The purpose of this Special edition newsletter is to launch the model for Student Leadership to Parents of St Benedict's Primary School, Edgeworth. Recognising the great value of student leadership in past models and enhancing the value of Student Voice and Wellbeing, this Leadership model attempts to set down clarity in processs and purpose when involving students in leadership within the school. 

While this newsletter serves as a whole school communication, a more detailed and specific Student Leadership handbook is provided to parents and students of Year 5, to whom most of the following information applies. This newsletter will be re-shared (and modified if necessary) each year to the whole community, as too will the handbook given to the Year 5. The information in this newsletter and the handbook is drawn from the school's Student Leadership and Participation Procedure 2022.

Student Parliament Aims

Schools parliaments provide an opportunity for students to participate in the running of their primary school and are a vehicle for them to express their opinions and participate actively in decision making.

The aim of the school Parliament is to:

• Represent the student body.
• Provide a means for the students to express their opinions as to how the school could improve.
• Co-ordinate the student activities within the school.
• Develop a sense of community service amongst the student body.
• Provide feedback to the students, staff and wider school community on relevant issues, activities and decisions.
• Report to the student body at relevant assemblies.

1. Whole School and Parliament Leaders. - 4 students elected. 
2. Group Leaders and Parliament Ministers. - 18 Students : 9 groups (including 4 Sports Houses) with 2 leaders each. 
3. Senior Student and Member of Parliament - all remaining Year 6 students are included in the Student Parliament Model and participate in meetings. 

The attached document explains this model further.

One of the key learnings when particpating at any level of student leadership is that it is about a lot more than the badge and it is not a simply a "get and forget" postiion. Students will come to understand that becoming a leader is an ongoing commitment to representing the student body, promoting student voice and acting for the greater good. As part of their Leadership journey in Term 4 of Year 5, students explicitly unpack the qualities of potential leaders within their classroom learning and durng the Leadership development day. 

Parliamentary leadership – Essential Criteria

• Represent students at St Benedicts within the school community and broader local communities.
• Express opinions, listen to ideas and discuss potential improvements for the school.
• Assist in coordinating a variety of activities within the school.
• Be active in community/environmental service.
• Committed to and willing to actively promote their designated parliamentary role.
• Able to give feedback to students, staff and the wider school community on relevant issues, activities and decisions.
• Take an active role in assemblies.
• Resilient, Reliable and Responsible.
• Promotes the School PBL framework through words and action.
• Recognises and values the skills and abilities of others
• Works as a team to get a better outcome.
• Articulates ideas clearly and confidently
• Can listen to others empathetically.
• Understands how people feel and how groups function.

School leadership – A Privilege and a Responsibility:

Beyond the criteria above, there is a very direct relationship between positive behviour choices and Leadership. Similarly, the student leadership model at St Benedicts Primary School Edgeworth has clear guidelines for students who continue to make poor behaviour choices and the limitations they may experience in particpating in student leadership. 

• All student leadership roles are both a privilege and a responsibility.  
• Consideration of the student's behaviour including the repeated issuing of majors, will be taken into account during the selection process and limitations on the level of leadership they are invited to particpate in may be discussed with students and parents. 
• Once elected, Student leaders are to maintain exemplary behaviour and commitment to positive participation in the school including an ongoing commitment to school uniform as the visible membership of the community.  
• While occasional factors may result in mistakes being made in behaviour for student leaders, this must not and will not become a pattern as it represents a breech in this leadership agreement/creed once the student leader is elected.  
• Any elected student leader who is required to attend a Reflection Room (Major Behaviour Form issued as a result of 3 minors OR as a result of an immediate, serious concern) for a second time in a term, will have their leadership role suspended for at least the following three weeks.  
• A second suspension of the leadership badge (as a result of further visits to the reflection room) will involve a meeting with parents to discuss any future participation in the student leadership program.  

It is important to be very clear leading up to and throughout the any student leadership election process and that time be allocated through the term to ensure full awareness of the Leadership journey and the election of leaders. Below is a printout of two diagrams that aim to make the process clear for all. The first page is an outline of all 9 steps across Term 4 that year 5 will be invited to participate in. The second is an outline of the 3 phases of the Parliaments selection process which will be completed in Week 8 of this term, after Year 5 have completed the steps leading up to it. 

1. Phase 1 School Leaders 
2. Phase 2 Other Leadership Portfolios
3. Phase 3 Leadership Induction (Full induction occurs at the start of the following year but this phase begins this year) 

Details of both these processes are further unpacked in the handbook provided to Year 5. 

Once elected, students will participate in a Student Parliament meeting at least twice a term and ideally three times a term. Between meetings, the Student Leaders report back to the Principal about motions discussed and voted upon that they'd like to submit for consideration and implementation. The Principal/ Exec member may ask the student parliament to do further research and discussion around the proposal and may even seek to speak to the parliament about the best outcome for all.

Student Proposals. 

While the Executive and Principal will attempt to enact all reasonable proposals from the student parliament it must be noted that not all things are possible. The aim at this point is to communicate back to the Parliament about why a proposal needs to be resubmitted with changes or is not feasible/ realistic altogether. A further measure is in the role of the Staff Rep who will work with the Parliament, especially the student leaders in the planning stages of each meeting and will be in attendance for the meeting (although they will not run the meeting). This staff member will seek to guide students in what is a realistic proposal for discussion and what may never be something that can be enacted. The idea being here is to guide students into discussion and solutions that are within their and our reach. 

Below is a rough guide of what a  meeting looks like and again, this is unpacked in further detail in a Parliament handbook students unpack after the induction process in the new year under the guidance of the Staff Rep to Parliament. This is included now as a guide given this is a new model.