Today has been a very exciting day here at Wainwright Primary as our children have been helping to run the academy on our Pupil Takeover Day. Pupils assisted Mrs Spacey in her principal’s duties, delivered lessons, conducted mini-observations, supported younger pupils and showed their talents for leadership throughout the whole day.
The day was organised by Miss Chadburn as part of a wider scheme called the Aspirations Project, designed to support children to experience of a wide range of careers and understand how to reach their career goals. Children had to apply for their preferred role within the academy and were then interviewed by staff, gaining valuable experience of how the process will work when they eventually enter the world of work.
Year 6 pupil Leah took on the role of principal for the day – she said of the experience, ‘I really enjoyed it, and it’s been really good to work with Mrs Spacey all day. I got to be involved in meetings, making some decisions about what the academy needs, inspecting lessons and also helping to make breakfast for some of the other pupils. I saw what it takes to be the principal of Wainwright Primary and find out if this is something I would like to do when I’m older – I definitely want to be a teacher and then a principal now!’
The event has been a massive success, with pupils and staff enjoying the support from each other. Miss Chadburn said, ‘I’m really pleased with the commitment our children showed. Their applications and interviews were very impressive, and they totally immersed themselves in their roles for the day. Showcasing a range of careers across the academy and giving the pupils practical experience of undertaking them is so important – we constantly want to raise aspirations, and this project is helping to do that at Wainwright.’
Well done to all of our pupils for their hard work, and to our staff for their support.