The Student Voice Team Q & A

In celebration of their fifth year anniversary, we posed a series of reflective questions to the founders about their journey so far, their successes, and the future of The Student Voice. 

We asked Eve O’Connell

Looking back on the past five years, what has been the most rewarding moment for you personally, and how has it shaped the future direction of The Student Voice?

When I hear the stories of the cases where young people have reached out with devastating circumstances, and because of that, they are able to get the support they need earlier. Reaching out for help takes such a huge amount of courage, and every time I hear their stories, it cements that even though we may be a small company, we’re making such a positive impact – and that gives me more drive and motivation to keep pushing our mission. 

As you reflect on the progress of the organisation, where do you see the next five years taking The Student Voice?

Over the next 5 years I want this platform to be available to as many children across the country as possible. Many people I speak to wish they had this available when they were in a vulnerable situation or being bullied at school, myself included. The impact it’s had already shows how much young people need new ways to come forward to get support. 

We asked Stephen Willoughby

What has surprised you the most about the journey of The Student Voice since its founding?

I’m constantly surprised at how responsible and caring the majority of the younger generations are, despite negative news often tailored to promote a bad image of young people. Also, how effective the empowering and partnering element is by promoting young people  to be active bystanders amongst an ever challenging and fast moving modern world.

Can you reflect on a particular moment or achievement over the past five years that made you feel proud of the impact The Student Voice has had?

Above and beyond providing targeted support within schools to who may need it, but being able to provide an authentic and meaningful opportunity for young people to have their say to inform societal leaders from the lens of a young person on their terms, instead of being solely reliant on traditional means which would generally be from your middle ages voter not providing the full context of a given situation.

We asked Jason Tait

What was the original spark or inspiration behind starting The Student Voice, and how has that vision evolved over time?

There are 2 things. One- working as a designated Safeguarding Lead you spend a lot of time reacting to situations and you have to do that and that’s okay because you help support people who have experienced harm or are experiencing harm and you put them in a better place and you address the issues and concerns, but it can also be frustrating that you’re not able to prevent future harm and so in 2017, I was lucky to have Carlene Firmin and Jenny Lloyd come to my School to do  a workshop on Contextual Safeguarding which is all about understanding the context in which harm happens and that was a real lightbulb moment because it showed me that there’s a path way in which you can start to understand how harm happens, where it happens, and once you understand it you can prevent future harm from happening and the key to doing all of that is understanding the voice and lived experience of the young person and children under your care and so that was the real spark that led us into developing The Student Voice framework.  

Looking back over the last five years, what moment or milestone made you feel like The Student Voice was truly making a difference?

That’s quite a hard question to answer! When we had individual cases where schools had reported how children and young people were able to share information through the tool, which they wouldn’t normally be able to share through any other medium, that was really humbling and really satisfying to know that there was genuine good use being made of the tool. I think also when we started working with Local authorities and Councils because doing this has meant that we’re able to bring different services together under one framework to safeguard and support children and young people in a growing number of communities. That’s probably the biggest watershed for me. 

What’s next for The Student Voice? 

The Student Voice is not just raising awareness. Our mission is to equip children, young people and essential services with the common tools, language, and frameworks they need to move beyond understanding risk, by boldly responding to it, with meaning, connection, and hope. We all strongly believe in the power of brave spaces and that young voices are not only heard, but elevated.

When courage meets compassion real change begins. Our mission is more urgent and more powerful than ever, and so the future for The Student Voice involves continuing to advocate for children and young people’s voices, continuing to support and safeguard them, and continuing to work in partnership with a range of stakeholders towards preventing future harm for children and young people.

As The Student Voice celebrates five years, the journey continues with an enduring commitment to making a positive difference in the lives of young people.

Here’s to the next 5 years!

🎉 Happy 5th Birthday, The Student Voice 🎉