Blue Square Academy: A chat with Victoria Nightingale

We recently launched Blue Square Academy, our platform for inspiring thinking and learning with passion. We launched with 75 pieces of content, in various formats tailored to everyone’s learning styles and we have much more to come.

The development of the platform and all content was months in the making, thanks to Victoria Nightingale, our Head of People Development, and her team, so we wanted to chat with Vic to find out more about Academy – the thought process behind it and what she wants people to gain from it.

I want Academy to feel like a permission slip – a reminder that your development is yours and that growth doesn’t have to be stuffy or corporate… or something you do once a year in a beige training room. I want to help our colleagues be the leading person in their own career, not the side kick – in a space where people feel safe to stretch themselves, try something new and even fail forward. And beyond Blue Square? I’d love us to become a case study for what’s possible when you put heart, creativity and ownership at the centre of learning.

The Fun Theory isn’t about putting glitter on dry content – it’s about designing learning that makes people feel something. When we laugh, play, and enjoy ourselves, we’re not just more likely to remember, we’re more likely to care. Fun unlocks vulnerability, imagination and connection – all of the ingredients for real learning. It says “you belong here, just as you are” and when that happens? People don’t just learn, they thrive.

It starts with a mindset shift; we’re not here to dictate or nanny, we’re here to enable. We use check-ins, development conversations, and our ETHIC values to explore where someone is in their journey. Are they figuring it out, finding their feet, or leading the charge? Then the Learning Menu becomes this buffet of choice, not a syllabus of doom. Whether you’re a ‘podcast in the car’ person, or someone who loves a live session to bounce ideas around – there’s something for you. The idea is: pick your path, and we’ll walk it with you.

We know that careers are no longer ladders – they’re climbing frames. People need breadth as well as depth. Academy is about growing the holistic business skills we need no matter what we do at Blue Square – and the human ones too. Think influencing, wellbeing, resilience, creativity. It’s about helping people grow into the next version of themselves – whether that means moving into leadership, switching functions or simply showing up as their best selves in the same role.

Bring the fun; if learning feels like a chore, we’ve already lost them. We create experiences that feel light, playful and joyful – because when people are having fun, they’re more open, engaged and ready to grow.

Bring the credibility; fun isn’t fluff – we ground everything we do in solid thinking. From behavioural science to trusted models and frameworks – we bring the content that we hang our hat on. It’s about giving people the tools that actually work in the real world, and backing it up with thought leadership they can trust.

Make it bingeworthy; if we wouldn’t want to watch, listen or join in ourselves, why would they? Great L&D should feel like your next favourite podcast, series, or scroll – irresistible, easy to jump into and hard to stop thinking about. We need to stop thinking about bitesize, and step into the bingeworthy; because that’s when people choose to come back, time and time again.

We’ve developed our menu with our colleagues in mind – one size does not fit all, and we need to help colleagues take control of their learning strategy and find their vibe. For every subject we dive into, we have 4 ways to digest it: Play your way, which features home authored e-learning and downloadable podcasts. Teams time together which are our facilitated MS Teams sessions. And in-person learning – the magic of being in a room with people. Academy is all about playing your way and we guide our colleagues at the start of their journey to anchor their learning using two tools; our learning styles diagnostic (based on VAK theory) and a strong PDP – where they’re developing their super power, investing in their room to grow, and applying their wellness strategy to bring their best energy.

Honestly? I want Blue Square Academy to be so loved, respected and useful that people who’ve moved on still refer back to it in their next job. I want it to shape careers, change mindsets and ripple out into large scale change. The BIG dream? That we’re recognised in the industry as a pioneer in people-first, joy-fuelled, values-led learning – and that our people are thriving because of what they’ve learned here.