For many years, the Charity’s grantmaking has been considered by the Grants Committee and approved by the Foundation Governors (the Trustee) at three meetings each year, held in March, June and November.

Following a review of the Charity’s approval process, from 1 April 2026 John Lyon’s Charity will move to two committee meetings per year, held in June and November. This change is intended to streamline the grantmaking process and enable decisions to be made more efficiently throughout the year. Under the new approach, smaller grant requests will be considered and approved on a rolling basis, while larger grant requests will continue to be discussed at the two annual committee meetings.

This decision has been made following careful consideration and aims to ensure the Charity’s grantmaking process remains responsive and effective. If you have any questions about this change, please contact your Grants Manager or email [email protected].  For current information about application deadlines, please click here.

Last week the government published its long-awaited white paper on reforms to the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) system – a development closely watched by families, schools, voluntary organisations and funders across the country.

At John Lyon’s Charity, we have seen first-hand the growing pressure on the current system. In our Beneficial Area alone, the number of Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) has more than doubled in the past five years, reflecting rising levels of need and a system stretched beyond its capacity. Many of the organisations we fund, including those supporting families through assessments and appeals, know how complex and emotionally demanding the process can be.

The government’s proposals include a greater emphasis on early identification and early intervention, increased support for schools through specialist expertise, and a move away from EHCPs for many children towards new Individual Support Plans (ISPs). While these changes offer potential opportunities, they also raise important questions for families, schools and community organisations.

In our latest blog, we explore what these proposals could mean in practice – from the opportunities presented by earlier support and improved specialist advice, to concerns around pressure on schools, the role of community organisations, and how key transitions for young people with SEND will be supported.

We also reflect on the importance of ensuring that reforms do not deepen existing inequalities, particularly for families who already face barriers in navigating the education system.

Read our full blog to explore the Charity’s perspective on the SEND reforms and what they could mean for children, families and the wider sector.

In anticipation of the Government’s new Youth Strategy, a New Report Shows How Place-Based Investment in Young People Delivers Long-Term Value 

As the UK continues to face ongoing cost-of-living pressures, John Lyon’s Charity (JLC) launches a new report marking ten years of the pioneering Young People’s Foundations (YPFs) – a model that has helped protect vital youth services during a decade of rising demand and shrinking resources.  YPFs are borough-based infrastructure organisations that bring together organisations from the voluntary, private and public sectors to deliver collaborative work around children and youth services at a local level.  

Ten years ago, JLC created the YPF model to act as a critical stabiliser, helping grassroots organisations survive and scale at a time when many would otherwise have closed their doors.  

Over the past decade, John Lyon’s Charity has invested £9 million into the YPFs – funding that has sustained core costs such as salaries, driven forward projects by getting local charities and Local Authorities to work together and unlocked further funding at a time of intense financial pressure on both charities and local government. Crucially, Local Authorities now contribute 38% of YPFs’ core costs demonstrating the model’s long-term sustainability and its value as a cost-effective, partnership-led approach to youth investment.  Since 2015, these Foundations have distributed over £17 million in grants, supporting thousands of young people and strengthening grassroots organisations in a range of communities.   

Since their creation in 2015, YPFs have become a vital force for good, connecting the public, private and voluntary sectors to ensure young people have the support, opportunities and environments they deserve. Each YPF is shaped by the needs of its local community, but all share a powerful purpose: to unlock funding, open doors to further investment, and create networking opportunities with Local Authorities, charities, funders and the police. In doing so, they strengthen the sector, enhance its effectiveness, and ensure long-term sustainability. 

In the last financial year alone, YPFs in London have secured c.£1M in new investment for member organisations via collaborative bids and fundraising; delivered over 70 well-attended specialist network sessions, on topics such as youth violence, mental health, and SEND support; conducted 670 one-to-one support sessions; delivered training to upskill the sector on vital areas such as safeguarding and youth work; and established a pioneering “venue bank” to bring underused community assets back into use. Most importantly, they have bridged the gap between grassroots groups and Local Authorities, ensuring that smaller organisations are more visible, better connected and able to influence local decision-making. 

What began as a vision rooted in JLC’s Beneficial Area has now grown beyond London, with 24 YPFs across the country as well as seven further pending YPFs and many other Local Youth Partnerships, following a YPF-style mode.   

Lynne Guyton, CEO of John Lyon’s Charity, said: “The impact of the YPF model in London has been transformative, and we want to show how this type of funding model can be replicated. By creating simple, structured approaches, we can demonstrate to Government, funders, and the wider sector how a well-designed model can create real, life-changing impact for young people across the UK and beyond. The lessons learned here are invaluable for new foundations, proving that place-based, collaborative investment works.” 

Elly Heaton, CEO of Young Ealing Foundation said: “The cost-of-living crisis is pushing more young people and families towards crisis point, just as funding for community organisations becomes more fragile. Without intervention, vital grassroots groups disappear and the cost to society is far greater. YPFs are proving that strategic, place-based support is cheaper than crisis response.” 

The YPF report offers a clear message: investing early in place-based, collaborative infrastructure for young people delivers both social impact and economic value. With continued investment and national recognition, the YPF movement has the potential to expand even further, giving every young person, wherever they live, the chance to reach their full potential. 

To access the YPF Report in full, please click here. If you would like to learn more about John Lyon’s Charity and the Young People’s Foundations, please click here.  

*Source from REVIEW OF YOUNG PEOPLE’S FOUNDATIONS IN THE CHARITY’S BENEFICIAL AREA – SUMMARY REPORT, Rocket Science. 

Nick Stuart CB – Chairman of John Lyon’s Charity (2002 – 2010)

1942 – 2025 

We are deeply saddened to share that Nick Stuart CB, who served as Chairman of the Grants Committee of John Lyon’s Charity 2002 – 2010 passed away unexpectedly on the 12th of September 2025.   

Nick was a highly respected and much valued member of the John Lyon community, serving with great dedication as both a Foundation Trustee and Governor of Harrow School from 1996-2007. Nick was a devoted husband, father, and grandfather, and we extend our heartfelt condolences to his wife, Sue, and children – Henrietta, Emily and Alex, at this difficult time. 

Harrow was in Nick’s blood, having attended Harrow School in 1956 -1960 and was known for his sporting spirit, particularly in boxing. He carried that dedication and discipline into his role as Governor, where he championed physical education and extracurricular opportunities for all pupils. 

After attending Oxford University, he joined the Department for Education & Science in 1964 and served as Private Secretary to the Minister for the Arts (Jenny Lee) in 1968-69, the Head of the Civil Service (Sir William Armstrong) and to successive Prime Ministers (1973-76).  He also served as an Adviser in the Cabinet of the President of the European Commission (Roy Jenkins) in 1978-80. He was unsurprisingly appointed CB in 1992 for his innovative contribution in this field.   

Nick went on to hold a number of posts as Director General in the Education and Employment Departments between 1987 and 2001, when he retired as Director General for Lifelong Learning.  

During his time at the Department for Education, Nick oversaw some of the most pioneering and well-known education reforms of the day, including piloting the first school league tables. He is credited by many as being the architect of the 1988 education reforms, which introduced a national curriculum and grant-maintained schools as well as abolishing the Inner London Education Authority.   

Given this illustrious career, John Lyon’s Charity was incredibly fortunate that with his connection to Harrow, Nick agreed to serve on the Grants Committee – his tenure as Chairman bore witness to the evolution of the Charity into a grant-making force majeure.  Available income grew from £3million in 2002/03 to over £5million in 2009/10 and Nick oversaw grants made to over 700 separate organisations that supported young people in the Charity’s Beneficial Area.  Utilising both Nick’s skills as a political negotiator and his extensive connections, his period at the helm saw the Charity become increasingly important for each the local authorities within the Beneficial Area, relationships that he felt would position the Charity to have greater impact at a local level.  He stepped down at a time when leaders of these local authorities increasingly recognised the value and importance of support from John Lyon’s Charity for the voluntary sector in their areas.  Given Nick’s links with the political establishment, he was particularly proud that John Lyon’s Charity had garnered such strong and fruitful relationships with the statutory sector, which have served us extremely well over the years and remain an integral partner with the Charity in our local boroughs.   

Nick was a passionate believer in the value and importance of helping young people to take up activities and opportunities that they would not normally have access to, broadening their horizons and encouraging them to ‘aim higher’.  He took this very seriously and particularly championed the Arts as a way of enriching children’s lives.  He particularly liked to encourage the plethora of world class Arts institutions based within the Charity’s Beneficial Area to engage with local children who would not ordinarily have access to their work.  Nick was particularly proud of the John Lyon Access to the Arts Fund that launched in 2009, which was the forerunner of today’s Cultural Capital Fund– a fund that has enabled thousands of children across the Beneficial Area to access high quality Arts activities that they would not have otherwise experienced.  Given this commitment, it was no surprise when Nick volunteered to become one of the first trustees of the newly established Primary Shakespeare Company in 2014, which brings Shakespeare into primary schools and encourages them to use his works as inspiration across a whole term of learning.  

As well as having a pivotal role in the development of John Lyon’s Charity, Nick was extremely active in public service following his retirement in 2001 including sitting on the QCA board, Chair of NIACE, (National Institute of Adult Continuing Education), Chair of the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust (SSAT), trustee of the Girls’ Day School Trust and board member of the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS).     

Nick’s legacy lives on in the opportunities his work helped create for young people, and in the enduring partnerships he fostered between schools, charities, and local communities. As we reflect on Nick’s eight years leading John Lyon’s Charity, his words in the Foreword of his final Annual Report resonate with beautiful poignancy: 

“I pass on my Chairmanship secure in the knowledge that the Charity will continue moving steadily forward, positively impacting the lives of young Londoners.” 

His words now serve as both a reflection of all he achieved and an inspiration for the work that continues in his name. 

October 2025

We are disappointed by the decision that John Lyon’s Charity has not been granted an exemption when others in the charitable sector have. While we support the principle of leasehold reform, this ruling has implications for how the Charity generates income.  

Please be assured that our commitment to funding vital grassroots services for children and young people remains unchanged. We are carefully reviewing the impact of this judgment and considering next steps to ensure we can continue to deliver on our mission. 

If you would like to find out more about the case and our stance on leasehold reform, please click here.

We are aware of continued commentary surrounding John Lyon’s Charity and our stance on leasehold reform. We want to take this opportunity to clarify a few key points and address some of the criticisms directed at our work.

First and foremost, we are a grant-making charity committed to improving the lives of children and young people (CYP) across nine London boroughs. Each year, our funding supports grassroots organisations delivering vital services to thousands of CYP. Yes, we do measure and understand the impact of our grant-making. This is not only a core part of our work but essential to ensuring our funding is genuinely making a difference.

Each year:

The Charity funds over 400 active grants, supporting a wide range of programmes including youth clubs, emotional wellbeing programmes, inclusive arts activities, supplementary schools and more.

At least 250 organisations are currently in grant with JLC, reaching approx. 160,000 CYP.

We support around 1,300 grassroots organisations through our locally-established Young People Foundations (YPFs) – now the second-largest funders of youth services in many boroughs, after JLC itself.

We fund £500,000 annually in holiday programmes to ensure disadvantaged children have access to food, enrichment, and play during school breaks.

Through our Cultural Capital Fund, nearly 80,000 children (representing 25% of the local youth population) have engaged with arts and creativity post-pandemic.

We responded swiftly to crises including leading the sector-wide Grenfell Tower and COVID-19 responses, resulting in over £40 million in collaborative CYP funding distributed across London.

Our £22 million Recovery Strategy, launched in 2020, continues to address pandemic-linked inequalities affecting the most vulnerable children and young people.

Without our continued ability to fund this work, real gaps will emerge and in many cases, local authorities no longer have the capacity to step in.

Our approach is highly strategic and every grant is made with long-term sustainability in mind, supporting organisations that deliver transformational work for children and young people in North and West London. Currently, we distribute between £12 to £15 million per year in grants. This level of funding has been achieved through a clear five-year strategic plan that focuses on longer, larger grants, as well as a carefully planned six-year COVID recovery strategy, which saw us take an additional £22 million out of our endowment to augment our annual spend, to protect vital community organisations and the children they serve during an exceptionally difficult period.

That additional level of funding is now coming to an end. Even before this legislation, we were preparing for our annual grant-making to return to around £12 million – a challenge in itself given the growing need. If the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act passes without exemption for our charity, we anticipate that our grant-making will drop to around £10 million per year, a significant drop from the current £15million.

We are not a fundraising organisation and never have been. Our ability to continue our work depends entirely on the careful management of our endowment, including the historic property assets left to the Charity to fund our mission. Maximising these assets is key to ensuring we can maintain and grow our grant-making in the face of increasing need.

The £1.37 million figure recently mentioned is a conservative estimate. The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 will impact both the value of our estate, which is essential to our total return investment model, and the income we receive from lease extension premiums. This creates a double financial impact – reducing both our capital base and our annual income, and ultimately means we will have less to invest in the communities and young people we serve.

It is also important to acknowledge the wider consequences. This isn’t just about lost grants, it risks lost jobs in the charity and community sector, lost services for children, and lost progress for communities that already face inequality.

And while £10 million may sound like a substantial amount of funding, the reality is that we are already unable to meet the growing demand. With other funders reducing or reshaping their own grant-making programmes, we are seeing a surge in applications to John Lyon’s Charity. Simply put, more organisations are turning to us – and with fewer resources, every pound we give becomes even more critical.

Once again, we are in support of leasehold reform and agree with the need to make the system fairer. However, our legal challenge is focused on securing a narrow exemption that relates specifically to our properties in St John’s Wood – not to block reform altogether.

There have been claims that no charities should be exempt, but we cannot and should not be lumped into the same category as wealthy second-home owners or commercial investors. Our charitable work benefits thousands of children and young people every year, just as the work of organisations like the Crown Estate, the National Trust, and the Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall – all of whom currently have exemptions – benefits the public in other ways. We are not a rich organisation operating out of greed. We are a charity built over 34 years, trusted by communities, and committed to protecting essential grassroots services across North and West London.

We respect those who hold a different view, including leaseholder campaigners, and have never sought to discredit their position. All we ask is that our position is also treated with the same respect.

12th July 2025

We understand completely how many people are negatively affected by the current Leasehold system. However, all freeholders are NOT the same. John Lyon’s Charity is not campaigning at the 11th hour, or on a whim. We have been supportive of the majority of reforms, giving substantial written support and other positive suggestions since the Law Commission’s original report in 2018.

To be clear: John Lyon’s Charity is not opposing leasehold reform. We fully support the principle and have worked constructively with governments over the years to help make the system simpler and fairer for leaseholders. What we are doing is asking for a narrow and reasonable exemption for us. We are a charity that happens to have a historic estate. We rely on historic property endowments to fund vital work with children and young people. Our estate is in St John’s Wood. Our analysis shows that 90 per cent of our leaseholders are commercial investors and or/non doms. They are not poor or needy and they are not naïve leaseholders. This would be a transfer of wealth from a funder whose only rationale for being is to fund children and young people’s charities.

The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 does not currently recognise the unique position of such charities, even though exemptions have been made for organisations like the Crown Estate, the National Trust, and the Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall. The financial impact of this law would redirect millions from a children’s charity into private wealth – significantly reducing what we can provide to the thousands of young people we support each year.

Many of the charities we support are grass roots community charities. We are facing unparallelled demand for our funding and are already digging deeper into our endowment to fund this demand. A reduction in enfranchisement income will lead to us cutting grants, which will lead to job cuts in the sector we fund.

Our legal challenge is about protecting that future. It is only right that we stand firm in our responsibility to safeguard their long-term interests. To find out more about our stance on leasehold reform, please read our latest blog from our CEO, Lynne Guyton here.