Education is at the heart of the work of John Lyon’s Charity, as we seek to raise aspirations and provide opportunities for all the children and young people across the Beneficial Area.
Given this remit, schools are a natural destination for many of the Charity’s funded projects. Schools can apply directly to the Charity for various projects to supplement and enhance the curriculum (further information here). Arts organisations and voluntary sector groups also frequently make applications to deliver their projects within schools, in order to reach as many children and young people as possible. Projects often deliver training opportunities for teachers to create a lasting legacy in that school.
The Charity is interested in supporting projects that seek to increase parental engagement in education and learning, as well as projects that seek to unlock a child’s potential and engage them in the learning process, particularly if they are at risk of disaffection. Projects can happen both within the school setting and also outside formal learning environments. Suitable projects could include:
- Projects that happen within state schools in the Charity’s Beneficial Area including colleges of Further Education
- Projects in schools should add value to the curriculum and seek to inspire children and young people in learning
- Supplementary schools e.g. core costs, tutor costs, English and Maths acquisition. Please note, we do not fund Mother Tongue teaching
- Structured learning activities outside the school day e.g. reading help outside of school
- Acquisition of new skills e.g. cookery programmes.
We do not fund:
- Statutory obligations to deliver the core curriculum
- Healthy eating projects or school vegetable gardens
- Salaries of people employed by the school or local authority.
Have a look at some of the case studies below for insight into some of the Education & Learning projects funded by the Charity. Alternatively, you can visit our page on Recently Funded Projects.
Forest Schools
Forest School, Harrow
Forest School is an inspirational process that offers learners regular opportunities to achieve and develop confidence and self-esteem through hands-on learning experiences in a woodland or natural environment with trees.
Over the past few years, we have been approached by a growing number of organisations seeking funding to run or establish a Forest School in their local area. The increase in grant applications for this purpose acknowledges the value of Forest School as a complement to mainstream education. Contact with the outdoors is often limited for many children, particularly those in inner-city London, and the vital experience of using the outdoors and being comfortable in nature is being lost. The changes implemented by the National Curriculum from September 2014 also recognise the importance of outdoor learning and Forest School is one of the ways in which this can be achieved. Woodland Adventure Forest School Harrow, is one of the Forest Schools funded by the Charity.
Woodland Adventure Forest School Harrow
All Saints’ Church, serving the area of Weald in Harrow, is based on a site that includes a small patch of unused woodland. Forest School activities began on the site in September 2012, following a pilot scheme. It works in partnership with Harrow schools and other youth services that support young people, in order to offer them a comprehensive Forest School experience. Participants have included Travellers, refugees, children with learning disabilities, children from troubled families, Looked After Children and pupils encountering difficulties in mainstream schools. Our funding of £72,000 to date, helps to pay for the running costs of the Forest School.
In 2018, Woodland Adventure Forest School Harrow was selected to receive a promotional film about its work as part of the JLC Volunteer Films initiative in partnership with Media Trust.
Beauchamp Lodge Settlement – The Floating Classroom
Beauchamp Lodge’s Floating Classroom is a purpose-built barge based in Regent’s Canal, which enables children to navigate the capital’s waterways and green spaces; providing new, educational and fun-filled experiences. Its activities are designed to complement the primary school curriculum through three main programmes: All Aboard for Science, Fantastic Voyage and Floating through History. The Floating Classroom also offers SENsing the Way, a programme specifically designed for children with profound and multiple learning disabilities.
In its most recent year in-grant, 24 local primary schools in Westminster accessed this unusual and engaging activity, benefitting more than 2,000 pupils. John Lyon’s Charity has awarded over £190,000 in grants towards the Floating Classroom since 2001.
In 2017, Beauchamp Lodge Settlement was selected to receive a promotional film about its work as part of the JLC Volunteer Films initiative in partnership with Media Trust.
www.thefloatingclassroom.co.uk
Real Action
Real Action was established in 1998 to improve the literacy skills of disadvantaged children and families living in and around Queen’s Park in North Westminster. Its Butterfly High Flyers project consists of three Saturday Reading Schools situated to support the Mozart Estate in North Westminster and close to the Ladbroke Grove and Golborne areas of North Kensington.
Referrals to Real Action are spread by word of mouth, due to its highly acclaimed literacy courses. Students are placed in classes according to reading ability, rather than age, with great success. On average is service users’ reading age will increase by 12 months with just 20 hours’ teaching from the Real Action team and volunteers.
In the last year of its grant, Real Action supported more than 400 pupils between its three Saturday schools in the Charity’s Beneficial Area. Since 1999, John Lyon’s Charity has provided £278,000 funding towards Real Action.
In 2017, Real Action was selected to receive a promotional film about its work as part of the JLC Volunteer Films initiative in partnership with Media Trust.
Canons Cluster Parent Ambassador Project
Parent ambassadors regularly meet to discuss issues and share experiences
The Parent Ambassador Initiative was set up in 2007 to help parents become engaged in their child’s learning. It was developed as part of the Canons Cluster Extended Schools programme, which promoted extracurricular development and out of schools hours services.
In 2010, John Lyon’s Charity awarded a grant of £27,000 per annum for three years to the Harrow-based cluster to help establish the programme in schools. The project involves parents in all aspects of school-life and gives them a better understanding of the education system. This is achieved by the recruitment of ‘Parent Ambassadors’ who are able to communicate with their fellow parents effectively and in an approachable way.
The project has been very successful in all of the schools in the cluster and has since become embedded into the way each of the schools work. As a result, Parent Ambassadors are now sustained through the schools own incomes.
There are nine schools in the Canons Cluster:
Aylward Primary
Canons High
Glebe Primary
Camrose Primary with Nursery
Krishna-Avanti Primary
Stag Lane Infant and Nursery
Stag Lane Junior
St. Bernadette’s Catholic Primary
Woodlands Special School
Film credit: Securing Success
John Lyon’s Charity is a champion of supplementary schooling in the beneficial area and is working with the National Resource Centre for Supplementary Education to raise standards across the sector.