In the Spring 2025 Social Action Accelerator Pilot (SAAP) cohort at Kingsmead School in Enfield, students worked to raise awareness of the mistreatment of detainees in UK Immigration Removal Centres (IRCs).
Kingsmead School
Social Action Accelerator Pilot – Spring 2025
Social action is work carried out with the goal of improving society. This can be done for any range of social issues important to those carrying out the action, including fundraising, awareness campaigns and petitions. At The Diana Award, during our 12-week Mentoring Programme, while we look at career skills and workplace readiness, we also aim to install active citizenship by encouraging young people to think about what social issues are important to them and what they can do about it.
In the Spring 2025 Social Action Accelerator Pilot (SAAP) cohort at Kingsmead School in Enfield, two Year 11 students took the lead, along with six of their peers. Their aim was raising awareness of the mistreatment of detainees in UK Immigration Removal Centres (IRCs). With the help of a £250 grant provided by #iWill, they were introduced to different methods of project management, budget management as well as an introduction to youth-led social action.
The problem
Both young people leading the project showed a deep understanding of the need for social action, as well as a drive for making a change. They undertook extensive research into IRCs, where they found that in the year ending March 2025, the UK government reported 21,000 people were detained at a UK IRC, a 10% increase from the previous year. Previously, a maximum stay at an IRC was 3 months. This has recently been raised to 6 months, leading to longer stays in the centres. It was decided early in the project that the issue that would be focused on was not the existence or need for these IRCs, but rather the human rights violations occurring within these centres.
Reports from the Independent Monitoring Board and issue specific charities such as AVID Detention repeatedly documented inadequate healthcare, extended isolation in single cells and instances of excessive force. During the research phase, the young people looked into official Home Office figures and whistle-blower footage from the BBC Panorama exposé in 2017, alongside discussions with an immigration lawyer working within these centres.
The project process
Over five months, we met monthly for two-hour sessions at Kingsmead School. The students were dedicated to brainstorming, research assignments, drafting interview questions and assembly presentations, and polishing logistics and run-throughs. After realising a petition drive wouldn’t be feasible given the time and resources, we pivoted to peer education through assemblies and social media. Students wrote their own slide scripts, designed their own graphics, launched their own dedicated social media accounts on the topic and coordinated a full day at The Diana Award’s central London office for filming. Our mentors helped troubleshoot technical checks, provide coaching and guidance on how to interview, refine question lists for the interviewees, all whilst ensuring sessions remained youth-led.
While the project was led by the two young people who had applied to the SAAP programme, as the months went on, they recruited six of their peers, all who had previously completed the 12-week Mentoring Programme. These consisted of a wide range of roles: research positions, potential speakers, stakeholder outreach, technical support and assistance with filming.
Skills development
Young people were able to successfully put their project management skills programmes into practice. There were multiple scheduling setbacks involving exams and staff availability; however, the students were able to handle all of these and still meet their aims and goals. There was also a deep development of public speaking skills, from both the assemblies delivered as well as the facilitation of the recorded discussion with two immigration lawyers. The young people more than held their own with two industry professionals and were able to host this discussion to a high level of ability.
Another skill that was developed to a high degree was outreach. Along the programme, multiple different stakeholders were contacted to be a part of the project. These ranged from relationships developed within their school to get the assemblies delivered, to reaching out to MPs and immigration lawyers to participate in the discussions.
Evidence in improved confidence and public speaking skills was clearly seen in the young people during the filming of their discussion with two immigration lawyers. The young people were prepared, well-spoken and able to deeply engage with these industry professionals to ensure an engaging and educational discussion to be shared. Due to timing restraints and scheduling clashes with exams and the summer holidays, the recorded discussion is still in the editing stage with the young people. As such, we are yet to see the reach and impact of this. Once they are finished with this stage and share on their own social medias, The Diana Award will also support in promotion and sharing their project on our website and social media channels.
The results
There was a clear success in with the aim of increasing awareness within their peer group. Having done multiple assemblies on the issue, the young people have reported from conversations with their peers that there is a definite increase of awareness that they hope to continue fostering as their social media reach increases. Awareness of the human rights violations in IRCs was not just raised within the targeted group of the young people’s peers, but also in the Mentors and The Diana Award staff involved in the project. In talking to their peers both before and after the assemblies, the young people reported a clear sense of increased awareness of the issue. They have had people approach them during term time since these assemblies to ask follow up questions and discuss potential next steps in working towards a solution to the social issue.
In a reflection session with all 8 young people immediately after filming, they spoke about how much they have learned from the project, mentioning areas already discussed such as project management, budget management, research and public speaking skills to name a few. They also discussed the pride felt with engaging in a meaningful youth-led social action project such as this one.
A massive credit needs to be given to the young people involved in this project. The two leads were consistently coming to the monthly sessions with a large amount of research and planning done. Their drive and passion are a huge reason for the success of the project. As well as them, the additional six young people had a willingness to upskill and try new things to make it work.
There was also a great amount of time and effort put into this project from the Volunteer Mentors. They all took the initiative at the beginning of the project to research the issue and found ways to apply their specialised skills to assist the young people for the duration of the programme.
There was also great support from Kingsmead School in getting this project off the ground. They hosted the monthly meetings, as well as the space and time for multiple assemblies to be run by the young people to the different year groups. As well as providing logistical support, the school lead involved also offered a great deal of encouragement and emotional support to the young people throughout the project.
There are already plans from the young people to continue this project on their own accord, separate from The Diana Award and the SAAP Programme. The filmed discussion is intended to be the inaugural episode of a podcast recorded, run and promoted by the young people themselves. They plan on continuing to raise awareness on the issue as well as providing a call to action of their peers to help to try make meaningful social change.
About The Social Action Accelerator Pilot (SAAP)
The Social Action Accelerator Pilot (SAAP), a programme funded by the #iWill Fund, supports young people who have completed our 12-week Mentoring Programme in London and have an interest in continuing on their youth-led social action journey with The Diana Award. The programme consists of monthly meetings with a facilitator (The Diana Award) as well as multiple volunteer Mentors ready to help them through their project.
