When we talk about diversity and inclusion in the workplace, we often focus on building a diverse team – hiring processes and equal opportunities, for example. But this only touches the surface.

We have discovered this during our work on living our diversity and inclusion value. It doesn’t begin and end at our company or within our team. We are a small company. There is only so much we can achieve if we restrict our diversity and inclusion efforts to policies and processes.

There is a wider world that we operate in and there are things we can offer to those in our community – whether that is time, resources or money. This understanding led us on a path to find opportunities to live our value out in the real world, and this brought us to The Access Project.

At the start of the year, we announced that the UK Life Size team would be volunteering as coaches for The Access Project. It was an opportunity for us to participate in a programme that supports young people from underresourced backgrounds by sharing our skills and expertise as communications professionals.

After six months spent coaching a student before they embark on further education or step into the working world, it’s safe to say that this journey has been a transformative one for each of us. Though our experiences were completely different, we have all walked away with deep reflections that we will carry with us into our work.

It has shown us that thinking outside of the box and expanding our diversity and inclusion efforts not only helps those in our community who are all too often left behind or overlooked, but it can also have a profound impact on our team and their work.

We have taken the time to share our coaching experience in this blog – the challenges, the surprises and our personal achievements – in the hope that you may be inspired to broaden your diversity and inclusion efforts beyond the confines of your organisation.

Do you have a highlight or a particular moment that stands out during your time as a coach?

Martha: Our final session was particularly nice. My student and I talked about the challenges of applying to a university course and the things she had to look forward to at university. It was lovely to see her enthusiasm for the next step she was about to take.

Lucia: In his last session, my student said that the coaching was an opportunity for him to “recentre myself in such a hectic year”. He said that these coaching sessions were valuable to him and gave him space to think about things outside his usual perspective.

Sam: In my last session, my student said that she thought I was a great coach and had enjoyed the sessions. This was nice to hear and reinforced that I was doing something right.

Paige: I had to cut my time as a coach short. However, in the two sessions that I did have with my student, it was rewarding to witness her engagement and help her set SMART goals that she can implement into her daily life.

What did you find challenging about your time as a coach?

Sam: Constantly adapting the coaching to my student’s abilities and goals as I learned more about her, and trying to have an impact on her with such a small amount of time together.

Paige: There were some issues with my student cancelling sessions at the last minute or showing up quite late. This made it difficult for me to commit to the volunteering programme because it was limiting my ability to completely throw myself into the experience.

Martha: It was challenging to work out exactly what my student needed from the coaching at first. I went in with no expectations, so I had to assess their needs during our conversations. It took a combination of some gentle probing and giving my student space to think out loud to help us curate a valuable session each month.

Lucia: Finding dates for our sessions, my student showing up late and the session slides which were not at a challenging enough level for my student.

Was there anything that surprised you?

Lucia: How utterly driven and ambitious and engaged my student was. He was juggling multiple work experiences and internships while setting up a law society, working in environmental and law programmes and attending university visits.

Martha: Sometimes I thought my student didn’t need me! It was clear they were very accomplished and I had to think on my feet to make the sessions more valuable.

Sam: It surprised me to hear how much my student was taking on, both at school and in extracurricular activities, to support her university application, and how demanding this was on her time.

What did you learn during this process, and did you accomplish the goals that you set for yourself?

Paige: I wasn’t able to complete the programme, which made it difficult for me to accomplish my goals. But the brief experience I did have showed me that I am capable of coaching and that I do have the leadership skills needed to be good at it.

Martha: I had never been on this side of a coaching relationship and it was very eye-opening. Not only have I become a better coach, but I believe playing the role of the coach during this process has made me more coachable as a result. I now know what a coach needs from me to let them guide me.

Sam: I learned that there’s so much more to impactful coaching than just going off the materials provided by the programme. Each student has different capabilities and ambitions and the work needs to be tailored so that it challenges and benefits them.

Lucia: I literally achieved all of my goals. My student is even considering pivoting into climate law or showing interest in the intersection of climate/human rights law, even though I did not set out to influence him that way. I learnt that young people are the future and incredible people, which makes me hopeful, but we need to build bridges so they can access the best opportunities.

How would you summarise your experience and would you do it again?

Sam: This was a really great first step into coaching and I would definitely do it again because I feel like I have so much more to learn to become an excellent coach.

Lucia: Yes, I’d do it again. Up and down. Challenging, deep, inspiring, though-provoking, astonishing, surprising, humbling.

Paige: I would love to do it again to get the full experience and see it through from start to finish. I enjoyed the little time I did have volunteering as a coach and I was disappointed that I was unable to complete it.

Martha: Rewarding. It was a really special opportunity to see a young person’s development over six months. I think both my student and I got value out of the sessions, so I would definitely do it again.

Our closing thoughts

It has certainly been an insightful and enriching experience for the UK Life Size team. It’s clear that, despite the challenges, we would all love to take part in this volunteering opportunity again next year, so watch this space.

We are also always on the lookout for more volunteering opportunities or programmes that have a similar mission – supporting young people from diverse backgrounds.
Do you know of any? We’d love to hear about them. Send us an email at