By Geoff Laidler, Head of Dame Allan's Junior School
As the Head of a Junior School, educating boys and girls from ages 3 – 11, my days are often filled with the sounds of laughter in the playground, phonics lessons, and of exuberant amateur brass players during a music lesson.
However, underneath this cheerful cacophony are many deliberate threads, which all come together to help shape our young people into the leaders of tomorrow.
Emotional Awareness and Empathy
As pupils work their way through the curriculum, I see firsthand how teaching can begin to embed important values in our young people. One of the big things we work on at Dame Allan’s is ensuring every child feels happy and confident through our specialist pastoral care offering. With access to a dedicated wellbeing area – The Cosy Snug – plus counsellors, wellbeing assemblies and accessible mental health quiz software, Zumos, pupils grasp from a young age that understanding their emotions and the emotions of others is a key part of life. We always emphasise to pupils that there is always someone they can talk to in school from teachers and friends to the Worry Monster – a furry friend who ‘eats’ worries and helps children articulate their anxieties. Not only does this build self-awareness, but crucially it embeds a strong sense of empathy – vital for any well-rounded young person making their way in an increasingly divided world.
Yes, you can be a Mentor
Leadership and mentoring skills are directly taught at Dame Allan’s at an early age. There are lots of opportunities to get involved, such as our Digital Leaders Programme, which empowers pupils to develop their own tech skills and volunteer as peer mentors to teach younger pupils how to be more digitally savvy.
Our Buddy Scheme too is another way that our pupils can take on some additional responsibility. As Dame Allan’s is certified as ‘Platinum’ for our Outdoor Play and Learning (OPAL) programme, meaning that we are amongst the top one per cent of schools nationally for quality of play provision, we take play seriously with activities designed to help pupils develop their imaginations and refine communication skills. It is therefore very helpful that our Year 5 pupils ‘buddy’ up with Reception pupils to show them the ropes in the outdoor play space and enjoy sessions playing and reading together. They help develop key skills such as sharing, assessing risk and problem solving, whilst most importantly having lots of fun!
Try, try, try again
When looking at inspiring and nurturing the next generation, we must also consider the importance of helping pupils discover their passions, develop resilience, and enhance their social skills. All of this and more are developed via our thriving co-curricular programme, where Junior School pupils can choose from more than fifty activities each week – from ukulele and robotics to football and dance. These clubs instil a need for timekeeping and organisation, offer the chance to mix with pupils they may not meet in their lessons, and help our young people to develop the resilience to keep trying if they find that they can’t score that winning penalty on the first try!
Additionally, our co-curricular programme helps to instil a sense of community in our pupils, something that is increasingly valuable in a world that can be quite insular. For example, our pupils in the choir sing at hospitals and local care homes, whilst our GECO club carries out litter picks and plants gardens onsite for our whole community to enjoy.
When we think about what makes a successful leader, I’d argue that these traits of empathy, confidence, resilience, and communitymindedness will hold any leader in good stead. And, if we can encourage those values in Junior School we can be sure that the next generation will be in good hands.
Dame Allan’s will be holding their next Junior Open Morning event on Saturday 19 September 2026. For more information, contact the Head of Admissions on 0191 275 1500 or visit dameallans.co.uk
