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Working with Schools

Meaningful youth engagement through amplifying learner voice and developing life skills.

Youth Leads UK proudly works with schools to prepare learners for the world beyond education. We do this through two key initiatives:

  • Co-creating meaningful learner voice strategies through intergenerational collaboration.
  • Developing leadership skills through real-life social action and media programmes.
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The life experiences and relatability of the Youth Leads UK team to our students were a big factor in our decision to progress with the programme, which we felt would be more impactful than an in-house delivery. Our students thrived in the programme and found themselves in leadership roles. The programme is a platform for embedding youth voice and fostering youth leadership across the academy, which will display itself across our curriculum and extracurricular activities.

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- Martin Roberts Assistant Principal Manchester Communication Academy
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We wanted to partner with Youth Leads UK to give our scholars the opportunity to work with a positive and aspirational organisation. The story of Youth Leads UK’s CEO proved inspirational for our young people. They applied his social action process in their year-long school leadership programme, creating a newspaper, hosting events and working with leaders to further our values.

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- Andy Smith, Principal Djanogly City Academy
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THE BREAKDOWN

MEANINGFUL LEARNER VOICE

Youth Leads UK supports schools and colleges in building effective youth voice strategies. Young people are 20% of our population and 100% of our futures, yet they’re often disregarded in decision-making practices. The average age of a world leader is 62, and 37% of all world parliaments do not have a single MP under the age of 30.

Young people have the right to be involved in decisions that affect them (UN) – Youth Leads UK advocates this by breaking down the barriers in the way of participation. We work with schools and colleges to set facilitate conversations, set the foundations and strengthen the trust between learners and school decision-makers.

Using our unique experiences of being a youth-led organisation, we inspire young people to act, amplify their voices and support them to articulate their views to cultivate meaningful action.

Headlines from our recent partnership with the Djanogly Multi Academy Trust:

  • 3 workshops to identify individual values and an introduction to social action.
  • Learners established a year-long project to showcase positive youth stories and celebrate the diversity of Nottingham.
  • Learners and staff created a strategy to foster an environment of inclusion, tolerance and respect.


“We wanted to partner with Youth Leads UK to give our scholars the opportunity to work with a positive and aspirational organisation. The story of Youth Leads UK’s CEO proved inspirational for our young people. They applied his social action process in their year-long school leadership programme, creating a newspaper, hosting events and working with leaders to further our values.”

–  Andy Smith, Principal, Djanogly City Academy


LEADERSHIP SKILLS DEVELOPMENT

We work with schools and colleges to create a bespoke leadership skills development programme. Typically, this includes weekly sessions led by our Youth Engagement Team and will culminate in a school/college special edition of Xplode Magazine, recognition via a graduation ceremony, and a portfolio of work to take to college, university and job interviews. Our social action and youth voice curriculum is based on over 10 years of experience. To improve careers information, advice and guidance, we deploy industry insight sessions where our corporate partners deliver workshops in schools in areas including, but not limited to, journalism, digital marketing and government relations.

Our programmes are designed to support learners in developing the skills they need for life to become independent and contributory citizens. Young people care about the world around them and want to make a difference – social action is in Youth Leads UK’s DNA and at the heart of all our programmes. Learners should reflect a school’s core values and ethos. Our programmes give learners meaningful and enriching opportunities to connect with the local community, improve staff-student relationships and boost their employability prospects.

Headlines from our recent partnership with Manchester Communication Academy:

  • 12 sessions to a group of 13 year 10 students.
  • Manchester Communication Academy edition of Xplode magazine comprised of 13 articles, 3 interviews and 1 photoshoot.
  • 100% of participants felt more confident in their next steps: applying to college, creating a CV and undertaking a job interview.


“How often do teenagers from Manchester get chosen for the cover of a magazine? How often do we make decisions about editing or the autonomy to put a magazine together? I wouldn’t have thought someone like me would be picked for something like this. It felt like magic. I feel so much better about myself, and it’s given me confidence in who I am.”

–  Programme participant, Manchester Communication Academy

A HIGHER STANDARD

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    OFSTED RECOGNISED

    Our social action work, defined by the #iwill campaign's 6 quality principles, is recognised by Ofsted's reporting framework.

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    GATSBY BENCHMARKS

    Our impactful and engaging activities can help you evidence meeting Gatsby Benchmarks 3, 4 and 5.

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    INCLUSIVE GOVERNANCE

    Less than 2% of school governors are aged under 30. Meaningful learner voice is key to strengthening the talent pipeline.

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GET IN TOUCH

Get in touch if you'd like to know more about how our programmes can help your school and your learners.

    Your details will be kept on file and we may send you ad-hoc opportunities to volunteer or updates on our activities. We promise not to spam you and you can opt-out anytime.

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