The Alice Smith School was recently announced as winner of the International School Awards 2019 in the Pastoral Initiative category.

These much-celebrated awards highlight best practices in a range of categories which include: learning and teaching, wellbeing, leadership, use of technology, pastoral initiatives, community impact, inclusion, pathway support, and international impact spearheaded by some of the best British schools and educators from around the world! Alice Smith School was shortlisted in two categories, learning and teaching and pastoral initiatives, winning the Pastoral Initiative category for its work on student-led positive playtimes.

The initiative involved developing Year 6 leadership opportunities which empowered students to help to transform playtimes. By developing student leadership training in the following positions: Referees, Equipment Managers, Play Mentors, Monitors, Buddies and Helpers, the children became part of the success story. New resources were purchased to use within carefully delineated playground zones with students involved at every stage of the process. Through student-led assemblies and careful reviews of the implementation, our students feel happy and safe during positive playtimes.