Leadership resources

This online resource is a practical, step-by-step guide designed to support busy teachers running student leadership programs. It includes ready-to-use templates (like student application forms and meeting agendas), planning checklists, activity ideas, and videos from experienced educators sharing their tips and insights. Available for $395 (incl. GST), the toolkit offers ongoing access and is regularly updated based on teacher feedback, making it a valuable, time-saving resource for leadership coordinators.

Project Santiago is a year 10 leadership curriculum designed to build confidence and capability before students take on senior roles. Run as an elective subject, it’s fully resourced with videos, lesson plans, and activities that teachers can deliver directly or adapt to suit their context. Unit 1 focuses on leadership foundations, while Unit 2 uses design thinking to help students create social change projects. The program is scaffolded to support both student engagement and teacher capacity, recognising that leadership takes time, not just a badge.

Developed by UC Berkeley, the Berkeley Innovation Index (BII) measures key mindsets linked to innovation, such as resilience, openness, and creative confidence. It’s a research-backed self-assessment designed to help individuals and teams reflect on their capacity to innovate. A great tool for student leaders exploring design thinking, entrepreneurship, or creative leadership.

The VIA Character Strengths Survey helps students identify their top personal strengths, like kindness, leadership, creativity, or perseverance. Grounded in positive psychology research, it’s a great tool for promoting self-awareness, confidence, and values-based leadership. It’s free to take and ideal for student leadership programs or wellbeing sessions.

This widely used free test offers a fun and insightful way for students to explore their personality type. Based on the Myers-Briggs framework and updated with modern psychology, it gives students a detailed profile covering strengths, weaknesses, communication style, and career preferences. It’s a great tool for sparking self-awareness and conversations about leadership and team dynamics.

This quick quiz helps students reflect on their leadership strengths and areas for growth, drawing on research-backed frameworks like the Big Five Personality Traits, Emotional Intelligence, and Transformational Leadership. It's a great tool for self-awareness and discussion, perfect for classrooms or student leadership programs. No data is stored, and it's designed purely for personal development.

In this engaging and relatable blog, Michael Walter breaks down public speaking into four key stages: Preparation, Practice, Presentation, and Performance. Drawing from personal stories—including an awkward camp chant and a strategic pre-conference haircut, he offers practical advice on how to craft your content, build confidence, manage nerves, and connect with your audience. Whether you’re a student leader, teacher, or facilitator, these tips will help you feel more emotionally ready to speak in public.

Leadership isn’t something young people learn all at once, it’s something they grow into with the right support. In this thoughtful and practical blog, Michael Walter explores how scaffolding can help students develop real leadership skills over time. Drawing on personal stories and experience running camps and programs, he shares strategies like providing regular feedback, gradually increasing responsibility, and using templates to reduce overwhelm. A great read for educators, youth workers, or mentors looking to guide students through the ups and downs of leading.

Stepping into a student leadership role is exciting, but it can also be a little daunting. In this heartfelt and practical blog, Felicity Neeson shares advice gathered from past student leaders, weaving in powerful reflections about authenticity, teamwork, kindness, and resilience. The message is clear: you don’t need to have all the answers, and you don’t even need a badge to lead. Whether you're just starting out or supporting student leaders in your school, this blog is full of wisdom to guide the journey.

Looking for the perfect video to kick off a leadership session or inspire your team? In this blog, Felicity Neeson shares five powerful videos that spark reflection, purpose, and motivation. From Simon Sinek’s classic Start with Why to Derek Sivers’ First Follower and uplifting music videos from Noah and the Whale and Nickelback, each one is carefully chosen to connect with students and staff alike. A great collection to keep on hand for leadership training days, assemblies, or team meetings.

In this reflective post, Michael Walter shares how he redesigned a school service learning program supporting people experiencing homelessness. Drawing on human-centred design principles, he outlines how the experience was restructured to be person-centred, safe, educational, and sustainable. The blog offers a behind-the-scenes look at stakeholder engagement, risk planning, and student preparation, making it a valuable resource for educators designing their own service learning projects. A thoughtful and practical read, especially for those working with vulnerable communities.

Service learning blends community engagement with hands-on learning, offering students powerful opportunities to grow as leaders and citizens. In this article, Lauren Hichaaba outlines five compelling reasons to embed service learning into your school program, ranging from boosting student agency and empathy to building community connections and creating real-world impact. With thoughtful design, service learning doesn’t just benefit students, it enriches the broader community too. A valuable read for educators seeking to make learning more purposeful and people-focused.

Need to refocus a noisy group without yelling? This quick and practical blog shares six effective strategies to get your students' attention in a fun and respectful way. From using music or call-and-response cues to hand-raising and playful games like “Do as I say, not as I do,” Felicity Neeson offers tools that are easy to implement and help maintain a calm, engaging environment. A handy resource for teachers and facilitators working with student groups of any size.

Student leadership meetings don’t have to be dry or routine. In this short and practical post, Felicity Neeson shares five tried-and-tested strategies to keep students coming back and participating with enthusiasm. From starting with icebreakers to giving students real ownership and ending with hands-on action, each idea helps turn meetings into meaningful moments for growth and connection. If you're looking to energise your student leadership team and make meetings more productive, this is a great place to start.

This practical and inspiring blog shares 15 creative ways student leaders can take real-world action in their school or community. From hosting op shop-themed casual clothes days to launching podcasts, starting breakfast clubs, or writing to local government, each idea is designed to build skills and create impact. Felicity Neeson also offers tips to ensure initiatives are thoughtful, inclusive, and connected to bigger social issues. Perfect for teachers wanting to empower their student leaders with meaningful, hands-on opportunities.

In this insightful article, Michael Walter explores Daniel Goleman’s six leadership styles, visionary, coaching, affiliative, democratic, pacesetting, and commanding, and how they apply in the context of student leadership. Rather than promoting a one-size-fits-all model, the article encourages educators to help students understand when and how to adapt each style. From building positive team culture to navigating urgent situations, this blog offers practical guidance for supporting student leaders to lead with purpose, flexibility, and empathy. A valuable resource for any teacher or school aiming to grow well-rounded, capable leaders.

When student leaders hear “no” too many times, it can crush their motivation, but often the issue isn’t the idea itself, it’s timing, safety, or budget. In this article, Michael Walter explores how shifting from a “no” to a “not yet” mindset can help students refine their ideas and better understand the real-world process of innovation. The post offers a clear, seven-step framework for creating a review process that supports creativity while building feasibility, viability, and ethical awareness. A must-read for teachers who want to empower student leaders without losing school oversight.

Applied learning can be a powerful way to develop student leadership, but it’s easy to fall into a few common traps. In this blog, Felicity Neeson unpacks three mistakes that can limit impact, starting without building trust, offering too much freedom without structure, and skipping reflection until the end. Drawing on Yellow Arrow’s experience, she shares practical strategies for creating safe, structured, and reflective learning environments where leadership skills can thrive. A great read for teachers looking to strengthen their applied learning practice and make every experience count.

This article introduces Project Santiago, Yellow Arrow’s curriculum-based leadership program designed for Years 9 and 10. Rather than offering leadership as a one-off workshop or camp, this program embeds leadership development into the timetable, making it accessible to a wider range of students. Through hands-on activities, reflection, and real responsibility, students gradually grow in confidence and capability. With flexible, ready-to-use resources and examples from schools like Clonard College, this blog shows how leadership can become a subject, one that transforms not just individual students but the whole school culture.

This blog offers a practical and thoughtful response to a big question in Australian education right now: how can we develop student leadership in a system increasingly shaped by explicit instruction? Drawing on Yellow Arrow’s own leadership programs, the article outlines five ways to blend hands-on, student-led learning with structured teaching. From modelling leadership in real time to scaffolding reflective practice and gradually building student independence, it’s packed with examples you can apply in your own school. A great resource for educators wanting to strike the right balance between clarity and creativity in their leadership initiatives.

The Design Kit Methods from IDEO.org offers a rich collection of human-centred design tools that can help student leaders develop problem-solving, empathy, and creative thinking skills. These methods guide students through key phases of the design process, such as discovering insights, generating ideas, and testing solutions, making them ideal for leadership programs focused on social impact or student-led projects. With clear instructions and a focus on collaboration, this resource supports young leaders to design with purpose and lead change in their school or community.

This guide from VicSRC, Getting Started with Student Voice, is a practical starting point for schools looking to build meaningful student leadership. It outlines clear steps for creating a culture where students are genuinely heard and involved in decision-making. With simple language and actionable strategies, the guide helps educators and students work together to shift from tokenism to authentic leadership, making it an ideal resource for schools beginning their student voice journey.

Yelling "everybody listen!" can get old pretty fast, and it's a surefire way to lose your voice. In this video, Felicity explains 5 creative ways to get the attention of the group.

Have you ever arrived at an event and instantly felt welcome? Chances are the event organisers put a lot of thought into how to make the guests feel at ease before the event formally began. In this video we explain 5 invisible icebreakers that you can put in place for your next event to create a warm and welcoming atmosphere. What do you appreciate when you first arrive at an event?

Have you ever been responsible for a group of young people and had unexpected time to kill? Maybe you're having technical difficulties, maybe your bus was delayed, maybe your guest speaker is late or the caterers haven't arrived yet. Whatever the situation, we've got you covered. Here are our 3 tips of things to do, when you have time to kill but no equipment.

Teachers - have you ever found yourself yelling "everyone get in a circle!" and spending 15 minutes ushering your students out of a misshapen oblong shape so that everyone can see you and hear your instructions? In today's Leadership Toolkit video we're sharing a simple hack to get a large group into a circle and listening quickly and effectively. It's called "Velcro Elbows". Intrigued?

Does public speaking give you the heebie jeebies? Check out our top tips for how to best prepare for a speech or presentation! What do you like to do before you deliver a speech?

Playmeo is a powerful online platform packed with hundreds of group games, icebreakers, and team-building activities that are perfect for developing student leadership. Its resources are designed to help young people build trust, strengthen communication, and step into leadership roles through experiential learning. Whether you're running a workshop or embedding leadership skills into regular class time, Playmeo makes it easy to create engaging, inclusive experiences that foster initiative, collaboration, and confidence in your student leaders.

An official practice guide from Victoria’s Department of Education that outlines how to empower student voice and leadership in schools. This guide provides research, strategies, and case studies showing how giving students real input improves engagement and outcomes.

An article by a middle school teacher sharing four strategies to build a strong student leadership program. It emphasises administrative support, room for failure, organisation, and group culture.

A blog post detailing physical team-building games to energise students and foster teamwork. Games are followed by debriefs to connect with teamwork in projects.

A curated list of leadership games and exercises that build communication, adaptability, trust and creativity. Includes printable scenarios for high school students.

An article blending leadership theory with practice through explicit teaching of communication and social skills for student leaders, including speech writing and active listening.

A 45-minute lesson plan teaching what active listening is and why it matters. Includes a warm-up game, audio story, and partner activity to practice listening.

A collection of free resources from ESU promoting speech and debate in schools. Covers reasoning with evidence, listening and responding, expressive delivery, and organising ideas.

A global framework from UNICEF explaining how to engage young people in civic life, with principles for empowering adolescents as active citizens and tips by sector.

A hub of tools, strategies and case studies for schools to elevate student voice in class and beyond. Includes practice guides and planning templates.

A toolkit for Years 5–12 students to plan service-learning projects. Guides educators and students through identifying issues, planning, acting, reflecting and celebrating.

An online collection of over 80 thinking routines that encourage observation, reasoning, and reflection. Helps learners make their thinking visible and structured.

A blog post listing practical reflection prompts for student leadership teams to regularly debrief events and group dynamics. Emphasises planned reflection time.

An article offering five strategies to encourage student reflection – journaling, storytelling, mind mapping, blogging and podcasting – as tools to deepen understanding and growth.