At The Upper Nidderdale Primary Federation, we introduce age-appropriate volunteering in and across our schools. Some examples fo this are:
- Reading buddies - Older pupils helping younger pupils with reading
- Sports Leaders - Organising playground games and coaching younger pupils to support them to participate.
- Reading Champions - Running the library and helping to organise events that promote reading
- Participating in litter-picking events.
- Collecting food, clothing, or toys for local charities.
- Supporting community gardening or tree-planting projects.
Our Pupil Parliament Leaders play and important role in representing all pupils fairly, encouraging positive behaviour and promoting the federation vision and values. They also;
- Lead celebration collective worship for visitors
- Meet regularly with the Executive Headteacher with a clear agenda of school improvement.
- Promote anti-bullying campaigns
- Encourage positive behaviour
- Coordinate the collection of Pupil Parliament points and organise end of half term events for the winning teams
We have also developed a Pupil Leadership system, where all pupils are involved in leading change across different areas of school. This includes voting on school improvements, learning about democracy and representation as well as planning charity events and awareness campaigns. We aim to give our pupils a genuine influence over decisions and increase their sense of responsibility and belonging. Our Pupil Leadership Teams are listed below:
- Sports Leaders
- Online Safety Leaders
- Eco Warriers
- Rights Respecting Team
- Collective Worship Leaders
We also ensure that we embed Civic Learning in the Curriculum by:
- Learning about local government and democracy.
- Discussing fairness, equality, and human rights.
- Exploring environmental issues.
- Studying inspirational people who have improved society. Our Pupil Parliament Teams are all named after inspirational people.
- Linking classroom learning to real community challenges.
We provide our pupils with opportunities to participate in projects such as:
- Recycling initiatives.
- School gardening.
- Wildlife conservation.
- Energy-saving campaigns.
- Tree planting.
- Reducing food waste.
We work to involve our families and the local community by:
- Supporting pupil mental health with visits from Ringo the Therapy Dog
- Inviting members of the local community to hear our pupils read
- Inviting parents/carers into school for Parent Breakfasts, MacMillan Cancer and Dementia annual fundraising events.
- Inviting parents/family members to school for a lunch and board games club
- 'Working Bee' days where pupils, families, staff and the local community work together.
- Encouraging discussions about local issues at home.
