Dixons Academy Trust, Liverpool
A girl-led programme to co-design confidence-building activities tackling issues like sexism, bullying and mental health, giving girls a voice in shaping their school culture.
This project ran from July–December 2025, delivering Girlguiding inspired enrichment activities across 3 Dixons Academy Trust schools in Liverpool. Over 7 months, facilitators worked closely with groups of young people and staff in each school to co-create sessions shaped by girls’ experiences and priorities.
Working with 25 girls, the project explored the barriers they face, like sexism, low self esteem, and mental health challenges. Girls had a space to speak openly about what affected them and design creative, confidence-building projects that made a positive impact in their school communities.
Girl voice was vital at every stage of the project. Girls led the way on everything, from exploring ideas and identifying challenges to delivering the final outcomes.
'Supporting young girls with confidence and self-expression is vital work, and I’m touched by the passion and commitment Girlguiding has inspired in our students.' - Teacher
Identifying barriers and creating tools for change
Across the 3 schools, girls described challenges including low confidence, feeling outnumbered or unheard, and facing overlapping issues including bullying, stereotypes and social anxiety. Through facilitated discussions, the groups chose topics they wanted to tackle, which included:
- Bullying and its links to other issues like racism, homophobia and sexism.
- Sexism and misogyny in school culture.
- Mental health, confidence and social anxiety.
Focusing on these topics, girls raised awareness, influenced their peers and enacted change in their schools.
Girls led on a range of different approaches:
- Posters sharing personal experiences.
- A presentation on sexism to deliver to Year 7, 8 and 9 students, with the goal of raising awareness and challenging harmful attitudes.
- A mental health PowerPoint which will be used in assemblies and personal development lessons, and feed into the schools’ personal development offers.
- Girls had a meeting with senior leaders to share their insights and recommend improvements. Schools committed to using the resources in future assemblies, curriculum planning and policy reviews. One school established a regular after‑school girls’ club to continue building confidence and sustaining student voice.
Outcomes and impact on girls
The project strengthened girls’ confidence and gave them a real voice in shaping school culture. Their ideas are already influencing policies, teaching and student support across all 3 schools, and will continue to do so.
Girls' feedback tells us they found the experience fun, empowering and genuinely meaningful. Every girl said she enjoyed the workshops, felt listened to and respected, and liked taking the lead on the direction of the project. Almost all found the sessions a safe, comfortable space where they could share their thoughts openly. Most girls said they learned new skills and felt their wellbeing and confidence improve.
Many appreciated having a girls‑only environment, and told us they were more motivated to come into school on days when the project was running.
Building on these outcomes, we’re exploring how to expand the offer to reach even more girls across Dixons Academy Trust.
Our aim is to deliver Girlguiding inspired experiences across the whole academy trust over the next academic year. Each offer will be shaped around the school’s individual context and the girls’ priorities.
'Thank you so much for everything you and your team did to support the students. Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive; from conversations with the girls, it’s clear they valued the sessions and the space to build confidence and voice.' - Principal
girlguiding.org.uk © Girlguiding 2026.
Registered charity number 306016.