Cranford Review 2017

Student
Leadership
Conference 2017
Cranford’s Student Leadership conference on Wednesday 8th
March 2017 with over 400 staff and students attending in a full
day of collegiate activities focused on team-building, creative
brainstorming and blue-sky thinking about ideas for future innovations in
the school based around the core theme of Student Leadership.
The day, began with a keynote address from Executive Headteacher Mr
Kevin Prunty and focused on the importance and future of education both at
Cranford and worldwide. Participants worked in four strands based around
key values of the school: Pride, Respect, Learning and Aspiration. Much of
the creative thinking and strategising came from smaller working groups of
staff and students who focused on school improvement and student leadership.
There were a number of light-hearted but interesting ideas presented and
already practical changes have been implemented to build student leadership
and responsibility and ensure students have a voice. The positive
atmosphere generated by the day was a key outcome and an action plan
is being completed considering short, medium and long term change.
Significant alterations to the spaces available for students at social
times, both to learn, exercise and relax, have been put into place and a
new cycle of registration activities has been implemented with the aim
of building on this positivity and generating the ‘family’ environment
the pastoral team believe form classes must embody. Additionally,
within form time, tutors are beginning to pilot a ‘shout out’ space
for students to praise the achievements of their classmates. These
positive messages of reinforcement also feed into the outcomes on
mental health, a key area highlighted by the conference. Work in this
important area has begun with form time reflection activities, the school councillor’s
drop in sessions including how to cope with exam stress. It also provided a launch
platform for the peer-mentoring programme which is running alongside the Hounslow
Promise mentoring scheme.
The conference was successful and the involvement of prefects and year group
councils in its planning and delivery was a very good example of student
leadership in action. This was only the first stage in the process of
building student leadership in across the school. Medium term priorities
include more specific leadership roles for students including subject
specialists, further support for mental health, the school marking policy,
development of the PSHCE, Period 0 and WFactor programmes.
Kevin Biggs (Senior Teacher)
1