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Time to Shine Leader and her journey

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My name is Bhabishya Paudel, and this is my journey so far as a Time to Shine Leader.

I love being creative, I write poems, create contents therefore, I had been looking for a Comms job by taking what I love doing and turning that into a career. Luckily, I discovered a Brand and Comms Assistant job at The Rank Foundation. It was part of the Time to Shine programme. It was an exciting job and a challenge.

Within the Time to Shine programme, Rank helps individuals by funding a 12-month paid leadership and placement opportunity in the social sector. I immediately applied for the role because I always wanted to work in the social sector and have a background in working for a non-profit. This coupled with my ambition to develop a career in communications felt like the perfect opportunity.

I passed my interview stage, and on Monday, 6th February, I started a new role as a Brand and Comms Assistant. My job role entails helping with content creation and writing posts for the website, sending out email campaigns and engaging with RankNet members.  As the Rank Foundation is undertaking a rebrand exercise, I also get to be involved in the Brand refresh project.

On Wednesday, 8th February, my journey as a Time to Shine Leader began with my first residential event. I stayed in The Royal Foundation of St. Katharine, a beautiful hotel in Limehouse, East London. It was peaceful and quiet, and I did not feel like I was in London!

I was nervous on the day I arrived, but Kai Wooder Rank’s Director of Programmes and Helen Stockdale Rank’s Partnership and Events Manager were very welcoming and friendly.

The residential was a 3-day programme that involved:

  • On the first day, we did icebreakers, an introduction to the cohort, and memory games, which helped us remember names.
  • On the second day, we had a session, Leading with a Growth Mindset with Jen Mackay I found this session interesting; how a positive attitude can change the way of thinking. We were introduced to our Action Learning Set (ALS) facilitator who helps us in our peer- peer learning experiences.
  • On the third day, we did a laughter yoga session in the morning; it made me giggle and helped me ease in as we were having a session with all the group and the line managers in the morning. Afterwards, we had a ‘well-being at a work’ session held by Sam Anderson before heading home.

Action Learning Sets

As part of the Time to shine programme, leaders meet regularly for Action Learning Set sessions. These sessions provide a supportive and trusting environment enabling leaders to grow with peer learning experiences. By sharing our experiences we get to learn how to deal with certain issues and take that learning into our workplace. Recently I had my Action Learning Set. I learnt about time management and how to prioritise  work. ALS also helped me develop listening skills by listening to my peers and asking them open questions to organise their thoughts.

So far, my journey has been truly exceptional. I learnt a lot and am still learning every day in my role. I have support from my colleagues and managers. My Action Learning Set cohort is very friendly. This programme has really helped me build my confidence and given me a chance to do my best.

I can’t wait for the Time to Shine mid-year review next week; I will be writing another blog after the review.

To learn more about The Rank Foundation’s Time to Shine programme click here.

Rank Ripples, Spring 2023 edition is out now!

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This edition of Rank Ripples magazine focuses on the cost-of-living crisis. It features articles about enterprising and innovative responses from leaders across our network. There’s also some inspiration from Canada from our friends at Place Matters and an article about trust-based philanthropy from our resident PhD Janis Petzinger.

You’ll also find a double-page spread of the Foundation’s year in numbers. It quantifies our founder’s vision that each and every pebble can create ripples into towns and communities right across the country. We’re delighted with what we’ve achieved together with you.

We hope you enjoy reading it!

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Learning Through Leadership Talk 2023

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‘If not you then who?’: Rose Fitzpatrick CBE QPM

In this blog post, John Hind, our Director of Education and Leadership, shares his thoughts on our recent Learning Through Leadership talk, “If not you then who?” by Rose Fitzpatrick CBE QPM. The event took place on 21 March 2023.

Rose Fitzpatrick CBE QPM giving the talk

Late March saw a first as the Fellowship’s ‘Learning through Leadership’ programme transferred to Rank’s Garden Walk Headquarters. Those present were privileged to hear Rose Fitzpatrick, Foundation trustee and member of the Fellowship Leadership Team, share her experiences of over 30 years of service in the City and Met Police forces, culminating in her role as Deputy Chief Constable of the newly formed Police Scotland service in 2013.

A pioneering meeting at Garden Walk chimed with pioneering aspects of Rose’s career. A Theology and Philosophy graduate, she joined the city police at a time when only 2% of recruits held degrees and only 8% were women. As a relatively mature recruit with clear potential she was promoted to inspector in less than five years when the average time taken was ten. Her role with the City force was challenging: the force’s counter-terrorist role being stretched by incidents such as the Bishopsgate bomb, but it was the impact of the Macpherson report following Stephen Lawrence’s murder that persuaded Rose that her real passion was for community policing. Transferring to the Met force as a Superintendent, she became the Borough Commander for Tower Hamlets in 2002 as at that time the only female officer in such a position in the Met force. 

Her description of working in a diverse ethnic community as ‘mind blowingly interesting’ is testament to her commitment to true community work and it was this interest that took her out of a very brief retirement from her service into her role in Police Scotland.  Here – pioneering again – she faced the challenge of how best to make the new unitary national force address the differing needs of its various component communities – the needs of policing in Glasgow, for example, being radically different from those in Highland communities. Five years of facing the cultural and political challenges inherent in her role left her fulfilled but exhausted though a second retirement was even shorter than her first. Two days into her family holiday she was asked to establish and chair a new National Suicide Prevention Leadership Group for Scotland, a role which she still holds.

In all of this, a clear part of the answer to Rose’s title question lies in the manifest sense of duty and service that clearly drives her. Indeed, a crucial point she made was the need to reflect before taking on some challenges and to recognise when others may be better placed to take them on. Listening to one’s instinct was vital in such cases and Rose made the point that one can practise this, not least when facing up to the ethical and moral challenges leadership presents. Avowedly assuring us she was not the hero who ran into danger – though some of her colleagues were – she nonetheless showed real moral courage on a number of occasions when determined to do what she believed to be the right thing – even at the cost of temporary unpopularity. That leadership can be lonely is true – especially in situations where one has to stand up for one’s principles – and this was compounded for Rose by the lack of female peers at her level within the organisations she served. She did however make the point that asking for help is vital when facing challenging decisions is in no sense a sign of weakness: rather, it is a way of developing strengths.

Rose spoke on the day the Casey report into the Met police was published. Clearly digesting the report in full was impossible: however, in response to questions from a thoughtful and engaged audience, she did stress the need for proper resourcing of the police service, especially with regard to recruitment, vetting and training. In keeping with our theme, appropriate leadership is vital too. Looking back on all Rose said, it was clear that her moral purpose and sense of duty, coupled with a genuine understanding of the importance of the police’s relationship with their community, made her the kind of leader the police need. Those of us present were fortunate indeed to hear what she had to say.

Ynglŷn â'r awdur:

John Hind joined the Rank Foundation in June 2021 as Director of Education and Leadership. He is responsible for overseeing the School Leadership Award and Fellowship, following a career in teaching, most recently as Principal of Dame Allan’s Schools in Newcastle-upon-Tyne from 2004 to 2020. John studied history at Cambridge University, completed an MEd at Newcastle, and a part-time PhD at Durham.

Rank Ripples – 50th Anniversary Edition

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This special 50th-anniversary edition of Rank Ripples magazine celebrates the legacy of our founder Lord Arthur Rank.

Lord Rank was guided by his Christian faith, a belief in nurturing leadership and supporting young people to achieve their potential. We hope you enjoy reading 50 stories from people whose lives have changed because he was driven to create this Foundation.

Use the buttons below the magazine to enlarge it and flick through each page.

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Rank Memorial Award Winners 2021

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This year the Memorial Award will be dedicated to Erin Donald (1998-2020) – Erin was a remarkable young woman who won the Memorial Award in 2019 with a plan to study drug rehabilitation programmes in Russia and South Africa.  In 2017 Erin was a participant on the Rank Aspire Programme based in the Brook Charity, Liverpool. Following a very successful year Erin was accepted onto a university course to study social work, a long-held ambition.  Erin took her own life in May 2020. To the outside world Erin had overcome so much and had a bright future ahead but internally she was struggling and with devastating consequences. 

 With Erin in mind, we announced the 2021 Memorial Award to support an individual who has designed their own programme of learning around Suicide Prevention, Emotional Health and Well-Being. Therefore, we are delighted to announce that the selection committee has awarded three Memorial Awards to Martha Robbins,  Amaleehah Aslam-Forrester and Laura Adams.

Martha Robbins

Martha, current Time to Shine leader at mental health charity Off The Record, will be spending a month in Japan looking at the state of Japanese mental health and suicide prevention services, within the context of the Japanese third sector, and the COVID-19 Pandemic. Martha has not only been the Fundraising Officer at Off The Record, but also spends several hours every week as a Listening Support Worker in 1:1 sessions with young people facing challenges such as depression, suicidal thoughts, self-harm and abuse- helping to give them a safe, confidential space to talk and access support. Having completed her French and Japanese BA at Cardiff University in 2020, Martha is excited to combine her linguistic and cultural knowledge with two key areas of interest in her career- the third sector, and mental health. Japan has long suffered with one of the highest suicide rates in the world, and although the decade leading up to 2020 saw this rate slowly decrease, the pandemic appears to have reversed the trend. Mental health awareness is comparatively low in Japan, and seeking out mental health support is a new concept for most people. Martha will be spending time with TELL and private counselling providers to learn more. Charities exist differently in Japan in comparison to the UK, for a variety of reasons. Power, responsibility, and public trust of NPOs in Japan is relatively low, where generally more trust is placed in the government to look after its citizens than in the West. However, non-profit organisations are growing in influence in Japan, and Martha will be going right to the source to learn more with NPO Centre Japan (Japan’s equivalent of The Charity Commission).

Amaleehah Aslam-Forrester

Amaleehah is a 2020 Time to Shine leader and is a project, fundraising, and events officer at the youth-led Bristol-based charity Integrate UK. Amaleehah facilitates creative and educational workshops for young people promoting gender and racial equality and youth activism. Amaleehah has chosen to travel to Australia and New Zealand to explore how these countries promote gender and racial equality to support the wellbeing of young women and girls from diverse and indigenous communities. Amaleehah would like to learn more about how New Zealand embraces the indigenous people of their country and learn how this approach could be adapted to support the emotional health and wellbeing of young women newly arriving in the UK. These findings could be shared with organisations in the UK with a view to future collaborative work. In Australia, Amaleehah would like to work with leading Australian gender equality organisations that work to prevent violence, sexual harassment, and honour-based abuse, to improve wellbeing for all women in Australia. Volunteering with youth-participation organisations, Amaleehah is hoping to learn how to better engage young people in youth activism and understand more about the challenges of inclusive youth work including why it is so difficult to engage young women from aboriginal communities. Amaleehah would like to use this experience to develop her skills and abilities to better support and nurture the young women with whom she works and share her knowledge with youth-led organisations in the UK charity sector.

Laura Adams

Laura, a current Time to Shine leader at Real Ideas, will be travelling to the Netherlands, America, and Canada to explore how new immersive technology can be used to support children to learn wellbeing strategies.  Laura will be visiting the Games for Emotional and Mental Health Lab at Radboud University to understand more about how they are using games technology to make wellbeing accessible and appealing to children and young people. She will then be travelling to Los Angeles to visit Headspace, a fantastic meditation app, to learn more about how they use animation to ensure that their audience are engaged in the practice. Finally, Laura will be heading to Ontario to meet with Youth Mental Health Canada who are a youth-led non-profit organisation that are campaigning for more representation and a better understanding of mental health conditions.  Upon returning from the trip, Laura is excited to start creating wellbeing content for the new Immersive Dome that recently opened in the Market Hall in Plymouth. This content will be aimed at young children, teaching them wellbeing techniques as a preventative mental health strategy.  Laura is also hoping to use this opportunity to understand the potential application of immersive technology in mental health research as part of her Masters, and potentially Doctorate, degree.

We would like to congratulate Amaleehah, Martha and Laura on their successful applications and we will be hearing from them during and after their travels.

Celebrating 10 Years of Time to Shine

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The Rank Foundation celebrated the milestone of 10 years of the Time to Shine Leadership Programme in 2020. To mark the occasion, leaders past and present as well as RankNet members attended Mercers Hall in London for the ‘Dress Divine It’s Time To Shine’ event.

It was a truly spectacular evening, hosted by Amaleehah and Gregor. Whereby we heard from many leaders who shared their memories and lessons of the Time to Shine Programme and their post-T2S journeys.

Since 2010 the Rank Foundation has supported 450 Time to Shine leaders. Time to Shine has offered education and employment in the social sector, improved confidence, self-esteem and aspiration and developed skills and experience. We are very pleased over three-quarters of participants up to 2019 had progressed onto further education or employment following the programme. Of those who had progressed, nearly 9 in 10 (88%) stayed within the social sector.

Thank you to all who attended and contributed to the divine event.

Please click here to view the photos.