Unloc & Verizon Business scoop impressive awards at the Better Society Awards 2024
13 June 2024
We’re thrilled to reveal that we and Verizon Business won two awards at The Better Society Awards 2024!
Unloc has been championing Student Voice since our first Student Forum back in 2012. Our forums are for young people across an area to collaboratively work together to drive school improvement in their community.
The forums celebrate and share good examples of where students can facilitate a positive change to their educational environment. They also act to help young people identify and create an action plan to generate more positive changes in their school, college or institution.
Unloc’s very own Jessi Wilson, Programme Facilitator for Leadership Skills & Student Voice wanted to share her experience at the two recent summits which welcomes young people from across the area:
“The Council of Portsmouth Students (CoPS) and its’ sister forum the Primary Council of Portsmouth Students (PCoPS) are just two of the Student Forums Unloc facilitates in Portsmouth. Each forum is bespoke to the area, the institutions involved, and the student representatives who wholly shape their Forum for the entire year.
This term, both forums have had their first Summit, with all the student participants coming together in person!
The Council of Portsmouth Students Summit
The CoPS Summit took place on Thursday 10th November, kindly hosted by Portsmouth Grammar School at their Playing Fields in Hilsea.
CoPS is proud to have 57 participants from 10 institutions involved in this academic year:
The Primary Council of Portsmouth Students Summit
The PCoPS Summit took place on Thursday 24th November, and was hosted at our Changemaker Studios: Portsmouth space within the Portsmouth Guildhall.
PCoPS is proud to have over 100 participants from 14 institutions involved in this academic year:
Both forums were formally introduced to Student Voice, including the UN’s Conventions on the Rights of the Child and our focus on Article 12: “Respect for the Views of the Child”.
We observed how CoPS and PCoPS has evolved over the years and discussed what to expect from this year ahead and the responsibilities of all of the forum members in their involvement in their respective groups.
There was dedicated time at both Summits for the participants to consider change – what they wanted to change in their institution, community or city, and how to go about actioning that: for CoPS, they formed into five Action Groups:
For PCoPS, they began formulate plans to bring about their change(s), using posters, flyers and letters to spread the message.
For CoPS, the Action Groups will meet up several times over the coming year to work together to bring about their desired changes and improve the city for themselves and other young people. There will also be two more Summits for everyone to come together.
Both CoPS and PCoPS will come together at the end of the academic year for Student Voice Celebration (SVC) day 2023 – a city-wide celebratory event in June to share and celebrate all of the (no doubt) amazing work everyone had done over the course of the year!
Each institution group involved in CoPS/PCoPS for 2022/2023 has been presented a framed certificate to show they are a proud participant and to display this within their institution.
Thank you to everyone who attended these days and made our Summits such a success! I thoroughly enjoyed meeting everyone and am looking forward to working together over the next academic year and making real changes in our institutions, communities and the city of Portsmouth!”
Jessi Wilson, Programme Facilitator – Leadership Skills & Student Voice
Last week was our annual Festival of Student Governance event in partnership with the Association of Colleges, and supported by the Blagrave Trust. Each year we welcome young people from colleges across the country to our bespoke training event as part of the country’s largest further education event.
Joining out delegates this year were Principals and Clerks from some of the many colleges who attended, and it was really fantastic to see these young leaders grow and develop their skills, and see the support they’re getting from the educational professionals in their college.
We spoke with some of the delegates to get their impressions of the event and will be releasing some feature articles in the coming days to share their insight.
First up is Mollie Hehir, the Student Governor at Dudley College of Technology.
“Hi! I’m Mollie, I’m the Student Union President and a student governor at Dudley College of Technology. Recently, as part of my role I attended the Unloc Festival Of Student Governance and annual Association of Colleges conference in Birmingham. This was an amazing experience and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I expected to meet lots of inspirational people, to understand more about being a student governor and feel more comfortable in my role knowing I am helping students whilst also developing myself and enhancing my knowledge. This is exactly what I got out of it!
The biggest thing I will take away is the networks and people I have met, most of them are great connections. As I said it was a great experience and everything from meeting the Unloc staff on the first night, to the food and general conference were absolutely amazing.
My favourite part was speaking to all the different people helping support the event at their stalls, understanding and learning about people’s different jobs.
The conference itself was very busy but I spoke to everyone who I thought I wanted or needed to. Everyone was so supportive and seemed to want to talk to the student governors.
I loved being involved in this experience and it was a privilege for us to be on the conference floor. It really was an experience I will never forget.
Day 2 was long and tiring but really interesting. I learned so much from ‘roleplaying’ as a Principal to see how they provide reports to the corporation, to debating over pressing issues, it was a really great atmosphere and I felt like everyone was so friendly.
The most important thing I took away, apart from networking though, was that no question is silly, That I deserve to be there and it is my job to speak up on behalf of students, and to let people know what I believe.
I put that to good use and as that’s exactly what I did at my very next meeting, which was the day after the conference! I challenged our Principal and got the answers I needed to ensure students were thought about, listened to and at the forefront of our agenda.
This is also why I wanted to become student president and governor, I wanted to make change, to be that voice for others, to advocate on behalf of others and ensure students are heard, now locally and nationally.
It has changed my life and I really hope its changed others too. To know I have had an impact, even if that is just on one person, means I know I have made a change.
I have learnt so much, and now speak up – a lot! If you get the chance, for anything, then take it! Even if you are scared or it’s a big thing, do it. You never know if you will get that chance again and that is how I now live, how I think everyone should live.
Do the things in life that scare you, it may be that change that was needed, or it may even lead to many further opportunities.
Student governors, as well as student voice is so important to me and it has been very eye-opening attending the training to make me a better student governor.
I loved everything from networking, to debating, to learning about what youth social action apprentices do in our colleges and community.
I’d just like to say thank you once again to everyone attending the event, you are what made the atmosphere so great!”
We are joining forces with The Marketors’ Trust to launch a new series of Changemaker Challenge events for young people over the next year. This exciting new initiative aims to develop the confidence, aspirations, life skills and entrepreneurial mindsets of young people aged 10-19 from disadvantaged communities across Hampshire and London.
Through a series of inspiring and interactive half day events, young people will get the opportunity to explore their career opportunities, grow and understand their strengths, increase their skill-set, and examine and develop their aspirations.
The events will challenge the stereotypes of careers in business and the marketing sector through role-modelling and actively encourage the growth of employability and enterprise skills.
At each Challenge a member of The Marketors’ Trust will deliver an inspiring talk, using their industry knowledge and experience to inspire and energise attendees.
This will be followed by an interactive Changemaker Enterprise Challenge. Young people will divide into small teams and be set an industry-themed challenge to complete.
They’ll work together, drawing on each other’s strengths and skills to develop their plan, with each team mentored by one of our skilled Unloc Facilitators’ or a volunteer from The Marketors’ Trust.
At the end of the session – each team will present their work, competing with fellow changemakers and demonstrating their ingenuity, critical thinking and enterprise skills.
Changemaker Challenges will be hosted at our dedicated ‘Changemaker Studios’ learning spaces based in London and Portsmouth.
Each event will connect local schools, young people and the wider community with the joint ambition of both organisations to ‘give back’ to society and the community around us.
Managing Director of Unloc, Hayden Taylor said:
“I am so pleased to announce this new series of events in partnership with The Marketors’ Trust. To work with such a prestigious organisation in order to run these powerful and inspiring events is wonderful, and sheer testimony to the difference that can be made in young people’s lives and potential careers when organisations with shared goals join forces and invest in their futures. I know how much young changemakers will gain from this new initiative and I can’t wait to see how they develop and flourish with the support and mentorship of our combined organisations.”
The Marketors’ Trust Chair Phil Andrew said:
“The Marketors’ Trust is delighted to be supporting Unloc in this initiative, both financially and with pro-bono expert advice. We are very keen to be totally inclusive in helping develop awareness both of marketing and the career opportunities that are open to all within the marketing professions.”
In addition to the event, all participants will be supported with free access to Unloc Online’s Careers and Employability e-courses, so the learning continues beyond their time with us
Unloc Online also provides a wide range of e-courses on current topics such as racial justice, inclusion and diversity, global warming, sustainability, youth violence, equal rights, and social action which the young people will also be able to use and benefit from.
About Unloc
At Unloc we have a long history of bringing our skills and expertise to education organisations. Our growing non-for-profit was set up in 2013 by aspiring young entrepreneurs Hayden Taylor and Ben Dowling. Their goal was to empower other young people to be innovative changemakers who seek to build stronger, more positive communities and sustainable businesses.
In the nine years since, we’ve gone from strength to strength, and now operate in schools, colleges, universities and health organisations across the UK, as well as in our dedicated learning spaces ‘Changemaker Studios’ which currently have bases in Portsmouth and London.
To find out more about our wide range of free programmes for young people at www.Unloc.Online
It’s a New Year and a new look! Orange is the new black don’t you know! If you haven’t visited our website lately then you haven’t seen our new look, and all that unloc.org.uk now has to offer, with a range of extensive courses, programmes and day events created specifically for young people in schools, community groups and colleges.
Our look for 2022 may be shiny and new, but our educational offer is steadfastly tried and tested, with our expert facilitators providing the very best support to schools, colleges, and our dedicated Changemaker Studios spaces across the country.
If you’re an education professional seeking to deliver the very best for your students then Unloc is here to help. We are a not-for-profit organisation created by young people, for young people, and motivated by the desire to enable others to become changemakers.
We can organise courses around you and your schedule to help you meet your educational needs. Whether it’s Student Forums, Student Voice, Enterprise Courses, Community Programmes, or Social Awareness (to name but a few), we’ve developed engaging and inspiring events and programmes to ignite and inspire your young minds.
We also recognise that in an ever-changing environment due to Covid-19 and it’s variants, that planning ahead can be difficult, that’s why we’ve re-formed our programmes and courses to be available either in-person or digitally, ensuring that no matter the current rules and guidelines, we’re still able to deliver.
Our programmes and courses include
Take a look at the school and college courses we currently offer by clicking here.
How can we help?
To find out more about what we can offer to your school, college or organisation, get in touch by giving us a call for an informal chat on 02394 008 180.
Or click the ‘Get in touch’ button above. You can also fill out our simple to use webform by clicking here and we’ll come back to you.
There’s no commitment and we’re always happy to talk and see how we can help your young people get the very best out of their future.
Recently we had the opportunity to work with Portsmouth Grammar School to deliver one of our Unloc Enterprise Days with their Year 7 pupils. Our Enterprise Day events typically involve organising large groups of students to partake in an ‘enterprise challenge’ in small teams. These challenges involve young students thinking of ways to start their own enterprise.
We never fail to be amazed at the ingenuity and creativity young people have on these programmes. With fantastic ideas ranging from setting up a chocolate business, to designing a custom shoe company making bespoke footwear!
The students complete the challenge by creating a visual business plan explaining how their business will be viable. They have to examine key aspects of how their company would function, such as branding, marketing, costs and revenues.
This is typically done in groups of 5-7, with key roles assigned to each member of the team. It’s fantastic to watch as we witness the young people take on a challenge they’ve never dealt with before, then embrace that role as they begin to understand how it works in the context of a business setting.
It really does open the eyes and minds of young people who may never have heard of/or experienced that kind of role or job before. The day culminates with the students pitching their business idea to a panel of judges, with the winning team receiving lovely Unloc prizes!
The goal of our Unloc Enterprise Days are to inspire young people to fulfil their potential, expanding their mindsets whilst improving their soft skills such as public speaking, creativity, leadership and teamwork. Not only is it a day of new ideas and challenges, but of much fun, laughter and excitement!
The Enterprise Challenge that the Portsmouth Grammar School students were set was to start their very own custom sock company. From the outset, the students, all from Year 7, were incredibly engaged.
We first watched a short clip of young entrepreneur Brennan Agranoff, the 17 year old who started his own 7 figure custom sock business. Brennan started manufacturing socks when he was just 13 years old, starting his own company called HoopSwagg. After his business really took off Brennan set up HoopSwagg Causes, a charity program to help people in need. Within two years of starting HoopSwagg was a major competitor in the industry, and he now owns a second business also called PetParty.
It was really incredible to see the Year 7 students get so inspired by his success. Often young people are taught about or made aware of these fantastic success stories, and it is examples like these that can have a lasting impact on such talented young people.
The students (in groups of 6) then had the challenge of sorting themselves into team roles, ranging from the CEO, CFO, CMO and so forth. They then had to come up with a brand name, logo design and pattern designs for their socks. Our Unloc staff were absolutely blown away with the depth of creativity and imagination of the students. From thermal socks , to sustainable eco-friendly socks , the students had an array of original creative concepts.
Moving on, the challenge progressed with the pupils being required to create a business plan. Here, they managed to impress us even more with the quality of their business propositions, ranging from subscription models as a means to create revenue, sponsorships to generate investment, social media influencer campaigns and organic outreach to acquire customers.
It was clear that the room was filled with gifted students who had a precocious talent for business coupled with a genuine work ethic.
Finally, the day ended with the students pitching their sock ideas to our judges and their peers. Just when you thought energy levels would drop off – the students truly shone, with copious amounts of energetic, confident, clear and concise pitches by the groups as they unleashed their ideas to the room.
Moments like these are what we at Unloc dream of. We feel so honoured to know we have opened their eyes and minds to the possibilities ahead of them, and to play a part in inspiring society’s future young leaders to make an impact in the world.
Here are some comments from the Year 7 pupils on the day:
“I really enjoyed this lesson today! I have learned so many new things and features for what I could use in my interior design business which I am planning to do. Once again, thank you for coming over and I hope you enjoy your day!”
“We enjoyed it very much and found it inspirational. Thank you for this experience/opportunity.”
“I loved the way we were able to collaborate and work together as a team“
Deputy Head (Innovation) for Portsmouth Grammar School, Luke Rees commented:
“The energy and enthusiasm from our pupils was a true delight to see and the expert coaches from Unloc scaffolded activities and discussions expertly to ensure that all learning opportunities were maximised.”
“This Year 7 day was the start of a leadership journey that these pupils will go on throughout their time at PGS and each session will build on what they have already learned. We are delighted to be working in partnership with Unloc and most importantly our pupils thoroughly enjoyed the day!”
Our Enterprise Day at Portsmouth Grammar School was a fantastic success and enjoyed by both students and our Unloc team immensely. Thank you so much to all the young people who took part, we can’t wait to follow your success!
To learn more about Portsmouth Grammar School click here!
To learn more about HoopSwagg click here!
We’re thrilled to reveal that we and Verizon Business won two awards at The Better Society Awards 2024!
Last Thursday industry professionals from across the country gathered at Verizon’s slick London Hub in at MidCity Place, Holborn, for a Changemaker Moments event on Manufacturing.
During the February half-term and Easter holidays this year, 53 young people, in Year 11 and 12, from across Portsmouth participated in our ‘Portsmouth Inspires’ Programme, funded by NCS.
. We’re looking for a passionate & creative young person aged 16-25 in the Portsmouth or London areas to become our first official social media
We’re thrilled to reveal that we and Verizon Business won two awards at The Better Society Awards 2024!
Last Thursday industry professionals from across the country gathered at Verizon’s slick London Hub in at MidCity Place, Holborn, for a Changemaker Moments event on Manufacturing.
During the February half-term and Easter holidays this year, 53 young people, in Year 11 and 12, from across Portsmouth participated in our ‘Portsmouth Inspires’ Programme, funded by NCS.
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