Community Youth Leadership (LLP)

Discover how Dunearn Secondary School's Learning for Life Programme shapes students into confident community leaders. Learn about the training, activities, and opportunities available across all leadership tiers.

Last updated 10 September 2026

Introduction

Vision: Every Dunearnite a Community Youth Leader who is Confident, Concerned, Contributing Actively and Self-Directed

Mission: To develop Dunearnites to be leaders in the personal, team, thoughtful (community and global outlook) domains

Two school students in navy uniforms on the left, and a large group of uniformed students posing together on the right.

Dunearn Secondary School’s Learning for Life Program aims to develop every Dunearnite into a Community Youth Leader who is a confident, concerned, self-directed and actively contributing citizen. This is aligned to the school’s Strategic Thrust 1 which is “Nurturing Leaders through Holistic Development” and the school’s Strategic Objective 1.4 - To develop leadership in students through four key leadership domains. Aligned with MOE’s 21st Century Competencies and Desired Outcomes of Education, the platforms and opportunities allows students to demonstrate and apply their knowledge and skills to lead by serving the community.

Objective of LLP - CYL

Through initiatives organized, students will acquire and demonstrate leadership competencies across four domains such as Personal Leadership, Team Leadership, Community Leadership and Global Leadership. Student leadership development is part of Dunearn’s holistic development efforts to develop in every Dunearnite, the necessary leadership skills and social and emotional competencies to:

communicate effectively
think creatively and critically
work collaboratively with others
develop compassion for others
develop resilience when confronted with complex situations/issues

The programme looks at the 4 leadership domains of Personal, Team, Community and Global across the 3 Tiers for Student Leadership.

Tier 1 : Cohort training skills on 4 leadership domains
Tier 2 : Needs assessment and Community Youth Advocacy
Tier 3 : Mentoring and Coaching

Leadership Model And Student Leaders

Dunearn adopts the Leadership Challenge Model (LCM) as a reference for the student's leadership development. The leadership practices are aligned to the outcomes for the difference leadership domains and tiers.

Leadership Model

Three-tier pyramid showing Leadership Challenge Model with skills at each tier linked to a table of 5 leadership practices.

To operationalise the framework, the students will go through a series of training, application and evaluation with VIA as the main driver. Other school programmes and events also provide a platform for the application of the leadership skills and knowledge.

The Leadership Challenge

Table listing 5 leadership practices and their descriptors, including Model the Way, Inspire a Shared Vision, and more.

Student Leaders

The student leaders involved comprises of student body with Tier 1 targeting the whole cohort and Tier 2 & 3 targeting the identified group of students.

Table showing 3 tiers of student segments, from cohort and class reps to council executive committee and CCA heads.

Alignment to School Values, 21 Century Competencies and Skills

The following table describes the mapping between the leadership domains to the school values, 21CC and attitudes, behaviour, competencies and skills.

Table mapping Leadership Domains, School Values, 21CC, and Attitudes, Behaviors, Competencies across Personal, Team, Community, Global rows.

Programmes And Activities

Cohort Leadership Training - Students from the different levels will undergo a cohort leadership workshop to equip them with the skills and knowledge for the four leadership domains.

Table showing leadership domains and skills for Sec 1 to 5, covering Personal, Team, Community, and Global Leadership.

Student Leadership Development – Leadership training for different student segments (e.g. student council, class committee) are also conducted periodically throughout the year. Leaders are inducted to their new roles through the provision of platforms and opportunities to plan and execute the activities. The “Leadership Challenge Model” is used as an overarching frame to align the objective of the different domains to the leadership tiers. An online leadership module is also available to supplement students with the knowledge to lead the student body.

Students in yellow uniforms work in groups, one outdoors with a poster, another indoors with a masked teacher.

Appointment and Recognition - Students nominated for leadership appointments (e.g. Student council, Class Chairpersons, CCA leaders) are officially appointed and recognized during the student leadership investiture. The ceremony also officiates the leadership role students undertake and the handing and taking over of higher responsibilities.

Students in uniforms stand at front of classroom; right photo shows a large group of teens in red shirts posing together.

Values in Action – As community youth leaders, Dunearnites would have the opportunity to plan and participate in activities that contributes to the school, local and overseas community. Participation in Values in Action (VIA) projects such as service-learning encourages the student to take ownership and identify the community issues they are concerned about, and initiate action among peers to make a difference and improve the lives of others.

Students in masks pose near a General Office sign; others sort stacked newspapers on the ground.