Amplifying Girls' Voices in London – Case Study

Girls unscripted is Girlguiding’s free, girl-led offer for schools across London. Funded through the Uniformed Youth Fund, it helps us reach girls who may not know much about Girlguiding, or may not see it as a space for them. The idea was simple. Meet girls where they already are, listen to what life feels like, and build what comes next with them.

The work began with pulse checks, our girl voice tool designed as short, creative workshops. They gave schools an easy first way to listen to girls before committing to anything longer, while giving Girlguiding clear insight into what girls needed next. Each pulse check was designed with different routes of participation, so girls could share their thoughts on school life, belonging and wellbeing through talking, writing, moving, choosing or reflecting.

Across 8 pulse check workshops in 3 London schools, 178 girls shared what helps them feel safe, supported and able to take part. The schools included: a specialist SEN school in Hackney, a mixed state school in Lewisham and an all-girls faith school in Southwark. Of the girls who answered the question about their connection to Girlguiding, 83% said they had never heard of it before. Among girls who shared their ethnicity, 79% were girls of colour, supporting our aim to reach girls who are less represented in Girlguiding.

Safety came through clearly. Girls were talking about physical safety, but emotional safety too. They wanted to be trusted, believed and treated fairly. Many felt misread, with emotions labelled as having an attitude or silence mistaken for being “fine”. They also spoke about friendship, judgement, periods, boys, identity and confidence. What came through was simple: girls were more confident to join in when they felt understood.

What girls told us through pulse checks shaped the next stage of the work. Across Prendergast Ladywell School, St Saviour’s and St Olave’s Church of England School, and Stormont House Special School, 82 girls took part in longer-term girls unscripted projects across 6 groups. These regular sessions gave girls time to build trust, try new activities and shape what happened next.

Feedback showed that the longer-term work was landing. 100% said they felt respected and listened to by Girlguiding facilitators, 95% felt their ideas shaped the project, and 89% said the project made them want to come into school, even on hard days. The shift was not that every girl became outspoken. It was that girls came back, joined in through small choices such as post-it notes, voting, creative tasks, music and session themes, and started to trust that what they said would be heard.

Girls described the difference in their own words. One girl said, “It started to make me like Tuesdays.” Teachers noticed the same shift in school. Staff described girls mixing more across friendship groups, becoming more open in conversations, and raising  concerns they had not brought directly to staff before. At Prendergast, one teacher said that after girls unscripted, girls were more confident and would approach staff around school because “now they trust that we’ll listen”.

After building trust in individual schools, the work created a wider moment of connection. Around 80 girls came together for a cross-school International Women’s Day celebration event. For many, it was a chance to step outside their usual school group, meet girls with similar experiences, try something new and hear from women whose lives and careers opened up different possibilities.

Of the girls who completed feedback, 100% felt welcomed and able to take part, and 98% felt encouraged to try something new. Girls spoke about feeling safe, meeting like-minded people and remembering they’re allowed to take up space.

The strongest learning from the project is simple. Trust, safety and belonging are not extras. They’re what make taking part possible. A one-off listening session can open the door, but girls need time to build confidence, connect with others and see that their words are taken seriously.

The learning from girls unscripted is now shaping Girlguiding’s next steps with schools, colleges and youth spaces. We’re using what girls told us to build longer-term projects, support staff to create girl-led spaces, and test new routes into communities where girls are less likely to know or access Girlguiding. This is helping us grow Girlguiding in ways that are easy to step into, genuinely girl-led and built around what girls tell us.