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!
We recently held our amazingly successful 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.
This year’s event was bigger and better than ever and we met some truly amazing and inspiring young people who are making positive change in their colleges up and down the country.
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.
Today we hear all about Joseph Rowlstone’s experience
“Hey there! My name is Joseph Rowlstone, I’m a third year catering student and Student Governor of the East Kent Colleges Group, and recently I had the honour of being involved in the Festival of Student Governance 2022, hosted by Unloc during the Association of Colleges Annual Conference in Birmingham.
In the lead up to the event, I didn’t quite know what to expect. Still new to the Student Governor role, and fresh from the Student Governance Induction program that the Education Training Foundation offer in association with Unloc, I arrived in Birmingham open to whatever the experience would bring! And I have to say my expectations were surpassed.
Upon arriving at the Ibis Hotel, I was greeted by the absolutely lovely Unloc staff: Tony, Ryan, Hayden, Ben, Katie and Stacey. They were all welcoming, accommodating, constantly helpful and made the whole event incredibly interactive, which was absolutely essential as conferences such as this can be incredibly daunting from an outside perspective, which they handled brilliantly.
On the first night we started with multiple different networking activities: going around a room of around 60 fellow Student Governors and filling in a sheet of achievements with as many different names as possible, getting to know everyone we could!
It was also fascinating to see the lengths people had travelled for the conference! We had students from up in Newcastle, to students from down in Cornwall (who travelled 6 hours!), everyone that I met that night was eager to learn, excited to meet new people, and most importantly; everyone wanted to make a difference.
This passion for changemaking was supported and encouraged by the guest speakers that evening: hearing from Hayden Taylor, who had been in the exact position we were all sitting in and had turned his time as a Student Governor into a career that is now thriving; hearing from Steve Frampton MBE- who spoke with such passion about the importance of student voice; both inspired and empowered us and our voices, both so passionate and genuine.
On our second day, we arrived bright and early at the AoC Conference (well, rainy and early that day!). Being a part of that conference was an incredible opportunity, I think all of us felt quite privileged to be there, representing student voices- the most imperative voice when it comes to governance and running colleges as a whole, so within that privilege was a fair bit of pressure too!
From dazzling opening performances to our own isolated meetings specified to being student governors, it was a very fulfilling learning opportunity. During our sessions we covered how to ask effective questions, how to get the most out of meetings, how to fight back the imposter syndrome you get when first joining board meetings and replicating a meeting environment to put those skills into use.
We also partook in live debates with each other to practice our debating skills, with topics ranging from Cats vs Dogs, to whether Matt Hancock should be allowed in the jungle- it made us think on the spot, think decisively, and listen to arguments of others with respect.
I also joined a breakout session regarding “Good practice in youth social action”, which I left feeling incredibly inspired. Hearing from college students, turned social action apprentices, was the most inspirational session I’d been to, hearing how much of a difference they had made not only within their colleges, but their wider community too was just awesome.
I want to thank those students for sharing their passion and their achievements, as that’s something I’m going to take with me and work towards within my own college environment.
Since the conference, I’ve been incredibly inspired! Meeting other student governors with such impressive and inventive ideas of how to improve their colleges, students who have so much pride in their colleges, yet see the flaws, and want to help improve on those issues- fully embracing the Critical Friend ideals of governing without even realising it. I am so excited to see the changes they make and the joy and passion they all bring to their governing roles!
I can confidently say I’ve come away inspired, more knowledgeable and confident in regards to governing and being present in meetings than I was before, and have also come away with new friends and contacts.
It was an absolute honour to attend, thank you to Unloc and to the AoC for making it such a helpful, informative and worthwhile event.
Speak up. Be the change you want to see. Student Voice Matters!“
As you know we recently held 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.
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.
Today we hear all about James Tinson’s experience
My name is James Tinson and i’m the Student Union President and a Student Governor for Derby College. Recently I attended the Festival of Student Governance as a delegate. I was expecting a somewhat familiar Workshop and informative event, so it definitely was different, and in a good, as well as exhilarating way.
I actually felt engaged and involved, listened to, regularly spoken with and acknowledged, which I can say from other events in the past; is not always something you’d see, so it really was brilliant for me.
I found the networking dinner and guest speakers incredibly electrifying. I regret not having gotten fully stuck in, but nonetheless, I met a lot of amazing individuals and discovered so much more about the other student governors out there, and discovering what they were all doing in their own colleges.
The guest speakers specifically were incredibly awe-inspiring, all proving and providing solid proof that anything we ourselves set out to achieve can, and will, inevitably be within our reach, so long as we all keep trying our best and constantly aware of the opportunities that present themselves.
The facilitators and Unloc staff were very kind and informative, extremely understanding as well as forthcoming, it was also very well balanced with guidelines as well. We were informed immediately of things to consider and remember, so it wasn’t difficult knowing what was expected of us in the realms of behaviour.
The experience of the Association of Colleges Annual Conference was that it even managed to surpass all I’d experienced and witnessed the first day. It broadened my awareness even more so, around what can and should be when we have the abilities that we so luckily have been provided by our peers; that there are truly many, many individuals out there who wholeheartedly wish and aspire to provide us all with fairer opportunities to succeed.
I also found the exercises and workshops on Day 2 extremely eye opening, in the same sense that guest speakers provided further strong inspiration to myself and I’m sure many others present.
The exercises, provided me with a better sense of understanding and newly found confidence of the ways I can perform the duties expected of me, not only how to do those duties, but to also ensure we are heard and listened to.
I took a lot away from the event, be it ways I could be engaging the day to day of my role or how to be successful in more mature environments like board meetings.
The event also provided me with the final piece of confidence that I’d found myself lacking as of late in my role, allowing me the motive and extra assurance of how I can make full use of the platform provided to me, as well as the bridge to creating an even more supportive and engaging environment for Students.
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.
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.
Today we hear all about Harrison Ricketts experience
“When the Heart of Worcestershire College offered to send me on a 2-day residential trip to Birmingham for the Festival of Student Governance, my honest first thought was relief it was only going to be under an hour train journey; compared to other student governors, who would travel 5 hours and more to go!
I was so excited to attend and meet so many like-minded people across the country in similar roles to myself. I felt that this would give me the perfect opportunity to gain experience in how governance works in other colleges, as well as learning how I might be able to support my own passion projects.
The Festival of Student Governance provided exactly that, a platform for student governors to learn and interact with one another.
Once I had arrived at the hotel that was fully booked by Unloc, I was greeted by a friendly team of Unloc staff. They were extremely helpful, and they made it an exceptionally smooth experience of registering and finding my hotel room.
During the training, the Unloc staff were really engaged with the activities that we were all doing, ensuring that everyone was taking part, learning, and having fun. I felt that the Unloc staff did an amazing job keeping us all safe, whilst also being able to attend the Association of Colleges Annual Conference and exhibition!
Obviously, networking was a major part of this experience. We were given time to just chat with everyone and learn where we came from, and what we have experienced as student governors.
There were, as you might expect, a lot of LinkedIn connections popping up! Throughout the 2 days, we got to see several guest speakers, where they spoke about their area of expertise and spread advice for the new, and more experienced student governors.
We got to see faces such as the founder and Managing Director of Unloc, Hayden Taylor, the Senior Policy Manager at AoC, Eddie Playfair; the CEO of the AoC, David Hughes CBE; and so many more!
Being able to be present at the AoC’s annual conference was a massive privilege and honour! I was able to absorb so much knowledge surrounding education and governance, whilst meeting so many interesting people from a multitude of backgrounds.
Being at this conference made me feel as if I was able to have a profound influence as a student and representative. It gave me the opportunity to share my beliefs and thoughts on current issues within education such as environmental impact, student voice, and enrichment activities.
On the second day of our training, when we were in the AoC’s annual conference, the student governor training was given their own room where we took part in exercises like holding mock governor meetings and playing the roles and responsibilities of different governors.
All the student governors also got to attend one of the conference’s breakout sessions, where we could learn about specific areas within governance and education.
I took part in “A Strategic Approach to Enrichment in Colleges” delivered by AoC Sport, the Chichester College Group, the Northern Council for Further Education (NCFE), and the University of Derby. Other sessions discussed areas such as Higher Technical Qualifications, Inclusive Curriculums, College’s Green Skills, Youth Social Action, and the Curriculum of the Future!
After attending the Festival of Student Governance and the AoC’s Annual Conference & Exhibition, I feel more confident in my role as a student governor and re-energised to put all my efforts into improving my college.
Furthermore, this experience has left me with knowledge I may never have received, as well as long-lasting connections with student governors and education leaders across the country.
Thank you to Unloc and all the partner’s that made this experience possible, I would fully recommend this to all student governors everywhere – especially future student governors of Heart of Worcestershire College!“
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!”
The energy in our Changemaker Studios: Portsmouth space was electric recently as students from schools across Portsmouth gathered together for our second Council of Portsmouth Students Summit 2021/2022.
This in-person event is a great chance for the participating students to mix and get to know their peers from other schools in the area, as well as developing their skills and working within their Action Groups to bring about change in their school and community.
This year the Summit included representatives from 11 institutions including Admiral Lord Nelson School, Castle View Academy, Charter Academy, Mayville High School, Miltoncross Academy, Park Community School, Portsmouth Grammar School, Priory School, St John’s College, Trafalgar School, and The Portsmouth Academy.
The day included icebreakers, energisers and activities led by the students themselves, with the rest of the day tailored to the students’ thoughts, opinions, input and feedback.
Our Unloc Programme Facilitator Jessi, and the facilitator of this year’s CoPS, delivered a ‘masterclass’ on Confidence and Public Speaking. We considered what ‘confidence’ means to us, why confidence is necessary, and introduced the ‘Three-Legged Stool of Self-Confidence’, discussing how each leg representing Skillful, Responsible and Appreciation needs to be balanced.
We focused a little more on the Appreciation topic, and why, as British people, we tend to find it hard to accept appreciation and to say ‘thank you’. Whether we’re embarassed, don’t believe the compliment, or don’t know how to respond, Jessi encouraged everyone to share compliments with the members of their group, and asked the received to show their gratitude with a “thanks!”.
We dived into Public Speaking, considering the different styles, famous public speakers, and the positives (and negatives) of their style of communicating. Jessi challenged everyone to give public speaking a go in the form of ‘Just A Minute’ – speaking continuously for one minute without hesitation, deviation, or repetition on a subject of their choice!
Our first Guest Speaker of the day was Fungayi Zinyemba, the Manager of the Mental Health Support Team in Portsmouth, who discussed how MHST are working with their schools to provide help and support with the mental health and wellbeing of themselves and their peers.
It was great to see the students asking questions and starting conversations about mental health, whether that be their own, their friends, or general concern for how mental health is treated in schools and their communities.
Fellow Unloc Facilitator Larissa led an Activity on Debating, where the fundamentals of debate were covered before the students participated in a ‘moving debate’, using the space to show their opinion on hot topics. The students got stuck in, sharing their thoughts on the matter, with many of them utilising the public speaking skills we had covered earlier in the day, confidently sharing with everyone in the room.
Our second Guest Speaker of the day was Lauren, a former CoPS Student from Portsmouth High School who was involved in the forum last academic year. Lauren was invited to speak to this year’s cohort about her personal experience whilst in CoPS and the actions and changes her group were able to bring about in her school and community.
After Lauren’s inspiring talk, we split off into our Action Groups! These represented key themes or current issues, these were:
The students were given time to share their priorities going forward, led by the Action Group Leaders. Each group then presented to everyone else.
It’s amazing to know the actions these young people have already been able to implement, as well as their plans for the near-future to continue to bring about change in their school and community!
It was a truly inspiring event, and wonderful to see so many young changemakers from across Portsmouth gathered together and sharing their ideas in our new Changemaker Studios: Portsmouth space!
We can’t wait to see our CoPS members at the next Summit!
As the school term comes to an end it’s the perfect time to start planning for the new year, what better way to start 2022 than by empowering your school or college students with one of our comprehensive Unloc training courses or bespoke training days.
We offer engaging and effective training in Student Council, Student Unions, and how to be an effective and impactful Student Governor to all ages from Primary, to Preparatory, Secondary, and through to Further Education.
These roles play an import part in the lives of young people through their education journey, but so few young people are prepared or trained on how to handle this responsibility, or how to use it effectively.
Our training courses and day events are the perfect way to introduce these concepts, roles and responsibilities to the young people at your school or college.
Best of all we can tailor this to your needs, providing a full training course, or an engaging one-off day event. With up to 100 students covered at a time we can provide training for large groups as well as smaller ones.
Our renowned interactive training up-skills, empowers, and helps prepare students to effectively fulfil their roles as student leaders and representatives of the school or college body.
The training will be tailored to the needs of your student group, providing you with a bespoke course or day that fulfils the needs of your young people.
How do we start?
We organise a digital needs analysis with you or your colleagues beforehand to identify the focus for the training programme. This allows you to have input and ensures we meet the needs of each school, college, teacher or tutor.
What does the training consist of?
The training is usually made up of 4 interactive skills based workshops, incorporating Student Voice best practice. Each workshop lasts approximately 1hr 30 mins. You, and your colleagues can select the 4 workshops of focus based on our needs analysis beforehand.
Our workshop topics include:
Our workshops and day events are carried out in a fun, engaging and energy fuelled way to get young people excited and invested in their roles and the topics we cover. But don’t just take our word for it, here’s a comment from Wendy Stanger from East Coast College:
“Excellent interactive and friendly training that motivated students to become leaders and make a difference to their college community. Would highly recommend!”
Find out more about these courses and events by clicking here.
Let’s have a chat!
There’s no commitment required if you want to get in touch and just have a friendly chat about your needs, we’re always happy to help.
Get in touch with us using our webform by clicking here
Or call: 02394 008 180 or email hello@unloc.org.uk
This November Student Governors from around the country will be coming together to develop their skills and learn best practice at the Festival of Student Governance.
Held at the ICC in Birmingham – this annual event brings together young people from across the UK for governance training that ensures they are knowledgeable, supported, and prepared for the responsibility being given to them in their role.
But that’s just what we say… what does a Student Governor really think?
We spoke to last year’s Student Governor for Exeter College Tom Matthew, who previously attended the Festival, to hear his experience in his own words:
“I was a Student Governor from 2019-2020 at Exeter College in Devon, and I wanted share a few words about how Unloc’s Student Governors Conference helped me to become a better governor.
When I started out in my role as a Student Governor, like many new Governors, I didn’t really know what to expect! I was suddenly sitting in this fancy board room surrounded by all these MBEs, CBEs, Professors, Lawyers, Accountants, and local leaders…
I wasn’t really sure how I could bring value to a room already packed with so much knowledge, experience and expertise?!
A month or two into my term, I attended Unloc’s Student Governor Conference, and it was an incredible opportunity to connect with a whole load of likeminded people from across the country who were going through the same experience as me.
As we went through the programme, I quickly learned that the value we bring to board meetings is found in the intimate, direct and thorough experience we have of the education that the board is supporting the college’s leadership to improve.
We are a critical piece of the puzzle of good governance. Attending Unloc’s conference helped me to better understand what that puzzle piece looks like.
Another challenge I had was that I didn’t really understand the broader educational context that my college was operating in. It felt like most of the big decisions the board was being asked were on these massive, long term, estate projects – which were tied to different government schemes and programmes.
I was in no position to know whether these projects were a good deal for the students at my college, because I was looking at things through the narrow lens of my own short experience at the college. I didn’t know how things were likely to change years down the line, and I didn’t really understand how the college’s plans related to national efforts to shift Further Education provision in certain directions.
Unloc’s conference helped me to open my eyes to the ‘big education picture’, that is, how education funding and provision has change over the past few years, and where it is headed. This helped me to better understand the role my college can play, and how we can make decisions that are in the interests of students today, and students in years to come.
The conference gave me a renewed confidence and a sense that – through being a student governor, I could make a real difference to the experience students had at my college.
I was now connected to a network of student governors from across the country, and a team of people at Unloc, all of whom were ready to support me to become the best governor I could be.
My term as student governor was only one year, so I had to hit the ground running, and that’s not easy to do when you have no idea what you are doing, but Unloc, and this conference in particular, helped me to find my feet and make the most of what was a seriously amazing experience.
Are you a Student Governor interested in attending the event?
As a delegate you’ll become equipped with practical skills and knowledge, hear from inspirational guest speakers, and develop abilities that will empower you to deliver positive influence and change at your college.
Our dynamic one day conference includes overnight accommodation, interactive workshops, bespoke training, inspiring guest speakers and a networking dinner.
What’s the schedule?
Delegates will check into the Ibis Birmingham New Street Hotel from 5pm on Monday 15th November. At 7pm that evening there will be a networking dinner event where all attendees can meet, get to know each other, enjoy a meal and hear from our inspirational guest speakers.
The next morning on Tuesday 16th November delegates will enjoy breakfast, then head to the Birmingham International Convention Centre for a 9am – 4pm conference event, filled with engaging workshops, training, lunch, guest speakers and immersive activities.
Thanks to a heavily subsidised ticket we are pleased to offer delegate passes at £75 each. This includes the conference, all food, entertainment, and overnight accommodation.
The only thing not included is travel to and from the conference!
Delegate passes are offered on a first come first served basis. There are a limited number of places available – so be sure to reserve a place sooner rather than later.
Young Person interested in attending the event?
Speak to your college Principal or Clerk to find out if you’re able to join in and attend, we’d love to see you there!
Education professional looking to book a place/places for your students?
Simply click here to use our simple online booking form.
This November Student Governors from around the country will be coming together to develop their skills and learn best practice at the Festival of Student Governance at Birminghams International Convention Centre!
Unloc in partnership with the Association of Colleges and supported by The Blagrave Trust, have organised this unique opportunity to raise the profile of student governors and train them up for their roles at the United Kingdom’s largest further education event.
The Festival of Student Governance brings together young people from across the UK for governance training that ensures they are knowledgeable, supported, and prepared for the responsibility being given to them in their role.
They’ll develop their leadership abilities and attend workshops that will focus on key skills and practical knowledge for governance. Importantly they will also have the opportunity to meet and network with clerks, principals and other student governors from around the country.
Delegates will become equipped with practical skills and knowledge, hear inspirational guest speakers, and develop abilities that will empower them to deliver positive influence and change at their college.
Our dynamic one day conference includes overnight accommodation, interactive workshops, bespoke training, inspiring guest speakers and a networking dinner.
Delegates will check into the Ibis Birmingham New Street Hotel from 5pm on Monday 15th November. At 7pm that evening there will be a networking dinner event where all attendees can meet, get to know each other, enjoy a meal and hear from our inspirational guest speakers.
The next morning on Tuesday 16th November delegates will enjoy breakfast, then head to the Birmingham International Convention Centre for a 9am – 4pm conference event, filled with engaging workshops, training, lunch, guest speakers and immersive activities.
Thanks to a heavily subsidised ticket we are pleased to offer delegate passes at £75 each. This includes the conference, all food, entertainment, and overnight accommodation.
The only thing not included is travel to and from the conference!
Delegate passes are offered on a first come first served basis. There are a limited number of places available – so if you or your student governors are interested in attending the conference, be sure to reserve a place sooner rather than later.
Young Person interested in attending the event?
Speak to your college Principal or Clerk to find out if you’re able to join in and attend, we’d love to see you there!
Education professional looking to book a place/places for your students?
Simply click here to use our simple online booking form.
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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