How we’re working to bring the benefits of guiding to more girls, in ways that suit them
We want to help build their confidence when they need it the most, so more girls will know they can do anything.
In May 2025 we launched Girlguiding’s new ambition for 2030 and beyond, to help us reach more girls where they are.
To develop this ambition, we heard from thousands of girls and volunteers, like you, and other organisations. From completing surveys and attending consultation meetings, to workshopping at events and taking part in research. Thank you to everyone who contributed to this work, in every way, big and small.
A bit more about our ambition
Worldwide, the experience of girls today is full of challenges. Girls have told us they’re facing an unequal society, harmful gender stereotypes, appearance pressures and increased sexism and misogyny, and their wellbeing is declining. With advancing technology, a climate crisis and lots of uncertainty, it’s more important now than ever that we’re here for girls when they need us most. Only 1 in 4 girls feel very confident in their life, and about their future.
Our goals for the future are bold, but so were our beginnings
Our strategy, ‘Girls can do anything’ aims to double our size to reach 1 in 10 girls by 2035. Here's how we're making it happen:
- We’ll expand our impact and reach by strengthening and diversifying our offer for girls and volunteers.
- We’ll evolve what we offer to girls 11+.
- We’ll give volunteers an experience that works today and for the future, so that we can grow Girlguiding.
- We’ll work with partners and collaborators to give Girlguiding experiences to girls in communities we don't yet reach, where they are and when they need it the most.
- We’ll overcome the challenges girls today face by being led by girls. Our programme has a proven impact on their confidence and wellbeing, and we hold a unique position as the UK's largest youth organisation dedicated entirely to girls.
Bringing the benefits of guiding to more girls
We know that, on average, girls in guiding are 28% more confident and 15% happier. Positive spaces like guiding are more important than ever, especially at a time when misogyny online, in public and in schools is making girls less safe and negatively impacting their confidence. We want Girlguiding to be a place where everyone is welcome and free to be themselves. We want to bring the benefits of guiding to as many girls as possible throughout the UK, especially to groups who are less represented in guiding, like girls of colour and girls from lower socio-economic backgrounds. To achieve this, we need to expand the ways we deliver guiding and reach girls and volunteers in ways that suit their needs, lives and interests. That’s why we’ve been running Girlguiding inspired experiences, which bring the benefits of our programme to girls outside of traditional guiding settings.
What are Girlguiding inspired experiences?
They are girl-led experiences inspired by the core values of Girlguiding: caring, challenging, empowering, fun, inclusive and inspiring. They’re co-created with girls and school staff, resulting in truly girl-led ideas.
We’re bringing these experiences outside of the usual unit meetings, to reach as many girls as possible. They could happen in places like community groups, at school, online, or in health and social care systems.
The goal is to create a safe space for girls to be themselves, try new things, and build their confidence and leadership skills in ways that are connected to their future ambitions and interests.
They allow us to bring the fun and learning of guiding to girls and volunteers from all backgrounds, in spaces they can access easily, in ways that make sense for their circumstances and stage of life.
These experiences are also a learning opportunity for us. They’re helping us to understand how we can become more representative of girls in the UK today, and expand our offerings to reach even more girls and volunteers where they are.
What have we done so far?
Over the past 2 years, we’ve been on a journey to better understand and connect with girls we haven’t reached before. Thanks to funding from the Garfield Weston Foundation, we were able to run the Regional, Innovation, Inclusion and Growth (RIIG) project between 2022 and 2024, which gave us the opportunity to try something new: working directly with almost 2000 young people to co-create fresh and inclusive ways to experience guiding. We focused on 3 areas, North Wales, Northern Ireland, and Ayrshire in Scotland, and worked with a wide range of communities, including Welsh speakers, LGBTQ+ youth, Muslim girls, young carers, and students with special educational needs. Just as in unit meetings and activity planning where girl voice is central, we co-created these experiences with young people. We listened first, then built the ideas together. This meant that the young people helped shape everything, from the first ideas to the final pilots. Together, we created and tested 3 new activities:
1. Discovery worksheet
A fun, bilingual activity pack for events that helped young people explore who they are and what matters to them.
It was simple and free, which helped us reach over 1,100 young people.
2. Badge kit
A creative toolkit to design badges around causes young people care about. The badge kit was a way for them to use their voice by having ownership over what the purpose of the badge was, as well as the design and how the badges were awarded.
3. Confidence workshops
These were girl-led sessions where young people planned and ran events to build confidence and meet inspiring role models. These were a big hit, with 740 participants and some amazing stories of personal growth.
‘We’ve been involved throughout all of it, planning this by telling you all our ideas. And you’ve listened to us, which I find really nice.’
– Year 7 student, Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy
What did we learn from the project?
- Safe spaces for girls really matter, especially for those who haven’t had them before.
- Young people want to be heard, and when they are, their confidence grows.
- The fun, flexible, and low-cost activities that you help us deliver are key to reaching more girls.
'It’s helped my confidence so now I can be who I want to be. No one can tell me that I can’t be myself.'
– Year 7 student, Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy
The RIIG project is just one example of the many Girlguiding inspired experiences we have been running over the last few years, or we’re currently working on. Each of those experiences has been co-created and delivered in different ways to suit each of the audiences, so no two Girlguiding inspired experiences have been the same so far.
What's next?
As part of our new strategy, we’re exploring how we can reach more girls with Girlguiding inspired offers. These workshops and activities contain all the core elements of Girlguiding, such as being a safe space for girls and increasing girls’ confidence, but may take place in different settings, such as schools. A huge part of this is hearing your ideas. Please fill in our innovation pool survey and select ‘Future ideas and innovations’ in the drop down to register your interest. Taking part will include activities like workshops, focus groups and surveys where you’ll be able to share your ideas and help us develop them further.
Thank you to everyone, volunteers, staff, partners, and especially the young people who made this project possible. You’ve helped us take a big step forward in making sure that all girls know they can do anything!
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