What the Student Voices and Young Voices Have Been Doing

Keep up to date with everything our Student Voices and Young Voices groups have been doing. Check back regularly for the latest updates! This is our latest update written in November 2024 looking back at the previous 6 months. 

Student Voices

Since spring, our Student Voices have been keeping busy. We held our first in-person meeting during Volunteers Week back in June with lots of fantastic idea shared and a podcast idea discussed. Watch this space…

As a result of the in-person meeting, it was decided to have more regular catchups, so we’ve been meeting online every month since. Sessions have included feeding into TPT’s Education work as well as guest sessions such as one about the CFVI and how the student voices could support this work in the coming months.

As part of our ‘Vision for VI Education’ campaign, our Policy Team spoke to students regarding their experiences of education and have included some of their quotes and case studies as part of this.

We are continuing with our Access and Assistance for All Campaign which is tasked with getting more FE Colleges to ensure they are being inclusive for all users when it comes to accessibility and the use of assistive tech. The students have attended meetings, delivered webinars and written content for the website. 

Finally, one of our students shared their experiences of being an international student, read Khansa’s Story: Getting the Most Out of Studying as an International Student.

Young Voices  

Our Young Voices have been super busy over the Summer. We received a fantastic session from UK Parliament in July which provided the students with information about parliament, who to contact when campaigning and some important debating skills! 

We’ve met in person a few times too; once at TPT’s Hub in July where they heard about the CFVI and got a tech masterclass including making some fun AI videos. We also had our second Young Voices residential in August involving abseiling, rock climbing and working on their campaign projects.

The ‘Breaking Barriers in Sport’ Team have now got a page on our website where you can find out all about their campaign and show your support. They have also met with Goalball UK’s youth forum to share their ambitions and collaborate on a resource for PE teachers to ensure they are being inclusive with their teaching when working with BPS students.

The ’Accessible Retail Campaign’ group have also been busy creating content for our website. Check out the Accessible Retail group’s page here to find out more about what they’re up to. Both groups also presented to TPT’s Board of Trustees to provide them with an update on their work which received positive feedback and support and really enhanced their confidence and communication skills.

In addition to their project work, the Young Voices have also helped support the wider work of the education team by contributing to new resources such as Top Tips for starting Secondary School.

To find out more about our wonderful Student Voices and Young Voices visit our Meet the Student Voices and Meet the Young Voices pages. If you are interested in becoming a Student Voice volunteer, all the information about what it involves and how to apply can be found here.