Student Leadership Teams
At Ashcombe Primary School, we are proud to offer a wide range of Student Leadership opportunities, enabling our pupils to develop confidence, responsibility, and a strong sense of community.
Our School Council, led by Laura Penny, gives children a voice in shaping school life and representing their peers. The Spark Squad, guided by Kerry Northover, focuses on promoting positivity, wellbeing, and making learning inclusive for all. Our passionate Eco‑Team, run by Chris Penny, works hard to help the school become more environmentally friendly through sustainability projects and awareness campaigns. The School Librarians, supported by Kate Skeen, help to nurture a love of reading by organising books, assisting younger pupils, and championing our library spaces. Our energetic Sports Leaders, trained by Tyler Ashmead, encourage active play and support sporting events throughout the year. The school Friendship Buddies, led by Christina Young, help to make breaktimes enjoyable and inclusive by supporting friendships and positive play.Our Digital Leaders, supported by Jo Rose, help promote positive digital habits across the school, assist classmates and teachers with technology, and champion online safety. In addition, our OPAL Play Ambassadors, co-ordinated by Beth Hillier and Gemma Waller, play a key role in enhancing outdoor play opportunities as part of our OPAL programme.
Together, these leadership teams help create a caring, motivated, and vibrant school community.
School Council
At Ashcombe Primary School, our School Council plays an important role in helping every child feel heard and valued. Each councillor is elected by their classmates and is trusted to represent their ideas, opinions, and concerns. Guided by the Ashcombe B’s – Be Ready, Be Respectful, Be Safe – our councillors work together to make positive changes that support our whole school community.
The School Council also reflects our wider Ashcombe values: Knowing Yourself and the World, Being Part of the World, and Changing the World. Through regular meetings and meaningful projects, councillors learn to understand themselves and others, contribute to school life, and take action that makes a real difference.
Their work helps ensure Ashcombe remains a place where every child can thrive, feel empowered, and play an active role in shaping their world.
Spark Squad
Spark Squad is our new mini SEND council.
Everyone’s brain works in its own special way. Some brains are really good at remembering facts, some are amazing at imagining stories, and others are great at solving puzzles. If someone learns or thinks differently, that’s okay—it just means their brain has its own style.
Just like we all need different things—glasses to see, shoes to run—some people need extra quiet or more time to learn. Everyone’s brain is unique, and that is something to celebrate. We want to make Ashcombe a place of learning that celebrates everyone’s different brain styles and make learning inclusive for all.
As part of the council, the children meet every other Wednesday at lunchtimes and discuss things they like, do not like and what they would like to change about their learning environment, lessons, playtimes and anything else they can think of.
So far because of Spark Squad, Ashcombe now has a dedicated quiet room for use at lunchtimes as this was the biggest part of their day that the children identified they struggled with. The quiet room is available every lunchtime for children that have been referred by an adult. It is a place that they can regulate themselves by reading, colouring, doing word searches or just having some quiet time.
Here is a photo of the quiet room in use. A group of children set up their own "mindful" area. They chose to colour and engage in a calming moment together.
We are also about to start a trial of playing music in the lunch halls to see if this makes a difference to the noise levels and atmospheres of these as this was another area the children identified they struggled with.
Eco-Team
Our School Eco‑Team is a committed group of pupils who work together to make our school more environmentally friendly. They lead by example, encouraging classmates to recycle, save energy, reduce waste, and care for the natural world around them.
The team meets regularly to plan eco‑projects, monitor progress, and share new ideas for creating a greener school. Through their enthusiasm and leadership, our Eco‑Team inspires the whole school community to make positive choices that help protect our planet.
School Librarian Team
The student librarians work together in pairs each day to help keep the Hub tidy and the book collection well-organised. During lunchtime, each team carefully replaces and sorts books, arranging them alphabetically or in numerical order where appropriate, ensuring everything is easy to find.
Their dedication plays an important role in maintaining a welcoming and accessible space, allowing other pupils to quickly locate books they enjoy.
As role models, they encourage everyone to take care of the resources and treat the Hub with respect. Through their consistent efforts, the student librarians help create a calm, orderly, and inviting environment where pupils can relax, explore new stories, and enjoy reading a book of their choice.
Sports Leaders
The Sports Leaders Crew are a group of pupils who play a key role in creating active, inclusive and enjoyable lunchtimes for everyone at Ashcombe.
Working alongside the Future Stars specialist coaching team, the Sports Leaders support the delivery of lunchtime sporting activities while learning from experienced coaches in a safe and structured environment. Their role helps them to build confidence, leadership skills and responsibility, while also encouraging positive play for their peers.
As part of the crew, the children help to set up and organise sporting activities, referee games fairly, and encourage others to take part, ensuring that lunchtime sport is welcoming and inclusive for all children. They also take responsibility for looking after equipment, keeping the PE cupboard organised and tidy, and working together as a team to create fun, engaging activities.
So far, the children have led a wide range of sports and activities, including football, rugby, warm-up games, diamond cricket and basketball, helping to keep lunchtimes varied, active and exciting.
The Sports Leaders use the PE storage area to store their own dedicated equipment, including bibs, whistles and lanyards, promoting independence and responsibility. Each session, they complete a simple task checklist to ensure all roles and responsibilities have been completed, alongside using guidance sheets that outline what is expected of them each day. This structure helps the children stay organised and confident in their roles.
To further support their development, the Sports Leaders will take part in one learning session each term, where they develop skills such as communication, teamwork, leadership and organisation. Over time, this will enable them to lead their own games independently on the playground at lunchtime.
The Sports Leaders Crew play an important role in promoting positive play, physical activity and leadership across the school, helping to make Ashcombe a place where children feel confident, included and excited to be active.
Friendship Buddy
A Friendship Buddy is a supportive role designed to help primary school
pupils feel safe, included, and connected within the school community. Friendship Buddies are trained older pupils who support others, particularly during breaktimes and lunchtimes, by offering a friendly face, a listening ear, and opportunities for play and conversation.
The programme promotes kindness, empathy, and confidence, helping pupils to develop positive relationships and ensuring that no child feels isolated. Friendship Buddies play an important role in fostering a welcoming and inclusive school environment where all children feel valued and supported.
The Friendship Buddy team meets termly with Mrs Young to discuss what is working well on the playground and to identify areas for improvement. These meetings provide pupils with a meaningful opportunity to share their views, ensuring that children’s voices are heard and that the school environment continues to meet the needs of all pupils.
Digital Leaders
The Digital Leaders are a group of Year 5 and 6 pupils who help promote the safe, responsible and creative use of technology across the school.
The Digital Leaders support teachers and their classmates by demonstrating how to use digital tools, sharing online safety advice and helping to look after devices. They play an important role in encouraging others to be confident, respectful and curious learners in a digital world, while developing their own leadership, teamwork and technical skills.
When we meet termly, Digital Leaders review how technology is being used across the school, learn new skills or tools to share with their classes and plan small projects—such as online safety campaigns, helping with assemblies or supporting younger children with digital tasks. These meetings give them a chance to reflect, suggest improvements and shape how digital learning continues to grow in our school.
Opal Play Ambassadors
Our Opal Play Ambassadors are a brilliant group of pupils who
help make playtimes the highlight of the day. They’re chosen for their kindness, enthusiasm and natural leadership, and they take their role seriously – while still having lots of fun!
They work together to make sure everyone feels included and has someone to play with. As positive playground role models, they support younger children, share ideas for new games, help look after equipment and encourage safe, creative play.
By teaming up and leading by example, our Ambassadors help create a playground where everyone feels welcome, confident, and excited to join in. Their energy, teamwork and caring attitude make a real difference to the happiness of our whole school community.