University of the First Age

Young People's Activities

UFA activities for young people are designed to be challenging, enriching and exciting learning opportunities. They are delivered by UFA trained adults and older groups of young people and it is the approach that the trainer takes that make these activities stand out from others, both for the young participants and also for those leading the learning. UFA activities builds on everything we know about what makes good learning and the results are clear to see in the motivated, confident and engaged young people who can evidence the skills they achieve as well as enjoying learning. Our programmes are organised in to three themes of 'Experience It!', 'Lead It!' and 'Grow It!'. Please have a look at the leaflets below or check out the individual programmes in the menu on the left.

Experience It

Lead It

 

You can see UFA activities taking place in schools, in community venues, libraries, museums; in fact they can be any where that learning can take place. They happen at different times as well, they could be outside of the school day such as Summer Challenges, and UFA after school clubs, or as part of school such as a Super Learning Day. Developing potential is at the heart of UFA activities and the adults involved from teachers, mentors, volunteers and parents believe in the possibility for every young person to succeed.

The UFA brand has become important for young people, they know when they see (or wear it) it what to expect of the learning that takes place and they know they will be supported by adults and other trained young people who we call Peer Tutors.

Adults running successful UFA activities usually start with training. It could be specific to a particular activity such as running a Summer Challenge week or a Super Learning Day. But you can also find a wide range of activities on our resources pages which you can use. If you are just starting out then you might want to contact us to find more out about how to set up your activity.

Whether it is part of you extended school activity, you are looking to raise achievement and standards or you are looking to provide stretching activities for young people the UFA can help. Why not check out the range of activities or take a look at the case studies to give you ideas of where to start. If you are a local authority or cluster group why not start a UFA in your area and implement a strategic approach to school improvement and community regeneration.

Grow It - YoUFA Network

  • Peer Tutors


    UFA Peer Tutors are young people who help other young people to learn. Peer Tutors are trained and supported to take on this role and form an essential part of the learning team. There are many types of peer support and a UFA Peer Tutor role has learning as its focus.

  • Student Leaders


    UFA Student leadership courses give young people the opportunity to develop and explore their leadership skills based around a series of modules that include 'Leading Self and Others', 'Accountability', 'Project Management' and 'Shaping the Future'. The UFA was originally commissioned by NCSL to co-develop and co-write the leadership programme Students of Today, Leaders of Tomorrow, trialling it with over 700 young people. It mirrors the Head Teacher Leadership Course.

  • Super Learning Days


    Super Learning Days are fun days where groups are taken off timetable and a variety of learning to learn activities are experienced. We also have examples of 'themed' SLD's, for example focusing on Maths or creativity.

  • Clubs


    UFA clubs are based around challenges, they are fun and active learning experiences for primary and secondary aged young people.

  • Summer Challenges


    Summer Challenges are usually week long experiences lasting about 25 hours. The challenges can vary from a series of different days based on a theme to a week long investigation into one area for example around the world in a week or a murder mystery week.

  • Development


    The UFA is committed to the development of young people as part of the learning team and supporting them to have a voice and influence in their own learning opportunities. 'Taking ownership' builds on the themes of 'I can lead it! and 'Give me a voice' and we know through our impact data that young people have successfully taken on the role of planning, delivering, and evaluating their own UFA activities.

  • Leading the Learning


    Lead Learners is a programme designed to support Peer Tutors to make the shift from supporting other young people's learning to taking a more active role in leading and facilitating the learning.

 

Young People's Activities

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