boy and the other a girl. The Head always consults with the selected pupils to discuss their job description and for them to accept their appointment. The Head announces to the School the appointment at the final assembly before half term.

House Captains

At the end of every term, the Head of House (member of staff) consults with the other members of staff in their respective Houses to select the House Captain for the following term. The Head of House forwards the nomination to the Deputy Head (Pastoral) who gains approval from the SLT. During the end of term assembly, the incumbents hand over a House Captain badge to their successor.

The Deputy Head (Pastoral) ensures that the selected pupils are willing to take on the responsibility of being House Captain; they discuss the job description.

School Forum

Every term, the Top Formers visit their Link Form to seek their opinion on aspects of the running of the School. The Senior Leadership Team and the Top Formers, via one of their Form Teachers, choose the topic for the Forum. The Top Formers then feedback their findings, at the School Forum, to the Head, the Deputy Head (Pastoral) and the Top Form Form Teachers. The Deputy Head (Pastoral) then extracts the key points which he presents to the SLT for School development; he also presents the findings and proposed actions to the pupils in the Middle and Senior Department during an assembly.

Food Committee

The Food Committee is composed of the Catering Manager, the Deputy Head (Pastoral),and representatives from each year from Year 2 upwards.

They feedback to the committee via the Top Form Representatives. The Catering Manager and the Deputy Head (Pastoral) implement actions in response to the feedback and they feed back to the pupils in an assembly.