HOW TO REALLY IMPROVE STUDENT WELLBEING, FOR THE LONG TERM Your students are experiencing more wellbeing challenges than ever before. And that’s getting in the way of their learning and exacerbating their mental health. With so many students to support, and stretched budgets to work with, it’s easy to be tempted by the plethora of wellbeing apps, e-learning and digital solutions that have boomed in recent times. But you know, or sense, that these so-called “scalable and affordable” digital options aren’t all they are cracked up to be. You’ve seen how the push to increase digital in student’s l ..read more

IS YOUR CAREERS SERVICE MODEL MISSING THIS VITAL STEP? Let me start by saying that I am in no way implying careers services don’t have a purpose – they are an essential part of helping students to work out their next steps and how to get there. This article is about exploring how much careers services talk to students about their purpose in life… which is a big but important responsibility. THE TRADITIONAL CAREERS VIBE The impression I’ve always got from my own education and working in the higher education sector is that the first point of call in a careers service is helping students to pick ..read more

HOW SUPPRESSING VULNERABILITY IS PART OF THE PROBLEM Have you heard anyone in your circle lamenting that “Students just don’t seem to cope as well these days.” They may have even thrown the word ‘snowflake’ into their nostalgic musing. Every generation is shaped by their particular brand of education and cultural upbringing. This blog explores some of the factors which may be having negative impacts on our students and how creating a positive counter culture of vulnerability may be the solution. WHAT ARE STUDENTS STRUGGLING WITH? There’s a very long list of challenges for students in the highe ..read more

THE SECRET TO GETTING YOUR STUDENTS ENGAGED AND EXCITED TO LEAD THEIR OWN CAMPAIGNS You got into the student movement because you love seeing young people advocate for change and making the world a better place. But sometimes you get into the academic year and realise that you are doing a bit too much of the leg work on your ‘student led’ campaigns. You are conflicted balancing that fine line between helping your students and making sure that they take ownership of their campaigns. You deserve to have the best of both worlds. In this blog, you will see how adopting a coaching style makes you a ..read more

READY FOR AN OFFICER INDUCTION ACTIVITY THAT HAS VALUE FOR THE WHOLE YEAR? Elections are over and you’ve recruited your new sabbatical officer team. Hurrah! Now it’s time to get thinking about officer induction training to prepare them for the long road ahead.  You want some team building activities which are fun but actually useful, right? Something to help the officers form strong professional relationships for the year ahead.  In which case, a team values exercise might be just what your sabbatical officers need – personally and as a group.  WHY SHOULD YOUR SABBATICAL OFFICER ..read more

Understanding your personal values is crucial to becoming a better leader and a well rounded person. This is because whether you realise it or not your values are constantly guiding the way that you make decisions. Knowing your values can therefore help you to make choices and act in ways that align with your beliefs and goals – rather than clashing, which can be a source of stress and discomfort. HOW CAN I EXPLORE MY VALUES? It takes time to get to know your values, what they mean to you and how they shape your behaviour. This article outlines a number of useful exercises which can help you t ..read more

WHAT IS A MEDITATION PRACTICE? Meditation is a practice that has been around for thousands of years and has been used by various cultures and religions for physical, mental, and spiritual growth. There are many different types of meditation but what they all have in common is taking time to consciously focus of one’s attention. ARE MEDITATION AND MINDFULNESS THE SAME? The terms meditation and mindfulness may be used interchangeably by some, but there are subtle differences between them. Mindfulness is a practice of paying attention to the present moment without judgment. It may involve being a ..read more

As the new year sets in it can be a great time to think about your goals for the year ahead. However, setting good goals can be a tricky business as shown by the number of people who ditch their new year’s resolutions by February. COMMON REASONS WHY GOALS FAIL: Unrealistic – either the difficulty of the goal is too high or the time frame to do it in is too short. Unmotivating – many people set goals that they don’t really care about because they feel it will please someone else or because it’s a goal they are ‘supposed’ to want. Vague – when goals are open ended or generic then it can be hard ..read more

THE FIVE STAGES I INCLUDE IN ALL OF MY PROGRAMMES In this blog post I want to show you how I design training in a 5 step learning cycle which ensures that your students engage with the process, develop confidence and go on to actually use what they learned in their work and studies.  COMMON BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE TRAINING Training is all about helping people to learn and apply practical skills. When you think of effective training, I hope that you are imagining that your students are:  engaged throughout  learning new skills  learning the associated knowledge to back it up ..read more

THE SKILLS YOUR IDEAL TRAINER NEEDS TO DELIVER HIGH IMPACT PROGRAMMES Choosing a good training provider can feel like a minefield. There’s so much on offer and plenty of providers who can talk the talk. Have you ever booked in a session that seems to ‘tick the box’ but your students come out of the other side not actually being able to implement what they learned? The waste of time and money becomes a real headache and can put you and your students off of engaging with training all together. In this blog post, I want to help you to understand why some training doesn’t cut it so that you can av ..read more