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Two of the UK’s leading education specialists are joining forces to ensure young people across the country receive the very highest standard of Student Governance training available. Unloc are working together with the highly respected Further Education specialists Rockborn in order to roll out an in-depth programme of events, training and bootcamps for the UK’s Student Governors.
The recently developed Student Governor Changemaker Programme takes young Governors on a personal development changemaker journey. Not talking at them, lobbying them with historical practice or overwhelming them with knowledge, but working with them at ground level upwards, supporting student governors on their next steps, whilst empowering them to be the best they can be in their roles using tangible training and skills – empowering them both as governors and future leaders.
Award winning organisation Unloc have long championed, supported and invested in Student Governors across the FE sector, most notably through their dedicated training and support programmes, student voice workshops, and in-depth governance training for young people. Their mission to create, empower and grow young changemakers has seen them go from strength to strength over the past few years, building a strong reputation for excellence in the education sector, and launching their own Unloc Changemaker Alliance bringing leading businesses together to create opportunities and level the playing field for young people.
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Rockborn boast an impressive track record of success as management and governance consultants in the Further Education sector, long supporting Further Education boards through governance reviews, training, consultancy and project managing mergers in the sector. Rockborn are sector experts with directors and associates having held positions as College Principals, Chief Executives, HR Directors, Marketing Consultants, organisational change leaders, and governance professionals. Their strong belief in the transformational power of Further Education aligns perfectly with Unloc’s mission to empower young people and the next generation, with both organisations understanding the responsibility that goes with such a goal.
Both organisations are experts at cultivating exceptional learning environments, working with staff, boards and young leaders to develop rich and vibrant educational spaces that allow young people to flourish. This partnership initiative builds upon Unloc’s experience with governance training, then elevates and expands it to new heights that allows for a multi-regional offer, reaching more students around the country than ever before.
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The programme will provide the most comprehensive and expansive personal development programme possible, giving college students in a governance position access to dynamic opportunities which include Changemaker Summits run in different locations across the country, building the tangible key skills required to have impact and drive change in their college.
Student Governors will also have access to a series of 3 online digital masterclasses focused on developing students’ wider skill-sets as student leaders and changemakers. Each session will last 90 minutes with a guest speaker and accompanying workshop topics, including Finding Your Leadership Style, Communication, Motivation and Influencing Others and Running Effective Campaigns.
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Delegates will also be invited to The Student Governor Destinations Conference, a one-day event in London held towards the end of the academic year. They’ll explore ‘what next?’ in their Changemaker journey, whether that’s taking their learnings into a second term, or utilising all they’ve learnt as a Student Governor post-College.
They’ll also hear from ex-Student Governors turned changemakers at a national and global level; exploring how to maximise their impact in the next phase of their lives, an ongoing changemaker journey.
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Unloc’s Co-Founder and Chief Executive Hayden Taylor said:
“We simply couldn’t ask for a better partner than Rockborn for our Student Governor Changemaker Programme. Rockborn, as an organisation, has such a strong commitment to creating the highest level of outcomes for young people, and a deep understanding of the education space that we work within.”
“The events being held throughout the year will provide young Student Governors with a wealth of high quality training that sets them on their first steps into leadership, and empowers them with the skills and knowledge they need to impact positive change. Working with Rockborn we’re able to deliver such a high standard of support to these young changemakers in the making, we’re so excited to roll these events out and see them in action.”
Rockborn’s Company Director Peter Ryder said:
“We are really pleased to have created this partnership with Unloc. We share a deep commitment to FE, to the importance of Governance, the Student Voice and the development of young people. We have always seen our role as supporting FE and this is an opportunity to reinforce and develop that commitment. We are excited about the opportunities ahead.”
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For more information about the Unloc Student Governor Changemaker Programmes click here!
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For more information on Unloc’s school and college programmes click here.
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For more information about Rockborn and their services click here.
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Our new series ‘Courses Up Close’ looks more in-depth at some of the wide variety of programmes, courses and bootcamps that we offer at Unloc. One of our favourite courses to deliver is our Unloc Leadership Academy. Available to Secondary Schools and Further Education, the Unloc Leadership Academy is a fun and dynamic initiative to incubate passionate young leaders, support their personal development, and channel their energy into tackling the kinds of social issues faced by young people in their school, college or community.
Young people participating will take part in a core leadership and social action training programme at the beginning of their time at the Academy before specialising in a social issue they would like to address. This could be from a wide range of topics which impact their everyday lives such as Climate Change, Equal Rights, Politics, Homelessness or Food Poverty (for example).
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It’s a brilliant opportunity to get young changemakers thinking critically about the world around them, the issues which impact them and their communities, and to challenge them to consider how they can pro-actively do something to help or improve that problem.
Typically this leads to some fantastic and engaging discussions, peer on peer debates and challenging each other’s views and perceptions – which really grow young people’s confidence and encourages them to speak their truth and feel empowered to do something on a topic they feel strongly about.
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During the course students will learn a wide range of skills including:
Academy participants will then deliver social action projects (usually peer-led presentations) of their own design, focusing on one the priorities they’ve chosen. Often this can include multi-media approaches such as film and video, photography, designing a campaign, slideshow, poster or fundraising.
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Our Co-Founder and Chief Executive Hayden Taylor said:
“Working with young people every day, we know better than many just how engaged and passionate this generation is about social issues, and the problems that many in society face. I don’t think we’ve ever seen that before – young people so engaged with politics and social issues, but if they’ve never had the opportunity to tackle those topics, to learn how to be a leader, or be confident in their own decisons – many don’t understand what they can do personally do to make a tangible difference.”
“Our Leadership Academy is just that opportunity, allowing young people to feel comfortable, confident and empowered to talk about the things that matter the most to them, then working together, utilising the decision making, speaking and communicating skills, and using their new leadership abilities to create something which demonstrate their planning, communicating and creativity to tackle their chosen problem.
“The reaction we get from young people during the academy is always so fantastic to experience, you can see them come alive with ideas and strategies, their minds ticking over in the moment, and the excitement bursting out of them – it’s such a dynamic introduction to Leadership and benefits them enormously in their future.”
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By the end of our Leadership Academy participants will have:
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By the end of the programme, participants will have constructed…
Whether your students have leadership experience already, or are completely new to the concept of leadership, our Leadership Academy will provide an empowering experience for all.
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“We were looking for a dynamic and contemporary leadership programme for our Year 13 Prefects and Unloc more than delivered. They were an absolute pleasure to work with. Their excellent organisation, strong communication and willingness to adapt the course to the needs of our pupils was very impressive indeed. We will certainly be working with Unloc again.”
Luke Rees, Deputy Head, Portsmouth Grammar School
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Interested in a Leadership Academy for your students or young people?
Get in touch for more information and a no obligation chat on how we can help.
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