Experiential Empowerment for Students
Inspire, Energise & Empower … for good
Kick Start the Academic Year
Just imagine. You’re a few weeks into the start of the academic year … and there’s a buzz around the place. ‘Nothing unusual there,’ you’re thinking, ‘It’s the same every year. It never lasts beyond the first few days.’ Yes – but this is a buzz with a difference. This is a buzz with amazing energy that lasts right through the year.
Impossible? Read on.
Limited Expectations
The students in your school can achieve so much. You know that. But do they? So often, the answer is ‘no’. So many pupils, through no fault of their own, labour under depressingly limited expectations of their own potential. Imagine the difference if they came into school with a positive, determined outlook – focused on what they were going to achieve in the new academic year.
Imagine the difference too that this positive approach would have on the teachers. Imagine how motivated they would be when faced with children who felt energised, enthusiastic, and yes, empowered – ready to kick off the new academic year armed with the mindset to make it happen.
After a day or two the energy fades
This is where I help. My name is Olivia Beardsmore. I’m a schools motivational speaker. ‘Nothing new there’, you may be thinking. Well, there’s a difference!
Maybe you’ve invited motivational speakers into your school before. They’ve been great at stirring up the kids’ enthusiasm … for a day or two. Then, as the daily grind of life takes over, inevitably, the impact, along with the energy, fades.
A unique approach that works for good
The difference is empowerment. I don’t just whip up the children’s enthusiasm with an impassioned speech and then disappear. I actually empower them. I involve them in experiential activities in which each student takes on an apparently impossible challenge … and succeeds.
The benefits of these experimental activities are phenomenal. The visible sense of empowerment energises the whole group as they support each other and actually witness for themselves what success actually means. As pupils discover a new inner determination to succeed, an infectious upswell of energy spreads throughout the school. The children aren’t just taught that they can succeed – they know they can.
You’re an educator. You know how learning works. You know that, when we learn through being lectured, perhaps through a motivation talk, the learning retention rate is rarely above 5%*. But – when we learn by practising and doing, that retention can increase to 75%.
Benefiting the whole school
Taking on Experimental Empowerment for Student will help you to promote your school as an innovative, forward-thinking institution – a dynamic leader in your community, earning you plenty of positive media attention.
Your Experiential Empowerment Options
You can choose from a number of different options –
Kick start the Academic Year
Apparently impossible tasks, such as ‘arrow breaking’ and ‘glass walking’ inspire children to go way beyond what they believed possible. They also learn to support each other in completing the challenges.
Year 9 - GCSE Option Empowerment
Experiential activities give the children confidence and motivation. By accessing their inner determination, they’re then empowered to select their options based on their new-found purpose, passion and power.
Year 11 - Exam Preparation Empowerment
GSCE exam time – a time of anxiety, tension and pressure – someone from family or school, some from within. We challenge the students with tasks they’d never have believed possible, such as ‘arrow breaking’. By achieving these tasks, the students find the strength and empowerment to stand up to the challenges and distractions they’re facing.
Year 13 - Exam Preparation Empowerment Year
Year 11 pupils are preparing for their A’ Levels. This can be overwhelming for young people, causing them anxiety and a fear for the future. The empowerment activities course will help them to overcome these fears and give them the confidence and self-belief they need.
Year 13 - End of Term Empowerment Year
It’s a fallacy to believe that, when children leave school, overnight they become secure, confident adults. This can be a difficult and stressful time for young people. Taking part in our empowerment activities will give the boost they need to their self-esteem and confidence, equipping them with the mental strength they need to face the challenges that adult life throws at them.
“Sometimes we need to leave our comfort zone and be challenged in order to grow. Olivia’s unique programme allows young adults to face what may at first seem like impossible tasks but in a controlled and safe environment. Olivia’s enthusiasm is infectious and her positivity spills out. She has an amazing ability to connect with young people and build an instant rapport. She is one of the best motivational speaker I have come across and her training installs confidence and self-belief in those who undertake her unique training programme.”
Dr Sarita Robinson, Principal Lecturer in Psychology at The University of Central Lancashire
How we work and what we do
How we work
• We work with your students on the basis of two team member for each participating class.
• With a class of 30-35 students, we allocate three hours or half the school day.
• All the resources are provided.
• Not essential, but it helps if we have connection to a projection screen.
What we do
Experiential Empowerment for Students is a powerful way to generate a group of pupils who are inspired, energised and empowered – not just for a few days, but permanently. EES gives students the power to move through the academic year with purpose, direction and motivation.
Pupils learn the power of
✓ paying attention
✓ speaking their mind in their own voice
✓ making the right choice
✓ focus
✓ new beginnings
I present scenarios which give the students the opportunity to tackle apparently impossible tasks – each teaching a significant life lesson. Here are just two
1. Breaking the arrow
In this exercise, the students learn how to break an arrow with the soft part of their neck. Yes – it sounds dangerous and scary, doesn’t it? But, anyone can do this perfectly easily and safely.
This activity is a metaphor which propels the students beyond their limiting beliefs and emotions. It energises their visions and goals, bringing a new awareness of where they would like to be in life.
Time and again, pupils who take part in the arrow break exercise find it
✓ improves their attitude
✓ gives them a higher expectation of their own potential
✓ helps them to take steps towards a more empowered life
2. The Glass Walk
It looks dangerous – but it isn’t. The Glass Walk is a mind-blowing and powerful activity demanding slow, focused moments of extreme concentration. It teaches the value of paying attention, slowing down, thinking carefully and making considered choices – avoiding dangerous or painful consequences.
The Glass Walk experience creates an infectious empowered energy within the year group which permeates the whole school.
The results include
✓ improved self-esteem
✓ self-belief
✓ taking personal responsibility for choices and actions
✓ improved exam results
✓ improved behaviour
Tailor made for your students
Activities such as these often have life-changing effects as pupils gain a clear insight as to where they are and where they want to go. Each experience will be tailor-made to match your budget and timetable.
You’ll find my style is visual, practical, impactful and delivered with humour and charisma. I work with a single goal –
To help every child to be their best self
Find out more about making a massive difference to your student’s motivation levels. For so many students, the prospect of adult life seems uninspiring and limiting. Show them that they are capable of so much more than they know. Get in touch today. I’d love to hear from you.
Call – 0333 700 2525
Email – [email protected]
Or complete the booking form
Note to Teachers: What might look like a dangerous activity has been carefully assessed and is low risk. Each activity is led by a qualified and trained empowerment instructor. You’ll receive a risk assessment, copy of insurance certificate and DBS certificate for each team member.