Student resources
Student-led teams offer a way for children and young people to actively build their own leadership capabilities through meaningful and engaging learning experiences. This page has resources for students interested in leading projects and also gives information about the types of student led teams they can join or lead.
The eleven activities below have been developed with students, for students and can be adapted to individual school's context. Each activity takes approximately 30 minutes and can be facilitated by student leaders. They can be done in any sequence.
Student leadership resources
- A team approach (PDF 240 KB)
- Making decisions (PDF 216 KB)
- Values and visions (PDF 291 KB)
- Exploring team strengths (PDF 263 KB)
- Design thinking (PDF 187 KB)
- Inspirations (PDF 175 KB)
- Project planning (PDF 226 KB)
- Running successful meetings (PDF 283 KB)
- Communicating with school staff and students (PDF 267 KB)
- Developing an elevator pitch (PDF 234 KB)
- Reflecting and evaluating (PDF 245 KB)
- Editable word document of all student resources (DOCX 151 KB)
Student led teams
Authentic student leadership opportunities help students:
- work as a member of a team
- develop and build positive relationships, between peers and teachers
- contribute to the school community
- use their voice responsibly
- value the perspectives and opinions of others
- participate in decision-making.
Student Representative Councils
A Student Representative Council (SRC) is a group of students elected by their fellow students to represent all students in the school. SRCs work democratically to represent the student body in school decision-making and organise ways for students to participate in school life.
The Training the Student Council resource includes information on a variety of training approaches that can be used with primary or secondary school SRCs.
School Parliaments
School parliaments provide an opportunity for students to participate in the running of their school. Parliaments offer a way for students to express their opinions and participate actively in decision-making.
School parliaments are based on the Australian system of government and include students democratically elected to positions such as Prime Minister, portfolio ministers, Whip and Speaker, parliamentary secretaries, Members of the Opposition. School parliaments follow procedures similar to those of the Australian Parliament such as moving and debating motions, holding question time and making speeches.
The Constitution Education Fund has produced a guide called Implementation of a school parliament suitable for primary and secondary schools with the goal of increasing student understanding of the Australian system of government and constitution.
More resources can be found at the Parliamentary Education Office in Canberra with a series of films and fact sheets on the roles and functions of Parliament. Watch a video called Role-play the Parliament, House of Representatives.
Other student led teams
Students might form committees or teams based on needs and interests. These could focus on social justice, the environment, learning and wellbeing, sport, music and community projects.
Students may also lead co-curricular activities such as chess clubs, dance groups or coding clubs. Students are not usually elected but rather join these groups.