William Harding Pupil Leaders
Pupil Leadership at William Harding
At William Harding, we are proud to give every child the chance to lead. Our Pupil Parliament brings together a wide range of leadership roles—from Ambassadors of Change to Eco Warriors, Sports Leaders, Librarians, Peer Mentors, House Captains, and many more.
Pupil Leaders help shape school life, promote our values, and make a real difference to our community. They run events, lead assemblies, support younger pupils, champion inclusion, celebrate achievements, and share pupil voice across the school.
Through these roles, our pupils learn confidence, resilience, teamwork and responsibility, becoming positive role models who truly Aim High, Work Hard and Be Kind.
Who are our Agents of Change?
Our Agents of Change are the leading voice of our Pupil Parliament. Representing pupils across the school, they run class council meetings, respond to issues, and work with staff to make positive changes. As role models for our school values, they help ensure every child feels heard, included, and proud to be part of William Harding.
The children who have been chosen to be Agents of Change for the 2025/26 school year are:
Valeriia, Baannee, William, Ratisha, Aadit, Alex, Reuben, Maya, Oliver, Anaya, Shawn, Olivia.
Intent
At William Harding, our Pupil Leaders embody our school values of Perseverance, Respect, Inclusion, Honesty, Responsibility and Collaboration. Through visible leadership, teamwork, and initiative, they shape a culture where every pupil can flourish. Our Pupil Parliament provides meaningful opportunities for children to lead change, celebrate achievement, and contribute to the success and well-being of our whole school community.
All pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, those with SEND, those known (or previously known) to children’s social care, and those who may face other barriers to learning and well-being, are encouraged to take on leadership roles. They are consistently well prepared for the next stage in their education, employment, or training through experiences that build confidence, resilience and integrity.
Leaders and staff have established a culture that is highly conducive to learning, in which pupils of all ages flourish. Leaders respond swiftly and skilfully to the school’s and pupils’ changing circumstances and needs. Pupil Leaders actively contribute to this culture. For example, Peer Mentors and Anti-Bullying Ambassadors promote positive relationships, while Attendance Monitors and House Captains help drive motivation and participation across the school.
Pupils show self-discipline and dedication to their learning. They learn to manage emotions and resolve conflict, with support from pupil teams such as Inclusion Ambassadors and Ambassadors of Change. They consistently show high levels of respect for others and rarely need reminders about positive behaviour. Older pupils model consideration and care for younger peers, particularly through roles such as Sports Leaders, Lunchtime Monitors, and Animal Advocates.
The importance of high attendance is promoted through our Attendance Monitors and Pupil Parliament assemblies, where pupils encourage each other to “be here, be ready, and aim high.”
Our programme of personal development is extensive and carefully tailored to our school context and pupils’ aspirations. Every child, including those with SEND, disadvantaged pupils, and those facing barriers, is encouraged to participate and benefit fully. Whether as a Librarian, Eco Warrior, EAL Champion, Art Ambassador, JRSO, Animal Advocate, Subject Champions, Assembly Monitors, House Captains, Sports Leaders, Online Safety Team, Peer mentors, Attendance Monitors, Inclusion ambassadors, fundraising team, or Music Ambassador, all pupils are given the chance to lead, influence, and make a difference.
Our intent is to:
Empower all pupils to become responsible leaders who actively contribute to school improvement.
Strengthen pupil voice across all areas of school life through meaningful leadership roles.
Encourage pupils to model our school values in action.
Develop leadership skills such as empathy, teamwork, and communication.
Give pupils authentic opportunities to make decisions, solve problems and see the impact of their actions.
Promote a culture of pride, respect, and responsibility that extends beyond school.
Implementation
Pupil Leadership at William Harding is coordinated through our Pupil Parliament, which connects a wide range of pupil groups and ensures that every child’s voice can be heard.
Our Pupil Leadership structure includes:
Ambassadors of Change – oversee pupil voice, lead assemblies and class council meetings, respond to issues, and represent pupils to SLT.
Anti-Bullying Ambassadors and Peer Mentors – promote kindness, mental health and well-being, and help resolve friendship issues.
Eco Warriors – lead recycling, sustainability, and outdoor learning projects.
Subject Champions – promote learning and lead events in curriculum areas such as maths, reading, and science.
House Captains and Sports Leaders – encourage participation, teamwork, and pride through competitions and active play.
Online Safety Team and JRSOs – promote safety, responsibility and awareness in online and real-world contexts.
Librarians, Art and Music Ambassadors – support reading, creativity and cultural engagement.
Inclusion Ambassadors, EAL Champions and Fundraising Team – promote diversity, inclusion, and community links.
Attendance Monitors, Lunchtime Monitors and Animal Advocates – encourage respect, responsibility, and care for others and the environment.
Each group meets regularly with their staff lead to plan, review and celebrate progress. Monitoring of Pupil Leaders is overseen by Subject Leader staff teams. Pupil Leaders are trained to communicate clearly, act as role models, and take initiative. The Ambassadors of Change connect all teams, ensuring consistency, collaboration, and collective celebration through assemblies and reports to the Senior Leadership Team.
Pupil Leaders are selected through a combination of written applications and pupil votes, ensuring fairness, diversity and representation across all year groups. Roles are designed so that pupils of all ages can access meaningful leadership opportunities — from Year 1 Art Ambassadors to Year 6 House Captains.
Displays across the school celebrate our leaders and ensure visibility and accessibility for all pupils.
Entrance Hall: Whole-school Pupil Parliament board with photos and staff leads.
Year Group Areas: Recognition of class and year-based leaders.
Library: Featuring Librarians and Reading Champions.
Hall: Highlighting House Captains, Sports Leaders and Ambassadors of Change.
Information is also shared on the school website, class and year group boards, and through the school newsletter (The Harding Herald) and staffroom/SLT boards showing staff leads and meeting schedules.
Pupil Leaders agree to follow the Pupil Leader Code of Conduct, committing to:
Model the William Harding Values at all times.
Be reliable, respectful and ready to lead.
Take initiative and act with integrity, even without direction.
Represent peers fairly and communicate their views responsibly.
Work collaboratively, showing empathy, maturity and confidentiality.
Staff Leads support by:
Scheduling regular meetings (fortnightly or half-termly).
Providing agendas and helping pupils set achievable goals.
Recording outcomes and sharing actions.
Supporting reflection, celebration and development of leadership skills.
For a full overview of our structure, please see the Pupil Leader Diagram in Appendix 1.
Impact
The impact of Pupil Leadership at William Harding is visible in the respectful, purposeful and aspirational culture pupils have helped to build. Our Pupil Leaders are agents of change, modelling pride, empathy and initiative in all areas of school life.
Impact is demonstrated through:
Increased pupil engagement, participation and ownership of school life.
Improved relationships between pupils, creating a more harmonious, respectful community.
A noticeable reduction in low-level behaviour incidents due to proactive pupil-led work around inclusion, anti-bullying, attendance and wellbeing.
A stronger sense of belonging and responsibility across year groups.
Increased confidence, resilience and reflection in pupils through public speaking, teamwork and problem-solving.
Greater inclusion and representation of pupils with SEND, disadvantaged pupils, and those facing barriers to learning or well-being.
Clear examples of leadership-driven change, such as improved recycling through Eco Warriors, enhanced reading culture via Librarians, and community engagement through Fundraising and Inclusion Ambassadors.
Through their actions, our Pupil Leaders have helped to shape a school environment that is calm, respectful, inclusive and highly conducive to learning. They are confident communicators, compassionate citizens and collaborative problem-solvers who are fully prepared for the next stage of their education and for life beyond William Harding.
Our Pupil Leadership model ensures that pupils truly Aim High, Work Hard and Be Kind, taking pride in leading the way for others.
Click here to read all about our recent visit to the Houses of Parliament