Pupil Leadership and Roles

At Chapelford Village Primary School, we value the contributions of our pupils and encourage them to have an active role in our school community to celebrate young leaders as role models.

The aim of effective pupil leadership teams is to help children and young people to:

  • enjoy and feel empowered by their education.
  • feel that their school responds to their needs and views.
  • have the opportunity to let adults know their thoughts and opinions about things that may affect them.
  • have a say about decisions, and to play an active role in making their school a better place.
  • develop active life skills through participation.

Purpose of the role

To represent the school and to act as excellent role models for younger students. They should share a passion for the school’s ethos to learn, achieve and respect and are the link between the pupils, staff and governors at CVPS. They must maintain excellent behaviour, uniform, attendance and punctuality. They contribute to the effective running of the school, as directed by any staff member and help to ensure that the school remains a safe, secure and happy place for all. These pupils  support our commitment to the British Values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, mutual respect, and tolerance.

Who do they represent?

Head Boy and Girl represent the whole school.

How are these roles chosen?

Our Year 6 Ambassadors are invited to stand for the roles of Head Boy and Head Girl. These pupils have already been recognised by their teachers as excellent role models within our school community. Each candidate prepares a short speech or presentation to share their ideas and qualities with others. Afterwards, all Year 6 pupils take part in a fair vote, giving everyone the opportunity to have their say in choosing their school leaders — a great example of democracy in action.

Examples of activities in which they may participate in:

Open events, Harvest Festival, Safer Internet Day, safety walks across school, weekly sharing of the house point totals and Remembrance Day. 

 

 

Purpose of the role

To represent the school and to act as excellent role models for students across their year group. They should share a passion for the school’s ethos to learn, achieve and respect and are the link between the pupils, staff, and governors at CVPS. They contribute to the effective running of their year group and help to ensure that the school remains a safe, secure, and happy place for all.

They must maintain excellent behaviour, uniform, attendance, and punctuality.

They may be expected to be directed by Head Boy and Girl.

Who do they represent?

Ambassadors represent their year group, and when working together as a team of Ambassadors, they represent the whole school.

How are these roles chosen?

At the end of each academic year, one Ambassador is chosen by the teachers across each group. This decision is discussed throughout the year and is based on the child demonstrating that they are an excellent role model to other pupils.

Examples of activities in which they may participate

Open Evenings, Celebration assemblies, Harvest Festival, Safer Internet Day.

Purpose of the role

To represent the views of our pupils and discuss and act on issues that are important to them. The school council help all our children find their voice and give them the confidence to know that they will be heard.

Some of the tasks our school council undertake is organising fundraising events to raise money for academic equipment and charities that are important to us. Another important role we play is helping our classes to engage in discussions and debates, gathering feedback to take back to the school council meetings. During these meetings, the school council team will review the opinions from the discussion held and decide on changes to be made and create a plan to do this. They are then responsible for communicating any changes to their classes so that pupils know and understand their voices are being heard.

Who do they represent?

School Council represents the views and opinions of all pupils across the whole school.

How are these roles chosen?

A pupil from every class from Year 2-Year 6 are democratically voted for by their peers.

Examples of activities in which they may participate

Open Evenings, representing our school in the community, fundraising for charities such as Macmillan, Children in Need and St. Rocco’s.

Purpose of the role

The role exists to support safe, enjoyable and inclusive play across the school. Post holders act as responsible, reliable and trustworthy pupil leaders, helping to ensure that lunchtimes run smoothly and positively. They assist in communicating any changes to lunchtime arrangements, including sharing information about new outdoor practices and expectations.

These pupils model ideal behaviours, promote positive play, and support OPAL (Outdoor Play and Learning) events. They work alongside Play Coordinators to help with the management and safety checking of loose parts, assessing weather conditions and helping to plan which equipment is safe and appropriate to use each day.

In addition, they collaborate closely with the Eco Ambassadors, showing respect for the school grounds and encouraging others to care for the outdoor environment.

Who do they represent?

They represent the interests of all pupils during lunchtimes, ensuring that everyone experiences safe, enjoyable and inclusive play. They also act as ambassadors for the OPAL (Outdoor Play and Learning) programme, supporting the continued development and improvement of our lunchtime provision.

How are these roles chosen?

OPAL Ambassadors are selected from Year 1 to Year 6. The original team was chosen by teachers at the launch of OPAL, based on their strong interest in improving lunchtimes and their ability to act as positive role models.

As the team grows and older ambassadors move on, new OPAL Ambassadors are recruited through an application process. Children are invited to apply for the role, and the existing ambassador team works together with staff to identify pupils who demonstrate the qualities needed—such as responsibility, enthusiasm, teamwork and a commitment to improving play for everyone.

Once chosen, OPAL Ambassadors keep the role throughout their time in school. Older ambassadors also help to train and mentor new members, ensuring that the programme continues successfully each year.

Examples of activities in which they may participate

OPAL Ambassadors take part in a wide range of activities that support and enhance lunchtime play. These may include:

  • Supporting lunchtimes by helping organise equipment, modelling positive play and assisting other pupils.
  • Leading or contributing to playtime assemblies, sharing updates, new games and important information with the school.
  • Taking part in Parent Play sessions, helping to demonstrate OPAL activities and encouraging family involvement.
  • Meeting regularly with Play Co-ordinators to check equipment, review loose parts, assess weather conditions and help plan what is safe and appropriate for play each day.

 

Purpose of the role

Eco Ambassadors are a group of children from across Years 3 to Year 6, who are passionate about taking care of our school environment. They are keen to improve our local area and want to raise awareness of global issues and do their bit to help combat global warming.

Who do they represent?

They represent the pupils and the school environment.

How are these roles chosen?

One Eco Ambassador per class, from Year 3 to Year 6, is chosen by the teachers at the start of the academic year as having a keen interest in increasing sustainability of the school and ensuring we are eco-friendly, as well as upholding all of our school values. They will sustain this role throughout their time at school and/or train others next year. 

Overview of the role

At the start of the academic year, they will decide on a list of priorities and create an agenda for the year ahead. They will then meet each month to review their actions and consider what other steps might need to be taken. They will also work closely with both the school council team and OPAL ambassadors to develop the outside areas in an eco-friendly way.

Our priorities for the 2025/2026 academic year. 

At the start of the school year, two separate hedgehogs where found on school grounds at Chapelford, the Eco Team decided that Wildlife should continue to be one of three priorities for this year. Alongside this, they felt that Biodiversity should also be a focus ensuring that there are habitats available throughout the school grounds, as well as a clean environment, to act as a safe haven for all types of wildlife and creatures. Finally, they also chose Energy as their final priority and we will be exploring ways to further reduce our energy consumption across Chapelford.  

Purpose of the role

Reading Ambassadors are champions of reading across our school. Their mission is to spark excitement about books, inspire others to read for pleasure and help every child discover stories they love. They promote daily reading in classes, share book recommendations and highlight reading successes across the school. Above all, they celebrate the joy of reading in every corner of the school.

Who do they represent?

Reading Ambassadors represent the subject of English and help share how reading is taught, enjoyed and celebrated in our school. They speak on behalf of all pupils, ensuring everyone’s reading interests, favourite authors and book ideas are heard and valued.

How are these roles chosen?

At the start of each academic year, Reading Ambassadors are selected across each year group, who show a genuine passion for books and a commitment to helping others enjoy reading too. Ambassadors take on this leadership role for their entire journey at Chapelford and many go on to guide new Reading Ambassadors in future years, continuing to build a reading-rich school community.

Examples of activities in which they may participate:

Reading Ambassadors help foster a love of reading across our whole school and support events such as the Book Bus visit, World Book Day, author celebrations and curriculum theme weeks. They may also help organise book corners, lead story-sharing sessions, recommend new titles and take part in special reading projects across the school.

 

Our School Choir

The school choir is all about celebrating the joy of music! It gives children the chance to share their voices, build confidence, and be part of something truly special. Singing together brings our school community to life and creates memories that last.

Who Can Join?

Our choir is open to pupils from across the school in KS2 at the moment, who love music and want to develop their talent. Everyone is welcome, if you enjoy singing and performing, this is the place for you! For our KS1 students, we are in the process of re-developing our KS1 choir to ensure all children have the same opportunities. 

What Do We Do?

The choir performs at a variety of events throughout the year, including:

  • Open Evenings to welcome new families
  • Whole-school assemblies to inspire and celebrate together
  • Remembrance Day services to honour important moments
  • Community visits, such as singing at local care homes
  • PAN Arts performance within the school community 
  • MAT Factor competition within the primary category 

And many more as the year goes on...

Every performance is a chance to make our school proud and share the magic of music with others.