ThinkForward
Hello, my name is Nina French, I am the ThinkForward Progression Coach at The Marsh Academy. My role is to engage, support, motivate and inspire our students to overcome the barriers and challenges which may be preventing them from achieving their full potential not only at school, but also in life. I look to encourage them to identify their own skills and passions so they are able to become resilient, driven and self-assured leaders for the future.
ThinkForward helps develop the skills that young people need, help them overcome the challenges that keep them from succeeding, and facilitate employability activities to broaden their horizons and provide experience of the workplace.
Our work focuses on raising the confidence and aspirations of young people so that they can put their education into context and begin to develop their own ambitions.
ThinkForward is unique because we run the only programme of its kind that works with young people for the full five years that they are in education, starting in Year 9 when they are 13.
As a coach, I help to build consistent and trusted relationships with young people through one-to-one coaching and group work sessions. Students’ progress is tracked along seven Work Readiness Capabilities which were identified by employers as being the most desirable qualities in staff. They are: self-assured, self-aware, driven, receptive, resilient, organised and good communicator. Brought together, these transferable skills help to equip young people for their future careers.
Crucially, ThinkForward also offers young people a range of opportunities to connect with, and gain valuable experience of, the world of work. These essential activities include business mentoring, insight days, CV writing and interview skills workshops, and work experience placements.
By partnering with a range of businesses from local employers through to large, national companies we provide young people with relevant exposures to the workplace, in many cases bridging a gap that school, family and community networks are not able to.
