Back in October I was given an amazing opportunity to attend The Academy held by WAGGGS and WOSM Europe. In November, I was able to fly to Krakow Poland to attend along with 5 other members from the Girlguiding UK.

From the minute I landed in Poland, I met Scouts from a variety of countries whilst at the train station. They all had their national neckers on so I was able to spot them easily. We made our way to the hotel which the event was taking place in. I was finally able to meet with the other girls from the UK which I hadn’t met before. We took a nice trip into the city to have a look round as well as find the donuts I heard others talking about.

The second day at the Academy is where all the fun began. We were put into peer groups that we remained in for the rest of the week. Each day we would come together and share what we had learnt and share facts about our own organisations. I had some really amazing people within my group! I hope I can keep in contact with them going forward.

The sessions I got to attend were run by amazing facilitators from WAGGGS and WOSM. There were so many sessions to choose from it was a very hard choice. I attended a few sessions about Growth and what barriers we face. I also attended a session about mental health in which I found some new calming exercises for when I’m in a heightened moment.

The session which surprised me the most was an Intro to Gamification. The idea is how can we add game like features into a context which doesn’t have them. Gamification within guiding and scouting is seen to be the starting point of it all in how we collect badges. We also are gamified when we shop in the supermarkets or use learning platforms that reward us. I almost didn’t go to the session, but Lauren took me along and it turned out the be one of the best sessions I went to.

We got to celebrate our countries at international night. What a night full of dancing and exchange. I got to try many national sweets from the countries as well as a lot of cheese! We offered a variety of British snacks including biscuits, quality street and Scottish tablet. We took part in a traditional Polish dance and the Scots taught us all how to dance the Gay Gordon. It was such a great night of culture and celebration.

On the final night we were able to take part in a race across Krakow. As peer groups we had to complete a series of questions hidden around the city to collect points. It was a great way to explore Krakow. Each team had its own item to swap and whilst on the mission we had to swap cards with all the teams to collect extra points. I was in charge of swapping these cards and I’m not saying that I’m amazing but we were the only team to collect all the cards. We won the challenge! It was amazing and in true guiding spirt we were awarded regional neckers from Krakow.

My favourite part of the Academy was meeting amazing people from all over Europe and learning so much about their organisations.

Some of my favourite findings were:

• In Norway it is common to camp in Ice Caves in -30.
• In many European countries you would be considered retired from guiding at the age of 30 (People found it hard to believe that in the UK we have leaders of all ages).
• Many countries have multiple organisations that all come under an umbrella organisation (Imagine all countries and regions having their own syllabus, completely different uniform and their own promise but they all were members of Girlguiding UK too).
• Finally, just how small some organisations are. We are so lucky to have such a large number of girls join us in guiding, I spoke to the Swedish who this year celebrated having 80,000 members nationwide.

Overall, the memories I made at the Academy have been amazing! I loved every second of it and I learnt so much I hope to implement into not only my Guiding journey but my day-to-day life. So thank you to the Chief’s team for allowing me to go on this amazing journey!

Find out what our Inspire coordinators got up to this summer

”Essex West Inspire’s very first opportunity to meet members came at the EIJ in summer 2024. Each day’s activities linked to a different pathway theme. At the start of the week we were stationed outside the staff canteen and met lots of new faces while bumping into some we hadn’t seen for a long time!

Halfway through we moved our location out into the main village where non staff members could also find us, this was fantastic as we got to engage with younger members and tell them all about what Inspire was for and how they could be involved when they are older.

On the last day we were in the staff quiet space which provided an opportunity for more in depth conversations about Inspire including with the Olaves of Australia, we had a brilliant session sharing the difficulties we face and brainstorming ideas to grow the involvement with Inspire.

The EIJ was also fantastic place for some of the Inspire coordinators across Anglia to meet and get to know one another. We had a great time being a part of the Jamboree and we’re very excited for the next one!”

Becca, Essex West coordinator

”This summer I was able to attend Essex International Jamboree. This was my first time at the event as well as my first time as staff. I took part as sub camp staff whilst also helping with the Inspire stand.

The jamboree overall was an amazing experience even though it was too hot all week. I was able to take part in some archery, watch many acts over at the main stage, swap some badges with guides and scouts from across the world, whilst also completing the sub camp challenge.

At the Inspire stand we were able to chat to many adults and young people about what we do and who we are. We were also able to meet the Olaves of Australia. Olaves are also 18-30! The girls mentioned that they are trying to find out about what 18-30 year olds do all over the world with guiding. We were able to share our experiences with each other and connect our ideas to hopefully improve on what we are doing in the UK.”

Danni, region coordinator

This month’s pathway is ‘leading the way’ which is all about developing leadership skills. There are so many amazing leaders within Girlguiding helping girls from 4-18 year olds to try new things and reach their potential. But building leadership skills, is not just for the girls, it can be really empowering for you too.

Being a unit leader isn’t the only way we can be ‘leading the way’, you could try leading a one-off activity in your specialist subject with a unit or on a pack holiday. If working with adults is more up your street, you could look at any county roles that are available where you can support volunteers to improve their own guiding experience.

Leadership skills can give you greater confidence, improve the way you communicate, and can help to inspire others to take initiative and make better decisions for themselves as well as for others around them.

If you’re from Hertfordshire, and would like to take part in creating a new and exciting Inspire challenge, where you can meet other Inspire members and share adventures together, contact the Inspire team on inspire@girlguidinghertfordshire.org.uk

Hi there! My name’s Katie and I’m the new apprentice for Girlguiding Anglia.

I joined as a marketing and communications apprentice in April 2023, and I can’t believe that I have already been working here for over 3 months. It has been a great experience so far and I love the fact that I am getting a Level 3 qualification at the same time as gaining experience working within marketing. The team at Girlguiding Anglia are amazing and I love working with them all.

So, why did I choose an apprenticeship?

I chose to apply for an apprenticeship because I wanted to gain additional qualifications whilst also working at the same time. I was home educated during covid, and my GCSE exams were cancelled two years in a row meaning that I had to wait until 2021 to sit my exams as I didn’t get predicted grades. This meant that I didn’t have the opportunity to do A Levels or any further education at the time. Whilst being at home, I was also training for my favourite thing, climbing! In 2022, I was selected for the GB Junior climbing team, and I travelled to lots of competitions around the world competing for Great Britain. My highlight was making the semi-finals of the Youth World Climbing Championships. It was an incredible experience and one I’ll never forget!

This year, I decided that I wanted to gain additional qualifications so I thought that an apprenticeship would be a great option for me as there are so many incredible benefits.

I’m finding my apprenticeship great because I’m gaining valuable experience and getting lots of guidance and support from my manager, Letty, whilst achieving an A Level equivalent qualification. I’m getting to do a variety of tasks meaning every day is unique and filled with different opportunities. It’s amazing that I can achieve this apprenticeship by working 30 hours per week and working at home one day a week. Another benefit is that I have a tutor who comes into the office to help me with the learning side of the course.

I’m looking forward to completing my apprenticeship in July or August 2024 and seeing what opportunities arise for the next steps in my marketing career.

I also got the opportunity to speak to Sophie over at the Girlguiding Anglia region shop to see how she was getting on with her retail assistant apprenticeship. This is what she had to say:

‘My journey with Girlguiding Anglia started in the summer of 2021 when I joined the retail team through the government’s Kickstart scheme, set up to help young people find work post-pandemic (although I could argue it started as a Rainbow!).

It was an enjoyable placement and the team made me feel welcome so when the opportunity of an apprenticeship came up, I was keen. I quickly became used to the environment but learning new skills and aspects of the role more in-depth has certainly kept me busy. A lot more goes into being a retail assistant and running a Girlguiding unit than I realised!

Through this apprenticeship I’ve felt supported by my mentor/manager and tutor to learn at my own pace in a way that works best for me. I’ve gained valuable experience but have also had time to grow in my abilities and confidence. It’s nice to have a routine again.

Now that I’m nearing the end, I’m looking forward to what’s next. The qualification I’m hoping to earn will help me in future. I hope to be here long-term, continuing to improve and getting to know our customers, volunteers and members.’

Thank you, Sophie! Good luck with finishing your apprenticeship!

If you are thinking about what to do next in your education, I’d recommend going for an apprenticeship! They are a great way to learn, get more knowledge and experience, and earn money all in one role. I’d love to hear about your apprenticeship journeys too.