Recruiting in schools
Schools can be a brilliant places to recruit girls and young women who have never heard of us before
Building relationships with local schools can form a great foundation for recruiting in your area.
Making good connections with local schools can be a big help with recruitment as you can talk to lots of girls all in one place. Try these simple tips to connect with schools near you.
Make contact
Write to schools and let them know about local guiding opportunities. Ask the headteacher if you could give a talk in assembly, or run a taster session.
For a really simple way to get started, use this template for an email or letter. It clearly explains why Girlguiding will be great for the pupils. And all you need to do is add your details and logo, and send it in.
Include one of our leaflets for schools - either as an email attachment or a print out with your letter - and make even more impact.
Run a stall
Investigate the possibility of a stall at a parents’ evening, school fete, or open day - then follow our guide on how to run it.
Get girls involved! Remember that helping with a recruitment event counts towards some badges and challenges.
Distribute and display
See if you can put up posters on notice-boards, give out postcards in the playground, or have postcards put in younger girls’ book bags.
Our section videos for Rainbows and Brownies can be used anywhere to show girls what guiding's all about, but they're great to play in primary schools.
It's the perfect way to get girls excited about joining - and we'll have videos for Guides and Rangers coming soon!
Get in touch with your Country and Regional office if you'd like a version for offline use, like at an event where you won't have wifi.
Guiding in the holidays
Ask schools if you can use their premises to run a holiday guiding programme to give non-members a taste of guiding.
More ideas and advice
For more support and guidance on recruiting in primary schools, take a read through our Recruiting in primary schools toolkit. It includes everything you need to know to prepare your recruitment and approach schools. Plus there's activities and ideas to give girls a taste of guiding.
