Digital Leaders making an impact at Castleview

Castleview Primary School in Slough have been running a Digital Leader Scheme since 2014.  Over time, the scheme has grown in prominence throughout the school and in recent years has been supported with resources from Purple Mash.

Who are the Digital Leaders?

The Digital Leader team consists of 16 children (one boy and one girl) from each class in Key Stage 2. The role is highly sought after. Children with a keen interest in computing/technology are chosen (by the Computing lead in partnership with class teachers’ recommendations) to fill the positions.

An application and interview process for the roles has proved too time consuming. The children remain in post for one year and can only hold this position once. There is a Digital Leader notice board where team photos are displayed for everyone to see.

Digital Leader Meetings are held fortnightly (weekly during busy periods) on Friday mornings during registration time. At the first Digital Leader meeting of the year, the children discuss their new role and possible duties they could perform around the school. They watch the Purple Mash Digital Leaders video, which is a great starting point for this discussion. Their first task is to make a poster to introduce themselves which goes on display in the both the Computer suite and the child’s classroom.

Roles and responsibilities

The impact and importance of the Castleview Digital Leader Team is truly amazing! The views and hard work of the team help influence the entire school. Team members have a wide range of roles and responsibilities to fulfil. They are leaders when they deliver assemblies, guide prospective parents around the school, and showcase computing at open evenings. They organise activities for Safer Internet Day, support their peers in computing lessons and help teach the reception classes.

The Year Six Digital Leaders have the additional responsibility of delivering a staff meeting to present the latest online trends and online activities that are popular with primary aged children. Needless to say, this brings out the best in the children as they get to teach their teachers! It is always a big hit with the staff too.

Additional duties

The Digital Leaders represent Castleview when they go on trips to our local secondary school for coding workshops and also when meeting tech visitors and making industry visits. In 2019, they even had the honour of speaking at an Online Safety Conference in London, where they wowed the delegates when explaining what they did in school.

The Year 6 team provide the student voice at the Online Safety Committee where staff and school governors are always so impressed at how confidently and eloquently the children speak when expressing their views. Additionally, they support online safety consultant Alan Mackenzie during his annual visit to Castleview.

Competitions and challenges

Entering competitions is an extremely popular activity with the Digital Leader team. They are inspired by past successes. Conversely, it teaches them to manage disappointment as you can’t always be a winner!

They regularly take part in the Purple Mash Digital Leader Termly challenges, which provide the team with the opportunity to explore and familiarise themselves with a range of tools within Purple Mash. From Christmas card designs to Paralympic animations there have been a wide range of activities to enjoy. Certificates for those who complete both challenges are always a big motivator.

The benefits are clear

It is a privilege to watch the children grow in confidence over their term of office and become leaders in our school community. The benefits of the Digital Leader scheme in school works two ways; staff have the support of the children when teaching and organising events; while the children are provided with this amazing opportunity. I would whole heartedly recommend any school who hasn’t already done so, to start up a Digital Leader scheme.

Mrs Clair Harris – Computing Lead, Castleview Primary school, Slough, Berkshire

Joining the Digital Leader scheme

If you would like to set up a team of Digital Leaders within your school using Purple Mash, you can find all our resources here and sign up to our half termly Digital Leaders newsletter here.