At Parkside Community School, we believe that every student has the potential to lead, inspire, and make a difference. Our student leadership programme empowers students to take an active role in shaping school life, developing key skills such as communication, teamwork, responsibility, and resilience.
From our Junior Leadership Team and Parkside Parliament to Mentor Representatives, Sports Leaders and Transition Ambassadors, our student leaders work collaboratively to represent their peers, organise events, and contribute to positive change within our community.
Through these opportunities, we nurture confident, compassionate, and capable young people who are ready to lead both within school and beyond.
A central part of student leadership is our Junior Leadership Team (JLT) — two outstanding student leaders who represent the voice of our school community. The JLT lead Student Parliament, ensuring that student ideas and initiatives are heard and acted upon. They also meet regularly with the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) and School Governors to share student perspectives and contribute to important discussions and decisions.
The Parkside Parliament forms the foundation of student leadership across the school. Comprising of elected representatives from each year group, Parliament meets regularly to discuss key issues, propose new ideas, and lead initiatives that improve the daily life and wellbeing of all students. Parliament members take responsibility for listening to the views of their peers, presenting these in meetings, and collaborating on action plans that make a tangible difference — from improving facilities and promoting inclusion, to supporting charitable projects and sustainability goals.
The work of Parkside Parliament is deeply rooted in our school values of respect, resilience, responsibility, and community. Members demonstrate respect by ensuring every student’s voice is heard, resilience by driving change and overcoming challenges, responsibility through their commitment to representing others, and community by fostering a sense of unity and belonging across the school.
Each mentor group at Parkside Community School elects a Mentor Representative, who plays an essential role in ensuring that all students are represented within Parkside Parliament. Mentor Representatives act as the voice of their mentor group, sharing ideas, concerns, and feedback that reflect the views and experiences of their peers.
They also take an active role in supporting and leading activities within their mentor groups, helping to promote engagement, teamwork, and a positive start to each school day. As role models for their year group, Mentor Representatives embody our school values in action — showing respect by listening to others, resilience through their commitment to improvement, responsibility in taking ownership of their role, and community by strengthening connections between students and staff.
Through their leadership, Mentor Representatives help to ensure that every student at Parkside Community School has a voice in shaping the culture, values, and future of our school.
The Sports Leaders of Parkside Community School are passionate about sports and enjoy inspiring others to participate in physical activity and sport. Members of our Sport Leadership Team have a variety of skills and talents. They all demonstrate respect, determination and ambition in all they do.
The Sports Leaders have trained in the SL-1 qualification which enables them to assist teaching staff in lessons, clubs and at sports events. Throughout the year they gain qualifications and experience in a wide variety of sports including football and athletics. They use this experience to lead primary school students in sports events and festivals here at Parkside Community School and around Chesterfield.