At Unloc we’re always really keen to get feedback on our courses and services, and make sure that we’re meeting the needs of those we work with, both the young people and professionals alike. We recently caught up with Assistant Head Teacher of The Central Foundation Girl’s School, Saiqua Zaneb, to hear her thoughts after we delivered our Leadership Academy and Bootcamp to her students at the school.
Thanks so much for talking to us today Saiqua! How did you hear about Unloc and our Leadership Academy and Bootcamp?
It’s my pleasure, one of the areas I lead on promoting in our school is student leadership, while I was on Linkedin an Unloc advert came up, where Hayden was promoting the Student Leadership programmes that Unloc provide. It really resonated with what I wanted to achieve with the students at Central so I got in touch with Hayden – who was super-efficient, and we had a conversation about what I was looking for and how Unloc could help.
Do you think schools do enough work like this with their pupils?
No I don’t. I think schools need to start to open the dialogue about leadership early. Young people are told they should display leadership skills, but many students cannot articulate what this tangibly means. How do you actually demonstrate being a leader? Or build the confidence within your own abilities to do so? This kind of work ensures that students start to engage with the conversation about leadership that they don’t always have time to focus on in lessons. The work that Unloc did with our girls’ really helped develop their character and confidence in their own thoughts processes and abilities.
After the initial conversation what made you decide that these courses would be right for your students?
Hayden kindly arranged an initial conversation with several of the staff that organise and deliver our programmes. There was no pressure whatsoever. It was an opportunity to share the work I have been doing on building student confidence and skills. We wanted a programme that allowed students to engage in the conversation and develop their confidence. The team at Unloc were very receptive of what I wanted, and also brought a lot of experience of what they felt would work to the table too. The idea that the students went through the programme and worked towards an end point where they utilised all the skills they have learnt. l It was this collaborative approach that I really valued, and I felt my input was valued and I was really listened to. Often in schools, teachers can become like wallpaper and so it’s great that we can utilise the perspectives and experience of an organisation like Unloc to strengthen our own work and also provide a fresh approach for the students.
How did you find the sessions themselves?
The sessions were so engaging and enlightening for the girls. They were extremely well organised and pitched appropriately for all the levels. We were lucky enough to run three different programmes through Unloc:
Student Council Training – Our student council is in its embryonic stages but they really want to make a change. This programme allowed the students to look at the logistics of running a student council but also what it meant to lead! They were given the opportunity to focus on projects they wanted to lead on. The girls appreciated the space to be creative and talk through their challenges.
Student Leadership Bootcamp – our year 10 girls loved their experience of the Bootcamp and many described the activities as being fun but also opening their minds – allowing them to start to think. They felt the Unloc team who delivered the session really ‘got them’ and what they liked the most was the space to creative in their thinking and practise their presentation skills. They really appreciated the time and opportunity for feedback, as they don’t always get the time to do so.
Student Leadership – Despite the challenges of the lockdown, Unloc delivered a 12 week programme to our year 12 students. Ben was amazing and the girls loved all the sessions. The communication before the sessions with materials were also great. The experience the girls had of looking at and unpicking different theories of leadership and looking at the skills were great for the students, they found the programme engaging and particularly enjoyed the presentation they prepped for – commenting about how much it helped develop their confidence.
How did you find the Unloc team to deal with?
Everyone at Unloc were so great and full of energy the whole time (more than we can muster!) their ideas were so fresh and the whole programme was very well structured and organised. From the beginning I felt listened to in terms of what I wanted to achieve through these sessions. The PR resources were also great. The delivery of the leadership programmes allowed the students to stay engaged, especially difficult a challenge as this was during lockdown and there were lots of distractions.
What feedback did you receive from the students about the Academy and Bootcamps?
The students in year 12 have felt inspired and it has really helped develop their confidence. They appreciated the space to have conversations and be open about their opinions. They loved the presenter! I keep hearing about Ben! But some of them have said that they go away from the session and think about what it means and how they can use it. This is very impactful.
The student council – we would really love another session to help them develop their ideas even further. They wanted to have the training at the beginning of their journey on student council but felt it really helped ‘reframe’ their thinking and motivated them to look for the change they could influence when they came back from the lockdown. The girls want to focus on challenging stereotypes and how we can do this as a school.
Year 10 students – they will be using these skills to completed their student leadership accreditation silver. They have been inspired to look at their local community and the wider world and have approached the school to see what we can do with them to support their projects.
What would you say to any school or college considering using the Leadership Academy or Bootcamp with their own young people?
I would say find the money and go for it! We budget for many things in a school but this really was an investment in our students. Their confidence and enthusiasm to lead on change and challenge ideas has developed. They seem to have overcome some of their fears about presenting to an audience and many have asked to be involved if there are opportunities coming up. It has been very positive indeed for our students, and wonderful to see their confidence and abilities grow. We would absolutely use Unloc again without a second thought.
Could your school, college or organisation benefit from our Leadership Academy or Bootcamp?
Click here to get in touch and have a chat about how we can help!
For more information on the Central Foundation Girl’s School click here.
