Youth Steering Group
Impact stories: Farzana
Name: Farzana
Age joined the Youth Steering Group: 21
Home Region: North West
Farzana joined the FEA Youth Steering Group in 2023, aged 21. During her time as a member of the Youth Steering Group, Farzana has represented the group at the Labour Party Conference, on a Department for Education panel, spoken at FEA member, Magic Breakfast’s board meeting, chaired a panel at the Youth Summit and supported the FEA at the Annual Summit.
“It’s been amazing, where do I even start? It’s not just the number of opportunities I’ve had, but the types of experiences too - I’ve been invited to spaces I never thought I’d be in, speaking with policy makers and actively shaping policies”
Why did you join the Youth Steering Group (YSG)?
I joined the Youth Steering Group to speak up not just for myself and my own experiences, but also for young people from my community who’ve had similar experiences growing up and going through the education system.
That was the main reason, but also to become more active in the advocacy space.
How have you found being on the Youth Steering Group overall?
It’s been amazing, where do I even start? It’s not just the number of opportunities I’ve had, but the type of experiences too. I’ve been given chances I never thought would come my way.
For example, speaking at the Labour Party Conference, that’s something I never thought would be possible for me. To speak about issues I care so passionately about, and to have people in positions of leadership actually hear what I have to say, listen, come up to me afterward, and ask for my thoughts and opinions. That was incredible.
And then there’s the other Youth Steering Group members. Meeting like-minded young people from across the country, working together, bouncing ideas off each other, discussing real issues. Whether it’s the summits, campaigns, or smaller projects, being able to collaborate and bring about change with others who are similar to me in some ways, but also so different in experience, has just been amazing.
If you had to pick one thing that's been a highlight of your time on the youth steering group, what would it be?
I enjoyed speaking on the panel for the Department for Education and Ofsted; that was pretty cool. But if I had to pick one highlight, I’d say chairing a panel at the Youth Summit. I got to interview MPs, DfE staff and Ofsted inspectors!
That’s probably my favourite moment, maybe tied with the Labour Party Conference, but the panel stands out more because it felt like our own thing. It was something the Youth Steering Group helped create from the ground up. We contributed to every part of it from interviewing to designing the breakout rooms, to shaping the structure, to inviting young people, and then actually hosting it.
It felt like a huge accomplishment, and I was proud, not just of myself, but of everyone in the YSG. Especially being up there, in front of a big audience, made up of young people. That meant the most to me, because I feel like it’ll have a real impact. It was a moment of representation, like, if someone saw me do that and thought, 'Farzana did it' or 'Jonathan did it,' then maybe they'll think, 'I can do it too.
What do you think has been the Youth Steering Group’s most impactful activity?
There have been so many amazing ones, but the Magic Breakfast meeting stands out. A couple of us from the YSG were invited, and there were a few different organisations and people there. We talked about the importance of young people, especially primary school pupils, having access to breakfast at the start of their day, and the impact it can have when they don’t.
That conversation ended up contributing to the rollout of free breakfasts for primary school pupils. And for me, that’s been the most impactful moment, because it led to something concrete. Like, this is what we were aiming for, and it happened. That felt huge.
What skills do you feel like you've developed during your time on the Youth Steering Group?
Public speaking 100%, being able to speak at these conferences and host these summits and things, that's been a huge area of development. Also, confidence, networking and knowing how to link my experiences to policies and asks and bringing about change, knowing what to ask for.
I feel like I’ve learned so much and completely changed as a person. I don’t even know how to describe it as a skill, but it’s more like this awareness that I have the power to make a difference.
It’s hard to put into words, but just knowing that I can create change has been huge for me.
Our Youth Steering Group provides leadership on youth engagement across the Fair Education Alliance. Members are involved in the work across the Alliance, from collective action and policy influencing, to communications, events and support for our award winners.