A KNUTSFORD primary school was taken over by Year Six pupils last week as they got a taste for the world of work.

Egerton Primary School, in Bexton Road, took on the challenge for the second year running and saw 10 and 11 year-old pupils take on roles across the school from head teacher to site manager.

The ‘take-over day’, on Friday, November 25, was initially thought up by Alison Hooper, head teacher at Egerton and members of the schools’ global learning team, to help celebrate International Children’s Rights Month.

Alison said: “We did it last year for the first time and it was so successful we decided to do it again.

“Children have a right to education, but they also have a right to experience the world of work within a safe environment.

“They have information about how a school is structured, and they learn what skills and knowledge they would have to bring a specific role.

“They introduce themselves to the staff that they will be working with, and together they plan for the day.”

Roles, which were tackled in pairs, included replacement head teachers- who arrived at the school early to lead the staff briefing before classes started, as well as site managers who conducted safety checks and water temperature checks throughout the grounds and in the buildings, and reception staff who answered telephone calls and completed admin tasks overseen by the original staff members.

The school, which also has a partnership with Egerton School in Njoro, Kenya- has created ‘take-over day’ as part of its Global Learning Programme, and has recently been awarded its third International School Award.

“We are delighted, absolutely thrilled to get the award,” said Alison. “It’s a whole team thing. We don’t work for award we work for the children and we need to prepare them to be effective global citizens. We try to ensure that they think about the world they are in, do their own research but also learn through experience.”

At the end of the take-over day the children presented parents and children from the other years with a special assembly, usually taken by Alison on a Friday afternoon.

“The children all arrived smartly dressed to do their work,” added Alison. “They even signed a contract of employment to show them what the importance of that is.

“This is just an element of what we do as part of our global learning.”

To find out more about the school’s Global Learning Programme visit egerton.cheshire.sch.uk/page/our-community

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