1. Unit meeting activities and skills builders
This training session is about unit meeting activities and skills builders as part of the Girlguiding programme.
You are welcome to adapt the training session to suit your venue, requirements, learner needs and the context of your training, ensuring you’re retaining the key learning points.
The accompanying training plan contains the key learning points and activities for each slide. In these PowerPoint trainer notes you will find background context and/or suggested delivery ideas to help you as a trainer as appropriate.
Insert your name here!
Today’s trainer: 1

2. Aim
To introduce unit meeting activities and skills builders to Girlguiding leaders as part of the programme. 2

3. Objectives By the end of the session participants will have:
Understood what unit meeting activities are and how they fit into the Girlguiding programme.
Understood the structure of skills builders and how they fit into the six themes.
Discussed how to support young members, in the different sections, in gaining skills builder badges as part of the programme.
Discussed how to support girls in selecting the right stage for them and how to support girls on different stages in the same unit. 3

4. Unit meeting activities
Theme specific
Section specific
Variety of timings and challenge levels
Work in large or small groups
Facilitate girl-led guiding
Discover new topics
Easily adapted
Additional information for trainers:
Did you know that unit meeting activities have been tested with more than 15,500 girls? They’ve been amended and refined using their feedback, and their leaders. 4

5. Unit meeting activities
“We didn’t think girls would want to do this activity – but they loved it and learned a lot.” Volunteer, on road safety unit meeting activity
“They all participated and enjoyed it, building confidence in even the shyest girl.”
Volunteer, on storytelling unit meeting activity 5

6. Activity Skills builders In groups, you will be given images of:
six theme icons
twelve skills builders and their descriptions.
Work together to match the skills builders to the relevant themes and descriptions. 6

7. Twelve skills builders
Reflect
Network
Innovate
Communicate
Feel good
First aid
Camp
Explore
Make change
Influence
Lead
Live smart
Additional information for trainers
These are the answers to the activity.
Theme: Know Myself (blue icon):
a) Reflect - beliefs, values, morals, cultures, identity
b) Network - teamwork, goal-setting and building healthy relationships
Theme: Express Myself (bright pink icon)
a) Innovate - Science, engineering, design, and creativity
b) Communicate – public speaking, questioning, non-verbal techniques and different audiences
Theme: Be Well (purple icon)
a) Feel good - physical and mental health
b) First Aid – kits, coping in an emergency, incident response and casualty care
Theme: Have Adventures (green icon)
Camp – tents, fires, outdoor cooking and site management
Explore – planning routes, navigating, travelling and staying healthy while exploring
Theme: Take Action (orange icon)
Make change – identifying issues, fundraising and community action
Influence – campaigning, debating, lobbying and persuading
Theme: Skills for My Future (light pink icon)
Live smart – life skills, cooking, DIY, money and careers
Lead – vision, direction, inspiration and negotiation 7

8. Six stages There are twelve skills builders.
Each skills builder has six stages.
Each stage has five activities. 8

9. Which stages for which sections?9

10. Five activities per stage
Skills builder overview card
Skills builder activity card 10

11. Activity What are you thinking now?
Write a scenario or challenge relating to skills builders in your unit on a piece of paper.
Fold into a paper aeroplane and throw!
Problem-solve together.
Additional information for trainers
If leaders struggle to come up with their own scenarios or challenges, you can use the below scenarios to discuss this slide’s learning points with them.
Most of the girls at your unit are interested in doing the Communicate skills builder. However, two girls really want to do Innovate. How do you decide which skills builders to run?
A girl joins your unit midway through the age range for your section. She is also new to guiding. How would you introduce her to skills builders? 11

12. Moment of reflection 12 Suggested delivery ideas for trainers
This is a moment for participants to pause and consider all they’ve heard and discussed during the training. Below are a list of questions that may help participants to reflect:
Write three new things you learnt.
What was the main surprise?
What will you implement first?
What is next for you? Write it down or tell the person next to you?
Write a postcard to yourself with the three key things you learnt.
Take a photo of your favourite activity or resource
Tweet #EveryGirl what you’ve learnt
Share on your local Facebook page your excitement of what you’ve learnt
Think what you would say to another leader about this module. 12

13. More resources and training
E-learning & webinars
Give it a go!
Other local events
Guidance notes for leaders
Chat to other leaders 13