At Essendon North Primary School, the voice of all students - Foundation to Year Six - is valued and actively promoted. As a school community we respect, believe in and encourage our learners to have input into learning, teaching and the decisions of our school. Providing opportunities for students to develop a sense of leadership, belonging and connection is integral to providing a learning environment that is engaging, challenging, relevant and significant.
At Essendon North Primary School, building the capacity of, and enabling and empowering students as leaders is fundamental to who we are as a school and our vision for our learners in the future. It is recognised that all students are, and have the capacity to be leaders and are encouraged to use their personal qualities to take on various roles to maximise their potential. Leadership roles are not defined by or limited to labeled positions of responsibility.
The purpose of school and house captains at ENPS is to foster and develop formal leadership skills and to provide opportunities for students to take an active role within the school and wider community. They model and embody our school values and are representatives of our school and the ENPS student voice.
The purpose of our JSC is to build student agency so that the students collectively take initiative as global learners and leaders and they develop strong connections with peers, students and community members. In the process, they will develop their capacity as leaders and their sense of responsibility and commitment in making positive contributions to our local and global community. Junior School Council members provide a report at School Council meetings and at Executive Team meetings.
“An explicit expectation of the PYP is that successful inquiry will lead to responsible action, initiated by the student as a result of the learning process. This action will extend the student’s learning, or it may have a wider social impact, and will clearly look different within each age range.” MTPYPH p.25
Student initiated action is supported and modelled by teachers and parents in our school community. We develop student agency through encouraging students to take ownership of their personal learning goals and inquiries. At ENPS we share stories of Action within and beyond our classrooms on Action Walls, through sharing times and through use of digital technologies.