What is our committee programme?
Our Committee Programme is our new initiative aimed at empowering young people across the country to lead change in their local communities and tackle educational inequality. It is focused on providing leadership opportunities, social entrepreneurship skills, and bespoke coaching to young people in order that feel equipped to lead one of our local branches.
The programme runs on annual cycle, with volunteers being recruited each Spring for each of the seven posts on the local branch committees. The programme consists of:
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Three days training (split across the year), focused on general social entrepreneurial skills, specific skills and building knowledge of current issues within education.
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Monthly group coaching (a short session with everyone fulfilling a certain role, i.e. treasurers from all branches).
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Termly one-to-one coaching session to support the volunteer’s own development
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Peer to peer development sessions throughout the year.
Committee members are expected to use the knowledge and skills they have develop to run their local branch of Students4Students, including fundraising, recruitment and liaising with partner schools.
The programme is facilitated by a number of experts who have experience in education, running social enterprises and in being effective leaders. It designed to blend learning with practical opportunities to use the new skills whilst making a positive impact on society.
Why we have launched our Committee Programme
Empowering young people has long been an important goal of NGOs, and it is a goal
Students4Students shares too. We have always relied upon volunteers at each of our branches taking leadership roles, but we decided it was time to formalise this in order to recognise not just the effort and skill that goes into doing this effectively but also the opportunity these roles can be for young people to develop themselves.
The programme is thus a reflection of six years of learning, adapting and understanding what makes an effective leader of change. We want to use this knowledge, coupled with some outside expertise, to build a cohort of young adults who are able to lead effective change in their local community and fight educational inequality.
The seven committee roles
Each local branch is comprised of seven posts they are:
Responsible for overseeing the running of the branch and supporting the other committee members with their duties.
Responsible for ensuring the branch maintains a healthy financial position, keeping accurate financial records and providing financial updates to the central S4S finance team.
Responsible for supporting tutors once recruited, addressing any concerns including tutor welfare.
Responsible for running the recruitment process of new tutors for the branch.
Responsible for maintaining the relationships with partner schools for the branch.
Responsible for overseeing the fundraising efforts of branch, including grant applications.
Responsible for coordinating the branch’s social media presence and organising awareness raising events for the branch.