Our Mission
Creating brave spaces that empower young voices
and inspire society to develop safer communities.
As we have all experienced at some point in our lives, it is extremely difficult to come forward
and disclose something, even to our trusted friends, and especially face to face, which is,
unfortunately, why many people stay silent.
For young people, the social rules that govern their lives (Dr Carlene Firmin, 2017) can make coming forward even harder. We can, however, start the conversation by listening to our young people authentically
and providing them with brave spaces.
There is immense potential in providing young people with these spaces and we operate with an awareness of their varied life experiences, striving to respect and understand their social rules.
Our Vision
Safe communities safeguard futures.
“Severe bullying made me leave full time education at the age of 13. Having experienced the effects of this firsthand drives my passion for improving the life trajectories of young people, and encouraging them to speak up and get support.”
Stephen Willoughby
Co-Founder & CEO
“The world has changed immeasurably. Student concerns are changing and evolving along with society, which is why we must encourage young people to share their experiences online, at school, and in our communities, and collaborate with them to implement a preventative response.”
Jason Tait
Co-Founder
Student safeguarding in changing times
The Student Voice was created by a team that believe in creative approaches to contextual safeguarding, thinking beyond traditional outlooks.
Firstly, we seek to overcome barriers to reporting so that all young voices can be heard. Secondly, we empower young people to be courageous and responsible by giving them the tools to advocate for their community and participate in keeping their community safe. Lastly, we seek to understand young people’s experiences, so schools can expand their safeguarding culture and prevent future harm in their communities.
Working with schools, colleges, MATs, and local authorities
The world has changed immeasurably in the last few years. We understand that student concerns are changing and evolving along with society, which is why we are proud to continually develop our platform to provide opportunities for young people to share their experiences in their online world, at school, their communities, and at home.
Our platform is helping schools to tackle the full range of issues, including mental health concerns, child-on-child abuse, bullying, harassment, and county lines. Schools are enhancing real-time safeguarding provision and creating positive learning opportunities for young people to take into adulthood. By doing so schools will both safeguard communities and safeguard their futures.
Our Values
COURAGE
We seek to provide young people with the opportunity to stand up for their community.
RESPECT
We seek to validate the views of young people.
GROWTH MINDSET
We seek to continually learn and grow from the experiences of young people.
RESPONSIBILITY
We seek to develop young people who will contribute to making their communities safer.
Our founding team bring different skillsets to the business:
Stephen Willoughby
Leads IT and development. Stephen experienced severe bullying at school, resulting in him leaving formal education early. This drives his passion for developing entirely child-focused tech to empower young voices.
Jason Tait
An experienced and active DSL and Director of Pastoral Care, whose passion for Contextual Safeguarding and preventative approaches to safeguarding young people led him to join forces with Stephen to create The Student Voice.
Eve O’Connell
Leads growth and operations. Eve works closely with Jason and Stephen to build a unique way to empower young voices, authentically. Eve collaborates with our schools to achieve effective student engagement and ensure the satisfaction of our DSLs.
We all share a passion for driving positive change with a strong focus
on building genuine relationships with likeminded people.
