7th June
Blog Stories
When my eleven year old son rang me at work the other day, my heart sank. A call at work normally signals a disaster. Detention, the dog eating the remote control, the list is long and varied. But this time he was quick to get to the point. “Small or big potatoes, Mum?” That
19th May
Blog Stories
I’ve been thinking quite a bit about mindset recently as I prepare to run my first public race. Up until now I’ve plodded (literally) around local roads and lanes. Some days I’m confident I’ll complete the course in a reasonable time, whilst on others l fear I can’t make the distance. Why is it that
13th May
Blog Stories
A few years ago I had the very great joy of leading a group of young people over several years as part of a national rollout of UFA’s Lead Learner programme. They were drawn from across the country to pilot a model whereby they led extra-curricular clubs for their peers, culminating in a national learning
22nd April
Blog Stories
Empowerment. Positive role models. Teamwork. Social skills. Better communication. Improved confidence. Leadership opportunities. Social and academic benefit. Post Ofsted priority. Sustainability. Potential. Lifelong learners. Mentors. Perseverance. Creative thinking. Co-operation. These are just some of the words and phrases which have come out in the applications to win one of our Peer Tutoring programmes. At UFA,
24th March
Blog Stories
It’s that time of year again, spring has sprung and as the temperature rises (slowly…) so does our excitement for summer! “Will it be a scorcher? Can I get tickets to V Festival? Have I sent back my application to become an NCS Team Leader?” Well, we can’t predict the summer, we’re pretty sure
14th March
Blog Stories
“What’s the biggest mistake you have ever made in your career?” A big question at any point in life and one that I found myself having to tackle on the hoof just a couple of weeks ago, as part of a café conversation with a group of Birmingham City University students. It was great to
8th March
Blog Stories
Win a UFA Peer Tutor Training programme for your school! We have been training Peer Tutors for 19 years and see its impact in school and community settings up and down the UK week in week out. We are keen to spread the word further and as part of our charitable work are offering one
29th February
Blog Stories
I have been a teacher for over a decade and one thing I have realised is that ‘being brave’ is one of the most important characteristics to have. If we are not brave and don’t take risks then we don’t push boundaries and we definitely ‘always do what we’ve always done’! Anyone who has worked in
23rd February
Blog Stories
Early on in my career at UFA (and that’s a while back now!) I remember our Founder, Sir Tim Brighouse, reminding us of an African proverb ‘It takes a whole village to educate a child’. This week with the latest Social Mobility Index (31/1/16) now available I have reflected back on that proverb when looking
17th February
Blog Stories
I’ve been privileged to work with two similarly vulnerable cohorts of young people over the last 3 months – one group through the Virtual School in Derbyshire and another at the CE Academy in Wellingborough who serve young people permanently excluded from mainstream schooling. Both groups have trained to become Peer Tutors for their
