Colleges should step up to serve on social action

by Kyle Tagg The Chief Executive of national organisation Step Up To Serve has called for more colleges to take a ‘whole-college approach’ to social action. The suggestion from Charlotte Hill comes in the build up to Social Action Week, which will see more than 150 events take place across the UK. “We are really going to push next week to ensure that as many people as possible get involved with the project,” Ms Hill explained. “We have organised lots of events and product launches all over the country to try and reach out to as many people as possible.” As well as spreading the word through these events, Ms Hill is keen for more and more colleges to adopt the social action systems run by East Kent College and others. A survey of English colleges has shown that 59% of those who responded encourage social action. “There are lots of things that colleges can do to help us,” she said. “We encourage them to take a whole-college approach to social action, so that as many young people as possible get the opportunities.” “We really encourage the embedding of volunteering so that it is seen as the same as work experience.” “There is extensive research which has highlighted to us the dual benefit of social action and volunteering. The skills that young people will pick up prove to be invaluable in college and in the workplace.” Social Action Week begins on Monday 21 November, and you can get involved using #iwill. Kyle Tagg, a student at Exeter College, is a work experience volunteer at this year's Annual Conference.