The Archbishop of York Youth Trust hosted a Key Stage 1 and 2 Young Leaders Award Conference in Rochdale on Thursday 17 October, with a presentation from children who have completed in the Award.

Pupils from St John with St Michael C.E. Academy in Rochdale joined Head teachers and teaching staff from across Manchester on Thursday, to present their work and shared in their experiences of taking part in the Young Leaders Award. Teachers were astonished to hear of the social action projects that the Young Leaders had been involved in, including running a community wide festival in their village.

The Young Leaders Award is a fully resourced leadership and character education programme, designed by the Archbishop of York Youth Trust, to be delivered by teaching staff within the classroom. The Award has empowered over 90,000 pupils from 700 schools to learn and practice key leadership skills and character virtues and to transform their communities through social action. Available at KS1 to Post 16, the YLA has clear links to SMSC, British Values, PSHE, Character Education, Citizenship, RE and SIAMS.

At the conference, the St John with St Michael Young Leaders and their teacher spoke of all of the projects they have been involved in through the Young Leaders Award, including personal projects like donating to the food bank and being positive role models, and their community social action festival project.

After noticing that some members of their community could struggle with loneliness, the Young Leaders wanted to do something that would bring the whole community together. Speaking to local businesses to gain sponsorship for their event, the Young Leaders planned a ‘Shawfest’ (named after their village Shawforth), serving food and drinks, putting on entertainment, and most importantly, gathering the community together to make sure that no one was left out. Shawfest was a roaring success, with demand for a 2020 festival already flooding in. The pupils engaged with members of the community that they had not spoken with before and people were able to join together for a day of celebration, all thanks to the work of the Young Leaders.

These Young Leaders are an amazing example of what can be achieved through the Young Leaders Award.

Kate Garner, The Headteacher at St John with St Michael said:

“The children have enjoyed helping to organise the event, they sent letters sourced raffle prizes sold tickets and invited everyone they could think of! I’m very proud of them.”

Rozy Brian, Strategic Lead for the Primary Awards said:

“It is a privilege to be able to visit schools and to see how the Award is being used in so many different settings. One of the things I am passionate about is how the Young Leaders Award enables children of all academic abilities to grow in confidence and to recognise their potential to make positive change. The pupils from St John with St Michael have really demonstrated that today – what a fantastic story of serving their community.”

To find out more about the Young Leaders Award, or to join us at our next conference, get in touch with us on info@abyyt.com