Many people including parents think ‘’leadership’’ and ‘’children’’ are two parallel concepts that should not have any correlation. On the contrary, Leadership is not restricted to a certain age group, number of followers, or the ability to give orders.
Leadership is first about building character, acquiring self-management skills, and the ability to put others into consideration when making decisions or taking actions (no matter how small) as well as having social and emotional intelligence.
A good number of research point to the advantages of Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) and its benefits in developing “a total child”— specifically their academic skills and their abilities to make good choices. Most importantly, as it connects to leadership.
According to the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), good Social Emotional Learning (SEL) skills can be developed in schools and classrooms in several ways, including through leadership opportunities and training. That is why at Premiere Academy and in line with our vision of developing students to become future leaders, we teach leadership by providing practical opportunities for our students to lead. This in turn helps them with personal, social, and emotional intelligence skills.
Prefectship; One Way We Prepare Students to be Future Leaders
School Prefectship is an important aspect of our leadership programme. Our School Prefects play an important role in helping to support both students and teachers in maintaining a vibrant life in and around the school environment. Prefects assist new students for resilience at Premiere Academy. They also act as “Liaison Personnel” between students and the department: they act as ambassadors of the school (taking parents around the campus on special events); they are academic mentors for students who may need extra help; they act as students’ mentors; they monitor the School to ensure that bullying does not take place.
As part of their functions, Prefects fortnightly meet to discuss issues that concern them and collaborate with the School Management to address issues. Through regular meetings with them, they also help to plan social and educational activities for the School. In this way, they function as an integral extension of the school and administration.
As part of our culture at Premiere Academy, we regularly equip our students with leadership skills by organizing special leadership training for them. With regards to the prefectship position, they are chosen based on academic performance, character and behaviour. However, some get chosen based on certain special skills and qualities that they already have or a certain potential that has been recognized. These are, but not limited to; confidence, decisiveness, critical thinking, creativity, ability to communicate effectively, and problem-solving skills.
What Students Learn from Our Students Leadership Training:
- Goal setting – Students get to learn the development of an action plan and how it impacts their present and futures successes.
- Time management skills– Students’ leaders learn the process of planning, controlling, and estimate the time required to complete a task, being assertive, and how to place importance on time.
- Attitude to failure- They learn how to consider failure as an opportunity to learn and grow rather than an obstacle in their quest for a goal.
- Traits of a leader – They learn the character traits of a leader, the importance of courage, and taking calculated risks. They also learn how persistence, resilience, and acceptance positively affect their performances.
- Public speaking skills – Regularly, they learn ways to talk in front of small and large groups of people and how to present their ideas in a confident, powerful and convincing way.
- Creative leadership – They learn the ability to create and realize innovative solutions and understand their uniqueness.
- Social skills– They learn the social skills of leadership and the importance of developing these social skills, both verbally and non-verbally, through gestures, body language, and personal appearance.
- Communication skills – Our student leaders learn the power of language in communication and relationships. They also learn to give and receive feedback in a productive and empowering way of given conversation tools to avoid conflict and enhance their group relationships.
- Collaboration- They learn 'teamwork' can do it all. That’s why a team comprising others with different skill sets is essential. A leader must know how to build and nurture such a team.
In summary, all our students turn out as potential 21st-century leaders. While we select School Prefects based on the above-mentioned characteristics, we work on making these characters evident in all our students during and after their academic year at Premiere Academy.