John Lyon’s Charity Blog Posts | John Lyon's Charity

As we mark National Carers Week, we are shining a light on the remarkable young people who dedicate their time and energy to supporting loved ones, often taking on responsibilities far beyond their years. While many children and young people are focused on school, friendships and hobbies, Young Carers must balance these priorities alongside caring duties at home.

For many years, John Lyon’s Charity has recognised that too many Young Carers miss out on opportunities because of their caring responsibilities. Its funding towards Young Carers reflects the Charity’s commitment to improving the life chances of all children and young people, so that every young person has access to the support, opportunities, and experiences they deserve. The Charity provides support to organisations running bespoke activities for Young Carers, and carer-oriented organisations, such as the stalwart Carer’s Centres across its Beneficial Area.

The Charity is a proud supporter of Harrow Carers, helping the organisation deliver a range of social, enriching and educational opportunities as well as vital respite from their caring responsibilities. The importance of this work cannot be overstated.

Tianaè Gould, Head of Young & Young Adult Services at Harrow Carers, explains how Young Carers are often “hidden in plain sight” as their caring responsibilities often go unnoticed by schools, communities, and even their peers. By identifying and supporting these young people, Harrow Carers provides a lifeline, helping them build confidence, connect with others who share similar experiences, and enjoy time away from their caring roles.

This National Carers Week, we celebrate the strength, dedication, and determination of Young Carers across Harrow and beyond, while recognising the essential role organisations such as Harrow Carers play in ensuring they are seen, supported, and given every opportunity to thrive.

Hidden in Plain Sight: Why Multi-Agency Working Matters for Young Carers by Tianaè Gould, Head of Young & Young Adult Services at Harrow Carers

They hand in their homework on time.

They never get detention.

Teachers describe them as “mature for their age”.

What everyone doesn’t see is that they spent most of the night calming their mother through another mental health crisis before getting themselves ready for school.

By the time they arrive at their desk, they have already been a carer, mediator, emotional support system, and protector before morning registration has even begun.

Across the UK, thousands of children and young people are quietly carrying responsibilities far beyond their years. They support parents with mental ill-health, help siblings with special educational needs and disabilities, help family members with lifelong physical conditions, supervise younger children, manage household responsibilities, provide emotional reassurance during crises, and hold families together in ways many adults never fully see.

These children are known as Young Carers.

Young Carers are often described as “hidden” but hidden suggests they cannot be seen. The reality is more uncomfortable: we simply do not recognise what we are looking at. Many people know someone living with depression, anxiety, addiction, chronic illness, neurodiversity, disability, or trauma. Far fewer recognise the child quietly adapting their entire life around those experiences.

The brother reheating dinner because mum cannot get out of bed.

The young person texting home between lessons to check everything is okay.

The sister listening for arguments downstairs instead of sleeping.

The teenager who skips revision sessions because somebody at home needs them more.

The child learning how to regulate adults before they learn how to regulate themselves.

These children exist in every school, every borough, and every community. In Harrow, 341 young people identified themselves as Young Carers through the Young Harrow Foundation’s HAY Harrow Survey. Yet for every young person who recognises themselves as a carer, there may be others quietly carrying responsibilities without ever using that label. Many simply see it as normal life.

After more than a decade working alongside children, families, schools, local authorities, and community organisations, one thing continues to concern me: many of the Young Carers who need support are often the least likely to be identified.

Why?

Young Carers do not always present as children in crisis. In fact, many appear resilient, independent, mature, and exceptionally capable. Professionals may praise them for coping well, but survival skills are not always signs that a child is coping, and coping is not the same as thriving.

Childhood can slowly become replaced by responsibility. Friendships, hobbies, school opportunities, and moments of simply being a child, can be squeezed into the spaces left over after everyone else’s needs have been met. Research also consistently shows that Young Carers are more likely to experience poorer mental health, social isolation, and lower educational outcomes than their peers.

The challenge is that no single professional is likely to see the full impact of these experiences.

A GP may know a parent is struggling.

A school may notice a child is tired.

Mental health services may understand the diagnosis.

A community organisation may hear the disclosure.

A youth worker may notice a change in behaviour.

Individually, these observations can seem small. Separately, the picture remains incomplete, and children can remain unseen.

This is why multi-agency working is so important.

When professionals communicate, share insights, and work together, those individual pieces begin to form a clearer picture. Together, we have the power not only to identify Young Carers earlier, but to change the trajectory of their childhood, wellbeing, education, and future opportunities for the better.

For me, the solution is not just greater awareness of Young Carers, but stronger connections between the professionals and services that surround them. Effective multi-agency working enables us to connect those dots, recognise Young Carers earlier, and ensure support is coordinated around the child rather than expecting the child to navigate fragmented systems alone.

Young Carers do not need rescuing.

They need recognising.

Because the moment we recognise them, we can support them.

And the moment we support them; we give them something every child deserves:

The chance to be a child.

The Stories We’re Trusted to Tell, by Florence Battersby-Bates, Senior Communications and PR Manager

In the ten years I’ve worked in PR and communications, one thing has become clear: very little of what I write is truly my own. That isn’t a limitation, it’s a responsibility. Because every story I tell belongs to someone else – someone doing vital work, often without the time, platform or resource to tell it themselves.

When I joined John Lyon’s Charity in February 2020, none of us could have predicted how dramatically the world would change just weeks later. As we all adapted to a new way of living and working, communications became more important than ever. It was during this time that I had the privilege of meeting (virtually, of course) many of the extraordinary organisations we fund.

I learned about the scale of their work across our boroughs, supporting thousands of children and young people every single day. I heard about their challenges, their resilience, and their unwavering commitment to the communities they serve. And then, I was trusted to tell their stories.

Through conversations, case studies and campaigns, I’ve seen how funding doesn’t just support projects – it changes lives. What that means in practice is translating those moments into something others can connect with: a headline, a human story, a reason to care. Taking this work to the media isn’t just about visibility; it’s about helping audiences understand why grassroots organisations matter, and why sustained funding is essential to their impact.

There is something incredibly powerful about seeing those stories reach wider audiences, whether that’s on BBC Breakfast, Sky News, BBC London News, or across sector press. Not because John Lyon’s Charity is featured, but because our grantees are. Ultimately, our role is not to speak for our grantees, but to make sure they are heard. The reality for much of the voluntary and charitable sector is that time, resources and budgets are often stretched. Communications teams are small. Sometimes it’s just one person, or a responsibility shared across many roles. Capacity is limited, and communications can understandably fall to the bottom of the list. If John Lyon’s Charity can lend its platform and its voice to amplify the work that our groups do, we will gladly do so. And that is a responsibility we never take lightly.

Of course, the reality of our sector is that within every organisation we support are stories waiting to be told. And sharing them doesn’t always require a large budget or a dedicated comms team. The world today offers more ways than ever to communicate and reach the audiences that matter – the key is knowing not just what to say, but where to say it.

Sometimes it starts with one simple question: What do we need people to understand right now and who needs to hear it? From there, you can begin to match your message to the right platform and start small:

Start with what’s already in the spotlight: Awareness days, national conversations or news moments give you a ready-made platform – whether that’s a social post, a blog, or a media comment.
Choose the right channels for your audience: Not every story needs a press release. Some are better suited to LinkedIn, a newsletter, your website, or a short video. Think about where your stakeholders are already listening.
Use the voices you already have: Your team, trustees and volunteers hold real insight – a short blog, quote or video shared on your own channels can carry as much weight as a full campaign.
Tell one story well: A single case study, placed thoughtfully, whether with local media, on your website or across social can do more than a dozen rushed updates. Depth beats volume every time.
Don’t do it alone: Partners and funders can help amplify your message across their platforms – in this sector, the strongest communications are collaborative.

Here at John Lyon’s Charity, we see communications as part of that partnership. We are always looking for meaningful stories to share and celebrate – whether that’s a press release, a feature, or a spotlight in our monthly Lyon Bites newsletter. We also fund communications capacity through our Capacity Building grants because we understand just how stretched the sector can be. Communications in the charity sector is not about polished campaigns or big budgets. It’s about shared voices, collective storytelling, and making sure the work that matters is seen and heard.

I will continue working in communications for many years to come – listening, shaping and sharing stories that are not my own. Not to speak for others, but to make space for them to be heard. Because when those voices reach the audiences they deserve, the impact goes far beyond any single story.

About Flo

How did you get into PR and Comms?
Like many people, I fell into PR and communications rather than planning it outright. After starting out in radio, I moved into broadcast PR, where I spent several years working at a specialist broadcast agency on a range of meaningful and high-profile campaigns.

However, it was the charity sector that truly captured my interest. I found the greatest sense of purpose in placing stories for organisations like Blue Cross on BBC Breakfast or securing media coverage for Bowel Cancer UK – a cause close to my heart. I realised I wanted to use my communications skills to make a difference, so I moved into the charity sector full-time. I’ve been here ever since and recently celebrated my sixth anniversary.

What has been your favourite campaign since working at JLC?
My favourite campaign so far has been celebrating JLC’s ten-year anniversary of the School Holiday Activity Fund, or SHAF, as it’s widely known across our community.

Known as SHAFari (a name I am proud to have come up with), the campaign culminated in a large-scale event for 500 children at London Zoo, requiring careful planning, clear messaging and close coordination across a large team. It secured sector press, extensive regional and national media coverage while also strengthening key stakeholder relationships.

What made SHAFari particularly memorable was its breadth. It brought together PR, communications, events, social media and team leadership, alongside high-profile engagement before and after the event. We also welcomed the Children’s Commissioner on the day, who took part in national media activity. It remains a real career highlight.

Which comms campaign surprised you?
During lockdown, when I was very new to JLC, I quickly built relationships with the grassroots charities we fund and saw first-hand the impact the pandemic was having on children in our communities.

Using Zoom, I recorded interviews with grantees working on the frontline and edited these together into a short film: The Hidden Impact of Lockdown. It had no budget and was far from polished – contributors were often filming on phones or working with limited Wi-Fi, but the strength of the stories carried it.

The response exceeded all expectations. The film was picked up by local media and sector press and was shortlisted at the Charity Film Awards Finals in 2021. It was a powerful reminder that impactful communications don’t always require large budgets – sometimes a clear message and authentic voices are enough to create real reach and engagement.

Do you need support telling your story?

If you have a story you would like support sharing, we are here to help. If you have been funded by us, we would love to hear how our funding has made a difference to the young people you support – whether through a case study or media opportunity.

You can also explore our Media Support grant, designed to help you access the communications support you need to share your impact.

And if you would like to stay connected, you can sign up to our monthly newsletter, Lyon Bites, sent on the last Friday of each month. It includes additional resources, community updates, and our Lyonize of the Month, celebrating members of our community. To sign up or find out more, please email [email protected].

Meet Amira Kaadan, Chief Operating Officer of John Lyon’s Charity

Amira Kaadan has been with John Lyon’s Charity for just over a year, stepping into the newly created role of Chief Operating Officer at a pivotal moment in the organisation’s growth. The position was established to strengthen the Charity’s operational and strategic capacity as it continues to expand its impact, ensuring that its endowment and internal functions are effectively managed to support its long-term mission.

What does a typical day look like for you as a COO of JLC?

A typical day to day for me involves a lot of liaising and coordinating. As an endowed charity, we work with many third parties who manage different parts of our endowment, like contractors, property managers, investment managers, lawyers and so on. A large part of my role involves oversight of the day-to-day activities of the third parties, making sure the endowment is properly managed, reporting is completed on time, and any issues are dealt with professionally.

The other half of my role oversees the financial and operational side of JLC, including office management, HR, finance and IT. I’m fortunate to have a brilliant team that supports me with these various functions.

What was your first role in the charity sector?

My first role in the charity sector was working as a Fundraising Manager for a small charity. I was hired to create and implement the charity’s fundraising strategy, outlining how we could raise funds from donations, campaigns, events, and several other avenues. It was a really fun role because my day-to-day involved attending a range of events such as supper clubs, cinema events, and even stalls at markets and festivals. When COVID hit, all our events had to move online, so I had to think creatively about how we could keep our events engaging at a distance. We did this through online book clubs, webinars and panel discussions. We also shifted towards applying for grants. As COVID made in‑person events impossible, my role naturally expanded into internal operations as the team became smaller. I became a Fundraising and Operations Manager until I was offered my next role.

I then moved to an international development charity as Head of Operations, which is similar to my current role at JLC. I managed all internal operations including HR, legal matters, compliance, and general oversight of contractors delivering projects.

Would you recommend working in the charity sector?

The main reason I chose to work in the charity sector is that I wanted to work in a place where my personal values closely aligned with the organisation’s mission. It makes much more sense to me to work in an organisation that positively impacts people’s lives, than only making profit.

I worked in the for-profit and commercial sectors for a long time before transitioning to the third sector. Now I feel my work has a much more meaningful impact even if I’m not directly implementing the projects the charity supports. I feel a part of a community that makes a difference to the lives of others, and that’s made a huge difference to my day-to-day motivation.

Do you have any advice for anyone starting out in the sector?

For anyone considering working in this sector, I would suggest working somewhere that aligns with your personal values – whether it be community work, education, social justice focused or otherwise. That will make the biggest difference to your day-to-day motivation and long-term satisfaction.

Beyond choosing a charity that aligns with your values, I would advise newcomers to be very mindful of the context of the organisation they will be working in. Every charity has a different mission, culture, and community. For example, the way you work in a small local charity can be completely different from how you work in an international development organisation.

You’ll need to be mindful of cultural differences, work patterns and organisational values. The internal structure or expectations in a charity that tackles poverty may look completely different to funding charities or those which fundraise. Understanding the charity’s context early on helps you develop healthy work patterns, prevents misunderstandings, and supports your long‑term growth.

Another important aspect to consider is being absolutely sure you want to pursue a career in the nonprofit sector, especially in the UK. It is relatively easy to move from the commercial sector into charity work, but much harder to move back. So, think carefully about the long‑term direction you want take.

Lessons learned from your time at JLC?

The first big lesson I learned is to never underestimate how much learning I still need and to not take things for granted.

Joining JLC was my first time working with an endowed charity, which is very different from my previous experience in fundraising‑based organisations. I am grateful for the opportunity to learn about the specificities of endowment management. I also learnt that the team makes a big difference to the workday. It’s safe to say the team at JLC makes the workday enjoyable and engaging. I am constantly inspired by the Grants Team and their connection to the grantees. It’s incredibly rewarding and inspiring to witness their dedication and commitment to the Charity’s mission.

I’ve also learned to value the communities that we support differently. Ultimately, they are the ones delivering the work we fund, directly supporting children and young people and working to bring change to their local communities. It’s the communities that we support that make us, not the other way around.

Our Response to the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Reform by Tom Mansell, Senior Grants Manager

Last week the government published its long-awaited white paper on special educational needs and disabilities – a reform that has been anticipated by children and young people, families, teachers, voluntary and community sector (VCS) organisations, and funders alike.

At John Lyon’s Charity, we have seen how the current special educational needs and disabilities system has struggled under increasing pressure, and how this has affected some of the most marginalised children and young people in our communities. These pressures are not surprising. In our Beneficial Area alone, the number of Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) has risen dramatically, more than doubling over the past five years, reflecting growing levels of need and a system stretched beyond its capacity. We work closely with organisations including IPSEA, Contact Ealing, and Harrow Law Centre, among others, who support families through this process every day, whether that means securing an EHCP assessment, challenging decisions, or advocating for the right support in education and at home. For many families, this journey has been long, exhausting, and emotionally draining. Too often, securing appropriate provision has been a long battle against a system that has not worked for families. As a result, EHCPs have come to represent more than just a legal document, for many families, they have been a lifeline, offering structure, accountability, and hope. Against this context, the government’s proposal to move away from EHCPs for many children, replacing them with new Individual Support Plans (ISPs), will understandably feel worrying and disheartening for many families, particularly those facing reassessment.

John Lyon’s Charity welcomes the change:

The white paper does include welcome elements, particularly the significant emphasis on early intervention, early identification and early years services. There is strong evidence that identifying and addressing need early leads to better outcomes for children and young people, and reduces long-term pressure on schools, families, and services. As a supporter of schools and early years settings, the Charity has seen that early identification often relies on skilled practitioners, particularly dedicated staff in early years settings, who truly get the opportunity to understand the children they work with. Increased investment in training, workforce development, and early support services has the potential to create a stronger, more responsive system.

The proposed introduction of “expert at hand” roles, designed to give schools access to specialist advice and support, also has the potential to offer a valuable lifeline to teachers. Educators are on the frontline of responding to rising need, and improved access to expertise in emotional wellbeing, neurodiversity, and inclusion will provide schools with much needed capacity and expertise.

We also welcome the government’s approach to continued dialogue with young people and families who have lived experience of special educational needs and disability, a cohort of society that too often has services delivered to them rather than with them. Co‑production with families has been a critical pillar of the Charity’s Perspectives series, and we encourage all organisations to maintain open and honest dialogue with families to build on their knowledge and expertise. The government’s ongoing commitment to consultation with families will be crucial to the successful rollout of these planned changes.

Our caution:

With any major system change comes uncertainty, and this will be felt by many families, schools, and organisations in the months ahead. At the Charity, we hope these reforms will serve all those they are intended to support, and do not inadvertently deepen already existing inequalities.

Pressure on schools: Schools are already under immense pressure, facing tight budgets, staffing challenges, and rising levels of need. The reforms place greater responsibility on schools to design, manage, and deliver Individual Support Plans, and it is essential that this is backed with appropriate funding, training, and specialist support. There is also a risk that increased pressure on schools could narrow the curriculum and reduce access to wider learning opportunities, particularly in Arts and culture, which the Charity has long championed. These opportunities provide enormous value for children and young people, supporting confidence, communication, emotional regulation, and life skills. They must not revert to being treated as optional extras.

Impact on community and voluntary organisations:  We know that many community-based organisations, including youth clubs, sports settings and Arts and cultural groups, currently use EHCPs to understand children’s needs and adapt their provision accordingly. Last summer, we surveyed 75 community organisations about the provision they have in place for young people with learning and access needs, over 40% of whom relied on EHCPs to identify and respond to the needs of their young people. As the system moves towards school-led Support Plans, it is vital that information continues to be shared safely and appropriately beyond the school gates.  Children and young people do not live their lives solely within schools. A truly inclusive system must consider the whole community around the child, ensuring that organisations supporting learning, wellbeing, creativity, and social development have the information and support they need to deliver safe, meaningful, and inclusive provision.

Transitions:  A concerning aspect of the reforms is the potential impact on key transition points, particularly the move from primary to secondary school. For children currently in early primary education, the proposed changes mean reassessment at the end of primary school, coinciding with one of the most significant transitions in a child’s life. This is a daunting moment for any young person, but especially so for those with special educational needs and disabilities. Our work on school transitions, including through the Schools Transition Initiative, shows that young people with special educational needs and disabilities face higher risks of disengagement in education, even in Year 7. Without strong relationships between families, feeder primary schools, and the secondary schools, young people can quickly disengage with their new education settings. We know that to date, EHCPs have helped provide continuity, clarity, and accountability during these key transitions and provide secondary schools with a clearer blueprint on how to support incoming young people. Any new system must ensure that this stability is not lost.

A Fair System:  There must also be recognition that not all families start from the same place. Families where parents speak English as a second language, or who were not educated within the UK school system. Initiatives such as the Parent Ambassador Project (funded within 25 schools to date) are helping to bridge this gap between schools and their communities, which is already challenging for overstretched schools, before families begin to try and navigate the special educational needs and disabilities processes. The reforms must not compound these challenges, particularly if rights and entitlements become less clear. There is also a danger that changes will disproportionately affect families on lower incomes, who may not be able to pay for private assessments, specialist provision, or legal advocacy. Without strong safeguards, this risks widening existing inequalities in access to support and outcomes.

Our commitment:

As families, schools, and the wider sector engage in further dialogue with government, we want you to know that we are on this journey with you. For our grantees, regardless of your organisation’s mission, we are keen to understand how these changes will affect your work and the questions and concerns you have.

We remain optimistic that, with appropriate funding, support, and accountability, a shift away from a crisis-driven system towards early identification and intervention can deliver long-term benefits for children and young people. For the children and young people at the heart of these changes, our hope is that we do not lose sight of the bigger picture: every child’s right to equal access, meaningful opportunity, and a positive childhood. After all, we only get one.

To find out more about the Charity’s views on this matter, please visit our Cultural Inclusion page.

From Isolation to Inclusion: Creating a Sense of Belonging in Schools by Mark Griffiths, Educational Psychotherapist and CEO of The School & Family Works

Children’s Mental Health Week shines a light on how children understand themselves, their emotions and their place in the world. As we reflect on this year’s theme “This Is My Place”, the message is clear: children need spaces where they feel safe to share their feelings, be heard and truly belong.

At John Lyon’s Charity (JLC), we know that belonging is not something children should earn. It is something they need – and something we can create together. That belief underpins our long-standing commitment to supporting children and young people’s mental health. Since 2010, JLC has awarded 242 grants totalling over £17,607,043 to organisations working to strengthen emotional wellbeing, support and resilience and worked to create systems to make access to mental health support easier and less daunting.

Our grantees see every day how powerful a sense of belonging can be. One example is through the work of The School & Family Works who have received grants from John Lyon’s Charity totalling £550,834 since 2011.

Through their multi-family therapy model, Family Group, they harness the two most powerful systems in a child’s life – family and school – to create lasting change. When marginalised individuals come together in community, they find solidarity, strengthen emotional and social skills, amplify their voices and recognise their own expertise. The root of this is belonging.

Mark Griffiths, Educational Psychotherapist UKCP and CEO of The School & Family Works shares his firsthand views on why the feeling of belonging is so important to a child’s mental health.

From Isolation to Inclusion: Creating a Sense of Belonging in Schools

We human beings are mammals. Like all mammals, we live in groups. In terms of survival, we don’t do very well on our own. Over hundreds of thousands of years, we have evolved as interdependent members of communities. Belonging is crucial. We are loyal within our groups. We do not want to find ourselves on the periphery, or worse still, pushed out. Losing our sense of belonging is catastrophic. Ousted from our group, we experience meaninglessness, fear, guilt and shame.

The pull of belonging

Pondering this may take you back to the playground. It does for me.

Moments in school where I had to choose, to show up and declare which way I was going to go. Would I stand by my new friend or join with the racist taunting? Would I pay attention to the teacher or give my loyalty to friends with peashooters made from broken biros?

The pull of belonging is a permanent feature of our human condition. We learn early how to scan our environment, assess our place within it, and adjust ourselves to stay safely inside the group. It happens everywhere, continually, even in simple moments when we join the queue for the bus. What are the rules? What do I have to do to fit here?

We’re conscious of how far we are from that place of innocence, the centre of the belonging group. We negotiate our distance. To over-claim is to risk being exposed and shamed:

Guardian reader? Yes, but not broadsheet, online. I do subscribe though.

Vegetarian? Yes. For decades actually, although, well… with the very occasional bit of fish.

We note inconsistencies to weaken claims of belonging – the incongruity of the nationalist Reform leader having a surname originating with French Huguenot refugees!

When belonging is fractured

Many of the children and adults who join Family Group have experienced serious challenges to their sense of belonging. Rifts within the family of origin, the original belonging group, are common. Loss and separation can fragment family.

Cumulative challenges erode trust and hope, especially when helping services prioritise organisational needs over the relational needs of the individual. Families experiencing poverty, disadvantage and discrimination navigate multiple systems in their everyday lives, many of which do not meet their needs or allow them to thrive. Unsupported, undermined by prejudice, it’s a natural protective response to retreat into isolation.

Family Group offers a different journey: from isolation, through inclusion, to belonging -supporting children’s mental health through safe, relational, school-based multi-family therapy.

What we’ve learned about creating belonging in schools and families

After 15 years of partnering with schools and families in Family Group, we’ve learned a great deal about what helps belonging take root.

Our Clinical Theory of Change is informed by James Kepner’s Healing Tasks model (1995), and shaped by the work of John Bowlby, Bruce Perry, Dan Siegel and Robert Waldinger, among others. Our approach has been strengthened by independent evaluations from academics based at The Office for Public Management, University College London, Cambridge and the London School of Economics – and, most importantly, by what we learn every week from the children, parents, carers and school staff we work alongside in 12 primary schools.

Here are some of our key learnings

1. Safety comes first

Belonging begins with safety. Trust allows people to feel received rather than evaluated. When trust is established, there is space to reconnect, reflect and heal.

With another person holding belief alongside them, children and adults can begin to trust their own experience again. From this, hope can grow.

2. Reliability matters

Belonging cannot grow from false promises.

We ask ourselves hard questions: Is our offer relevant? Does it genuinely meet this family’s needs? Can we deliver it consistently? Are we sufficiently supported ourselves?

This is not a “fake it till you make it” moment. Creating false hope is a backwards step. Reliability – doing what you say you will do – is foundational to trust.

3. Start where families are and go at their pace

From the very first contact, Family Group therapists create an atmosphere of welcome, curiosity and calm. Anxiety is gently reduced by meeting families exactly where they are.

Our facilitators are visible and embedded in school communities – at the school gate, in the playground, and in shared spaces. Relationships are built slowly and respectfully, especially with those on the periphery. Every interaction is therapeutic.

It works. On average, families attend Family Group weekly for fifteen months before graduating.

4. Is it safe enough?

We work from the belief that “there is always a readiness for attachment – if it is offered in sufficient safety.”

If engagement is not happening, we do not ask, “What’s wrong with this family?” We ask, “How can this be made safer?” What needs to be named? How do we show respect for existing belonging groups?

Safety is not assumed; it is continually negotiated.

5. Stay present

Children and families quickly sense whether someone is truly available. Presence is relational authenticity – the willingness to stay, to listen, and to respond without judgement.

This is not a one-off action, but an ongoing process.

Children’s Mental Health Week reminds us that belonging is central to children’s wellbeing.

Family Group is a journey from isolation, to inclusion, to belonging. By creating safe, reliable and relational spaces within schools, Family Group enables children and families to reconnect, build trust and begin to heal together. When belonging is restored, children are better able to stay present, regulate their emotions and engage in learning and relationships.

“The long-term impacts – academic thriving and broader participation in school

life – are made possible by the relational, reflective work at the heart of Family Group” (Smail & Schulte 2025). If you are a school thinking about how to strengthen belonging and mental health within your community, we would welcome a conversation about how Family Group could support your pupils, families and staff.

Written by Mark Griffiths, CEO of The School & Family Works. Founded in 2009, The School & Family Works is a London charity driven by one purpose: to help children facing adversity succeed in school and in life. Family Group is their flagship therapeutic intervention, where schools and families come together to nurture children’s wellbeing and success.

Cooking up a Collaboration: A Framework of Best Practice by Julia Rinne, Evaluation and Learning Manager

In 2021, John Lyon’s Charity launched its Home-School-Community strategy, and with it, the Collaboration Fund. In a blog post published in September, I shared some of the key learnings we have taken from the first four years of the Fund. These learnings have been used to put together a framework of best practice, or suggested guidelines, for successful collaboration. The evaluation of the Fund is ongoing, and we are continually learning and evolving our thinking. The ‘key ingredients’ of a successful collaboration shared here are therefore based on our current understanding and may evolve as new learnings emerge over the lifecycle of the Fund. The framework may also not be applicable to all collaborations everywhere at all times, but should rather be treated as a guide and adapted as appropriate. Nonetheless, the themes in this guide have emerged from the learnings of different clusters of organisations working on a range of issues in different geographical locations across our Beneficial Area.

It should be noted that this guide is aimed at collaborations that have already secured funding for their project.

Outlined below are the core principles and key ingredients of successful collaborative working, as shared by our Collaboration Fund grantees.

Core principles:

Shared vision – Commit to a common set of goals, values, and expected outcomes before activity begins.

Shared leadership and equal partners – Distribute leadership responsibilities across partners based on expertise and task, not status. Treat each partner as equally valuable while recognising different roles and constraints.

Transparency – Make decisions, roles, and processes explicit and visible to all partners.

Flexibility and learning – Design for iteration, adaptation, and continuous improvement.

Key ingredients of successful collaboration:

Prioritising the set-up phase

Convene a launch workshop in a neutral setting with senior representation from each partner. It is recommended that partners meet regularly especially early on in the collaboration, in order to get to know one another and establish trust. Meeting in person where possible often helps with relationship- and trust-building. Allocate time, resource, and budget for these relationship-building activities. It should be noted that collaboration among partners should not just take place at the project delivery or implementation phase, but from much earlier, during the early phases of planning, brainstorming, and fundraising.

Co-create a brief ‘collaboration charter’ or partnership agreement that outlines the purpose of the collaboration, shared goals, shared core values, timeline, high-level outcomes, and review points. Agree and document roles and responsibilities, assigning a meeting chair and named leads for project coordination, data and evaluation, a safeguarding liaison, and anything else as appropriate.

Agree decision rules – which decisions require consensus, which can be made by a task lead, and any relevant escalation routes.

Create a simple internal communication plan covering which communication channels to use and when (e.g. WhatsApp, Google drive, Microsoft Teams, etc), expected response times, meeting frequency, and a single point of contact per organisation.

Draft a data and information sharing agreement that specifies what data will be shared with whom, policies on data retention, anonymisation, and safeguarding measures.

Create a brief evaluation plan so that it is clear from the start what outcomes need to be measured and what data you aspire to collect. Clearly also outline key indicators, data sources, collection methods, timings, and responsibilities.

Governance, power-sharing, and conflict resolution

Use task-based leads rather than an overall ‘lead partner’ to prevent hierarchy while ensuring timely decisions.

Rotate meeting chairs and facilitation responsibilities where feasible to balance influence. Alternatively, using a neutral facilitator can work well. Consider appointing an impartial facilitator or mediator for high-stakes meetings and conflict moments.

Set regular governance checkpoints with senior leaders to secure buy-in.

Record decisions and rationales in meeting minutes accessible to all partners. Also document conflicts and resolutions as learning points for future collaboration.

Identify non-negotiables (e.g. school safeguarding rules) and document how the collaboration will adapt to them.

Communication, meetings, and relationship-building

Schedule a regular mix of meeting types – for example, monthly operational meetings, quarterly strategic reviews, and ad-hoc calls.

Prioritise face-to-face meetings where possible to build trust. Use structured agendas but include time for informal relationship-building.

Avoid vague emails and prioritise concise, action-oriented communications that list decisions, owners of actions, and deadlines.

Build in protected time for partners to co-design and reflect, not just report progress. This helps with remembering the bigger picture and not getting too ‘bogged down’ in the details of the day-to-day work.

Apply ground rules in every meeting, such as one speaker at a time, focusing on solutions rather than assigning blame, and sharing concerns early.

Evaluation, learning, and sustainability

Budget funding for evaluation and external evaluators where needed.

Consider setting up a Theory of Change for the collaboration to guide impact measurement. Use mixed evaluation methods, such as qualitative case studies plus quantitative measures where feasible.

Agree data access and anonymisation processes to enable meaningful evaluation while meeting data protection and safeguarding requirements.

Plan for legacy and sustainability from the start by documenting processes, lessons learned, and by having a succession plan for beyond the funding. In the third and final post in this series we will dive deeper into considerations around the legacy and sustainability of collaborations.

Using this framework can support successful collaboration by fostering faster, more intensive joint work enabled by deeper relationships. It could also foster greater capacity for innovation through iterative testing and adaptation, and long-term habits of open communication and quick problem escalation across partners. We suggest adapting each element of the framework to the local context and revisiting the framework at regular intervals to refine governance, communication, and evaluation practices.

Does this framework resonate with your experience of collaboration? Or do you prefer a different way of working? We would love to hear from you! Please feel free to share your thoughts with me at [email protected].

The YPF Journey: Ten Years of Celebration By Erik Mesel, Director of Public Policy and Partnerships

In December 2025 the Government published the country’s first National Youth Strategy in over two decades. Lack of focus and statutory support for this sector has seen its obvious decline over this period and John Lyon’s Charity welcomes this renewed attention, which is long overdue. Linked to this, the end of 2025 also marked ten years since the first Young People’s Foundations (YPFs) were established in Brent, Barnet, and Harrow. The Charity has published a comprehensive report charting the first decade of their impact.

The YPF model was created as a direct response to the sustained pressures facing the Children and Young People’s sector, particularly those experienced by the voluntary sector across our Beneficial Area, caused in part by the lack of local structures and investment. Created to address fragmentation, shrinking resources and the growing gap between local need and available support, YPFs were designed to bring together the public, private and voluntary sectors to work collectively for young people. Rooted in their local communities and led by their members, each YPF is shaped by the needs and assets of its area but united by a shared ambition: to build a more impactful, co-ordinated and sustainable sector so that all young people can access high-quality support and opportunities.

The YPF journey started in the early years of austerity, when cuts to Local Government budgets were significant and, far too often fell disproportionately on non-statutory services such as Youth Services. The impact has been profound. Since 2010, local authority spending on youth services in England has fallen by 73% and is now £1.2 billion lower than in 2010. More than 1,000 youth centres have closed, and over 4,500 youth worker roles have been lost.

Drawing on our long-standing, place-based presence and thematic focus on children and young people, John Lyon’s Charity recognised that traditional grantmaking alone would not be enough to address these structural challenges. Back in 2014, we already had 23 years’ experience in the Beneficial Area, deep relationships with funded organisations and a strong understanding of the local children and youth ecosystem. The Charity saw a sector that was highly fragmented and dominated by small and medium-sized organisations that lacked the scale, infrastructure and influence needed for long-term sustainability. The creation of the Young People’s Foundations was a deliberate strategy to attempt to change the underlying structures around local youth provision, strengthen the organisations that deliver it, and enable more resilient, collaborative systems for children and young people to thrive.

The Charity’s close relationships with local authorities were critical to the origins of the YPFs. In 2014, during discussions with the London Borough of Brent about the future of its Youth Service, the Charity proposed a joint venture with the Council and the local voluntary sector. This partnership became Young Brent Foundation.

Building on this model, YPFs quickly expanded to neighbouring boroughs, Barnet and Harrow, which faced similar challenges in their Youth Services. Each YPF is an independent, member-led organisation shaped by the needs of its local community. While they do not directly deliver services to young people, they bring together local partners to unlock funding, build capacity, and create networking opportunities with local authorities, charities, funders, and other services, helping to strengthen and sustain the sector over the long term.

From 2015 to 2019, JLC, together with the youth voluntary sector and local authorities, established eight YPFs in Brent, Barnet, Camden, Ealing, Harrow, H&F, RBK&C and Westminster. These Foundations have since grown into sizable local charities, bringing together over 1,300 community organisations across North and West London. In 2016, after conversations with Manchester City Council (MCC), Young Manchester was established, extending the YPF model to the MCC area.

Over the past decade, John Lyon’s Charity has invested £9 million into the eight YPFs in the Beneficial Area – funding that has sustained core costs, driven forward projects through collaboration and unlocked further funding at a time of intense financial pressure on both charities and local government. Crucially, the eight local authorities now contribute 38% of YPFs’ core costs contributing to the model’s long-term sustainability and demonstrating its value as a cost-effective, partnership-led approach to youth investment. The findings of our report are impressive: since 2015, the eight Foundations in the Beneficial Area have distributed over £17 million in grants, and in the last financial year alone, YPFs in London have secured c.£1M in new investment for member organisations via collaborative bids and fundraising. 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 plan for JLC to prevent an outer London council Youth Service from closing has now moved beyond London. In 2019, JLC and the nine then existing YPFs established the YPF Trust, an umbrella organisation for the YPFs, to support the model’s growth. The Trust developed a ‘YPF in a Box’ and a variety of other tools, on how to develop Local Youth Partnerships. This has supported the model’s growth, with 24 YPFs across the country and 64 local authority areas having a form of local youth partnership established. In this anniversary year the YPFs have started to branch out abroad with interest from Mitte Youth Service in Berlin and the Italian Youth Ministry.

Being young in 2026 is not easy, running a youth organisation in 2026 is also very hard. Funding is tight and Youth Services have for many years been a Cinderella service, often the first to be cut and the last to be prioritised for new investment. As a result, the need for collaboration at the local level is more important than ever. The YPFs were established at time of shrinking budgets, but survived and even thrived, creating a model to better serve Children and Young People. YPFs prioritise local needs and foregrounds small groups that are close to the people they serve. It will be exciting to see what the next ten years will bring.

Why We Need to Talk About Money by Karen Millen, Director of Impact and Grant Practice

Talking about money is rarely easy. For many charities and community organisations, it can feel uncomfortable to ask for it, difficult to justify it, or daunting to put precise figures into a proposal letter. Yet being clear about funding needs, how much is required, why it is needed, and what it will achieve – is one of the most important parts of a strong grant application.

At John Lyon’s Charity, we see this every day. Our Grants Team spends much of its time reading proposals, reviewing budgets, and understanding the financial realities behind the work taking place across our Beneficial Area. We know that proposals do not need to be glossy or professionally produced; clarity and purpose matter far more. Being specific about what you want to do, who will benefit, and how the funding will be used helps us understand where we can best offer support.

We recognise that asking for money, and deciding how much to ask for, can feel challenging. This is why we aim to be open about our funding approach and clear about what we need from applicants. Reading our funding guidelines, ensuring eligibility, and taking time to explain exactly what the funding will be used for will help us understand how we can support you most effectively. A focused proposal of around two sides of A4, clearly setting out the purpose, costs, and outcomes of your work, is often all that is needed.

Talking honestly about money is not a barrier to funding – it is often the starting point for a constructive conversation.

The Cost-of-Living crisis has brought money to the fore for everyone. Low-income families, who are often incredible at budgeting to the last penny, found themselves unable to withstand the sudden and consistent price rises. As a result, they reached out to charities for support, and we have all seen the impact this demand has had on charities’ ability to deliver their services. Not only does it stretch staff and resources, but it also puts a strain on an organisation’s finances and reserves. As a pebble in a pond, the effects ripple and impact John Lyon’s Charity too. More charities are seeking funding, but those charities also need more money to just maintain delivery, at a time when our available spend is not growing enough to keep pace with demand.

We operate on a total return policy; we take the average value of our endowment over the past four years and are allowed to spend 3.5% of that annually. This provides a healthy grants budget as well as ensuring our sustainability for the future. But with the value of our endowment only changing minimally in recent years, the change in our grants budget is marginal.

We committed to providing larger grants as part of our current strategy, in order to provide more security for the sector; but given our available spend isn’t growing, this inevitably means we are also awarding fewer grants. We are constantly trying to strike a balance; we want to fund things properly, but also ensure we maintain a breadth of opportunity across our whole Beneficial Area and maximise our impact. We are having to make difficult decisions and budget, just like every person, family and charity today. We are fortunate (and mindful) that we have a greater safety net behind us, and we are constantly discussing whether there is more we can do. We also need to have more honest and open conversations with applicants about the realities of their financial situation. As demonstrated through our Recovery Fund, we will help where we can, but we will also be a critical friend when the numbers don’t add up. Just like we need to get more comfortable talking about money in our personal lives, we need to be better at it in our professional lives too.

We also know that many questions about money are best explored through conversation. That is why we will shortly be hosting a JLC webinar, creating space for current grantees and new grant seekers to ask those tricky questions around costs, budgets and funding requests. While money can feel hard or uncomfortable to talk about, we want to open the floor and make those conversations easier.

Ultimately, being open about money allows us to do what we aim to do best: offer support where possible, act as a critical friend when needed, and work in partnership with organisations delivering vital work across our Beneficial Area. By talking more honestly and clearly about funding needs, we can help ensure that limited resources are used thoughtfully, sustainably and to the greatest possible impact.

**‘Youth work works’ goes the saying**

This month marked Youth Work Week – an annual celebration of the life-changing impact of youth work across the UK. It’s a moment to pause, reflect, and celebrate the dedicated practitioners who create safe, inspiring spaces for young people to grow and thrive. This piece is a reflection on both the challenges and successes we see across the youth work sector and within our own Beneficial Area.

Youth work offers a wealth of direct benefits to the young people, from improved physical health and wellbeing to the development of pro-social behaviours such as volunteering and teamwork. From an economic standpoint, it is estimated that for every £1 invested in youth provision (i.e. youth centres, youth workers, and positive activities for young people to do) – there is a return of at least £2.40 in financial, economic, and social benefits. Perhaps even more compellingly, youth work initiatives have been shown to reduce crime and improve education outcomes.

However, these gains come against a backdrop of serious decline in traditional youth work provision delivered outside of school hours. Across the UK and particularly in London, youth centres have been closing at an alarming rate due to a lack of sustained investment. The number of qualified youth workers has fallen sharply – research shows that 4,500 practitioners have left the sector since 2021, and almost half of job listings (49%) no longer require a formal qualification. The closure of key training providers, such as YMCA George Williams College, has made it harder for new entrants to join the profession. Together with the long-term impact of the pandemic, these trends have left a concerning gap in provision. A pessimist might ask: is there much to celebrate during Youth Work Week? It’s a good thing this sector is led by optimists.

At John Lyon’s Charity, we’re fortunate to see first-hand the great work of individuals and organisations working tirelessly to buck these trends and keep youth work alive in our communities. Since awarding its first grants in 1992, the Charity has been a staunch advocate for youth work and currently supports over 40 local organisations delivering both mainstream and specialist programmes – including those for young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Seeing the quality of these services and hearing the stories of their impact reinforces just how vital they are.

One such story comes from The Avenues Youth Project in North Westminster, which recently shared the journey of a 13-year-old who initially struggled to adapt to group settings, often acting impulsively and clashing with peers. Over 12 months, through creative activities such as music production and cooking, and with the guidance of older mentors, this young person learned to manage frustration, engage calmly in team activities, and now contributes positively to sessions -showing empathy and leadership among peers.

Another example is Action on Disability’s (AOD) SEND Youth Clubs in Hammersmith and Fulham, which provide a welcoming environment for young people who may experience social isolation or sensory overload in mainstream settings. The strong sense of community at AOD enables participants to form friendships, build confidence, and support one another – outcomes that are invaluable for their wellbeing.

Youth work provides belonging, friendship, and opportunities for personal development through skill-building and new experiences not available at home or school. It can be genuinely transformative for young people who find formal education challenging, offering an alternative space where they can re-engage in a more flexible and supportive way. This approach aligns closely with the Charity’s commitment to informal education, which recognises that meaningful learning and growth often happen beyond the classroom.

Youth work offers a sense of belonging, a safe space to socialise with friends, and make new ones, and opportunities for personal development through skill acquisition and trying activities not available at home or school. In some instances, it can be truly life changing for some young people, leading to a change of direction and experiences which shape their approach in their adult life.

In supplement to supporting revenue costs of front-line youth groups, the Charity is also developing the sector through initiatives such as the Young People’s Foundations (YPFs). Established in 2015, YPFs offer a range of capacity building support services including training and development for practitioners. A great example of this is the Level Up youth work partnership, which last year supported, trained and provided bursaries for 42 practitioners to attain Level 1 and/or Level 2-3 Youth Work Diplomas. This investment is providing much needed resource to upskill the existing workforce and provide a recognised qualification for the next generation of youth workers.. There remains a clear and continuing demand for high-quality youth work and for the dedicated staff who deliver it.

‘Youth work works’ goes the saying and the Charity can testify that this is true. This year alone, there has been much to celebrate:

The Sulgrave Club in Shepherd’s Bush marked its 100^th anniversary
The world’s oldest youth club – St Andrew’s Clu b in Westminster welcomed a royal visitor.
In Kensington and Chelsea, Earls Court Youth Club and Youth Action Alliance were recognised for their contributions to local communities.

Youth work continues to face challenges, but it remains resilient. John Lyon’s Charity is proud to stand alongside the people and organisations ensuring that young people continue to have spaces where they are seen, supported, and inspired to thrive.

Title: Video titled: The Avenues Youth Project

Care Experienced Week: Enrichment Opportunities Abound!

Every one of us would wish for any children in our lives to be able to experience fun, exciting activities and experiences that can broaden their horizons, push them to new heights, ignite a new passion, learn and develop skills, and present an excellent opportunity to make new friends. For children in care¹, accessing such enrichment opportunities can be as challenging as it is beneficial, in part due to the all too frequent instability in their lives.

Rather than focusing on the well-documented outcomes for children in care, which are generally poorer across the board than for the average non-care experienced child (links at the bottom of this post), this Care Experienced Week, I’d like to share – and celebrate – ‘The Enrichment Initiative’, a collaboration that John Lyon’s Charity has been supporting since 2018, which has enabled hundreds of children and young people from the Virtual Schools in Barnet, Brent, Ealing and Harrow to access new and exciting opportunities.

Through the Enrichment Initiative, John Lyon’s Charity provides grants to the educational charity Securing Success to fund an Enrichment Coordination Supplier (referred to here as the ‘Coordinator’) and to support activity costs for each of the participating Virtual Schools. The Coordinator works across the Virtual Schools in Barnet, Brent, Ealing and Harrow to identify needs, facilitate suitable activities, and build partnerships that create a rich programme of opportunities for children and young people in their care. To name just a few, these have included:

Curriculum Enhancement and Access: STEM residentials at Brunel University; Reading Club including ‘meet the author’ events facilitated by The London Library; Harrow School Lumina Tuition, Study Club and enrichment; Springboard Youth Academy supporting newly arrived refugees with life skills and English language development; Brunel Urban Scholars and university insight days with University of West London, Imperial and Brunel and others.

Personal and Social Development: Care to Dance, drama with Unique Community, music with Creative Futures, ceramics and stock-motion animation with Create (Art), storytelling, cookery, boxing, water sports with Horsenden and Phoenix Outdoor Centres, critical thinking with The Philosophy Foundation and oracy with Debate Mate.

Emotional Wellbeing: Strength and Learning Through Horses equine therapy and Jamie’s Farm residentials.

Cultural Capital: Trips to venues such as, Kew Gardens and Chelsea Physic Garden, 10 Downing Street, Houses of Parliament, theatre with Go Live, arts activities and puppetry with The Floating Classroom and The Puppet Theatre Barge.

In addition to the more obvious benefits of sports, arts, educational and personal development, the young people engaging in these activities often feedback on the ability to meet others with similar life experiences to themselves.

On a practical level, the collaborative nature of the initiative makes many of these activities possible and feasible. Where one Virtual School may not be able to recruit a group of 12 young people to make an activity cost-effective or doable, if three Virtual Schools each recruit four young people, it becomes much more achievable. Virtual School staff also work with the Coordinator to ensure appropriate staffing levels are met at all the activities, which take place after school, at weekends and in school holidays. In addition to the invaluable support of the Coordinator (an ex-Virtual School Head), a huge amount of credit must go to each of the Virtual Schools’ staff as, without their contribution, much of the delivery would not be possible.

The Coordinator also supports recruitment, sharing knowledge of the initiative with other teams around the child such as social workers, and encouraging carers’ engagement and transporting their child(ren) from A to B. All members of the partnership, including Virtual School Heads and Grants Managers at John Lyon’s Charity, meet quarterly to facilitate the initiative, share feedback on activities, plan and ensure the activities continue to meet the enrichment needs of children and young people across North West London.

If you would like to learn more about the Enrichment Initiative, feel free to get in touch with me at [email protected].

Footnote:

Why Language Matters: why you should avoid using the acronym ‘LAC’ when talking about children in care, NSPCC, https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/news/why-language-matters/looked-after-children, October 2023

To find out more about outcomes for children in care, visit:

Children in care: statistics briefing, NSPCC, https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/research-resources/statistics-briefings/children-in-care, November 2024
Exploring the Lives of Care Experienced Children and Young People, National Centre for Social Research, https://natcen.ac.uk/publications/exploring-lives-care-experienced-children-and-young-people, February 2025
Outcomes for children in need, including children looked after by local authorities in England, GOV.UK, https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/outcomes-for-children-in-need-including-children-looked-after-by-local-authorities-in-england/2024, April 2025

The Transformative Power of the Arts for Children and Young People

September 2025

I was struck this week by two very different but equally valid views on the importance of the Arts for Children and Young People. One, by the Director of Learning at Manchester Art Gallery, Katy McCall, expressed the importance of galleries, museums etc playing their part in being open, welcoming and inclusive to all by breaking free of traditional quiet, stuffy norms. The second, by Catherine Milner, art curator and member of the APPG on art, craft and design in education spoke of children losing their creative spark due to cuts in school funding. Both of these passionate opinions resonated with me, and it’s why John Lyon’s Charity has prioritised funding for education through the Arts for the past five years.

Art, music, dance and drama are not simply extracurricular pastimes for children and young people—they are vibrant lifelines that infuse daily life with colour, imagination, and purpose. These creative disciplines are fundamental to a truly rich education and to a child’s journey of self-discovery. Their influence radiates far beyond school walls, shaping minds, hearts, and communities. In a world that calls for vision and versatility, igniting the creative spark in every child is imperative.

When children immerse themselves in the Arts, something extraordinary happens: their brains light up with possibility. Research shows that those who engage in music, visual arts, and dance develop sharper memories, stronger problem-solving skills, and greater critical thinking. Take, for example, a recent study by the Arts Council England which found that students involved in regular music lessons scored higher in maths and reading tests than their peers. Schools that prioritise creative education often see a marked rise in self-esteem and teamwork skills among their pupils. The thrill of learning an instrument trains the mind for mathematical and spatial reasoning, while creating art hones the power of observation and attention to the smallest detail. Artistic pursuits demand dedication and perseverance—traits that empower young people to excel in every academic field they encounter.

Keir Starmer has said that he wants to put the Arts “at the centre of a new hopeful, modern Britain.” And yet, the average amount spent on art materials for a primary school pupil is just £1.80 per year. Since 2011, the recruitment of arts teachers (including music, drama and dance), has fallen by 27%. As the money committed to STEM soars, arts is the poor relation. It’s not surprising then that GCSE entries in all Arts subjects have fallen by 42% in just 10 years.

Whether painting, composing a melody, or moving to a rhythm, young people learn to navigate life’s complexities and find healthy ways to cope with challenges. Stepping onto a stage or unveiling a piece of art can fill them with a sense of pride and courage that lasts a lifetime. For many, the Arts offer a comforting refuge—a place to explore who they are and emerge stronger, more resilient, and more confident. But with a decline in funding and a decline in the availability of Arts in schools, we aren’t just losing our artistic legacy, we are losing the imagination that made our culture what it is today.

By funding schools to tackle pupil exclusions, at John Lyon’s Charity we have witnessed first-hand the devasting impact of excluding children from school. Not only do they miss out on academic learning, but they also miss out on the joy of creative arts as well. Consequently, the Arts are increasingly becoming a nice to have and only for those that can afford to pay for private schooling or extra-curricular activities. Creating art, visiting a gallery, going to a theatre should be inspiring our next generation of artists, actors and inventors. And not just that. The skills needed to be an engineer, a carpenter or a doctor lie in the very fabric of using imagination and understanding how to be curious. By nurturing creativity from an early age, we empower young people to become visionaries and innovators—equipped to shape, reimagine, and transform the future.

Galleries, museums and theatres have a role to play in ensuring children from all backgrounds feel that they belong and are welcome. The biggest barrier to entry is often not the cost of a ticket, but the feeling that a space is elitist or “not for my type”. The success of our Cultural Capital Fund specifically targets schools in London to pay for trips to the theatre, galleries and museums. Over the past three years alone, we have funded over 80,000 children to attend such places. For many, this was their first and only ever visit to see a show. A recent YouGov poll shows that just 15% of adults have taken a child to a gallery. Confidence is key. I listened to the Today programme last week which had a discussion on this. The fantastic Learning Manager for Manchester Art Gallery has made it her mission to ensure that every child hears: “This is your collection. Your space. You’re welcome here. Families return, curiosity grows and joy spreads—from kids lying on the floor to deep connections with art. There’s a serious curiosity in how young children explore galleries—and many visitors also enjoy seeing that.” Compare that to the sentiment of art historian Daisy Dunn, who believes there should be a hushed reverence in galleries. Although quite why or how a child should remain quiet when viewing The Execution of Lady Jane Grey or Artemisia’s Judith Beheading Holofernes and especially any of the hundreds of nudes in London, is beyond me.

These trends are not merely the result of shifting cultural interests but reflect a series of political choices that have consistently deprioritised the Arts in education policy and public funding. Successive governments have channelled resources towards STEM subjects, often at the expense of creative disciplines, sending a clear message about what is valued in the national curriculum. It shouldn’t be an ‘either / or’ approach; STEM and the Arts complement each other. It is essential for policymakers to recognise that investment in the Arts is not a luxury, but a necessity for social equity and the nation’s creative future. The importance of Arts for children and young people is both profound and proven. By championing access to the Arts, we nurture inspired, resilient, and compassionate young people—ready to shape the world with courage and imagination.

Collaborating for Change: What We Have Learned So Far

September 2025

On 26^th June 2025, John Lyon’s Charity hosted a half-day workshop for all its existing Collaboration Fund grantees. The Collaboration Fund is the most ambitious element of the six-year Home-School-Community programme, which brings together organisations that work across the three most significant areas of a child’s life – their home, their school, and their community. The Fund has supported the creation of 12 locally based collaborations, each responding to a specific need. Each collaboration involves at least one school and two to three voluntary sector organisations and is supported through the Collaboration Fund for a duration of three years.

The workshop was an exciting opportunity for the collaborations to come together to share and learn about how their projects are developing and making a difference. There were more than 60 attendees from 35 different organisations, representing all 12 collaborations. The workshop started with a thought-provoking panel discussion with Tiffany Li (US Charitable Trust), Elise Robinson (Ormiston Kensington Queensmill School), Ash McMahon (the Violence Intervention Project), and Yusuf Yusuf (HASVO). Panellists discussed how working in collaboration has been a different way of working to usual, and what challenges they have faced and how they have been able to overcome these. The panel discussion was followed up by two rounds of small group discussions, firstly around how the challenges shared by the panellists resonated with participants, and secondly around unexpected outcomes and what organisations would have done differently, knowing what they know now.

As a result of the feedback from the workshop, John Lyon’s Charity has decided to produce a “steps to successful collaboration” guide, or a framework of best practice, to help guide others interested in collaboration. This blog post is the first in a three-part series, exploring the lessons learned from the recent workshop and the past few years more generally. In part two we will share the framework, and in part three we will explore legacy and how the outcomes of collaborations can be maintained in the long term.

Learnings

Common themes arose when groups reflected on their collaboration journey. The value of investing time in building trust and relationships, and addressing how power is shared between organisations, were significant discussion points. Organisations also discussed how collaboration is a different way of working to usual, in that it has shifted them from transactional ways of working to a more integrated approach with long-term benefits. In many cases it has resulted in a deeper relationship between the school and the organisations, which has enabled work to happen more quickly and more intensively. Below, some of the challenges, successes, and unexpected outcomes experienced by organisations are explored.

Challenges:

Power dynamics – Workshop participants discussed the benefits and challenges of working without a lead partner: some felt that sometimes you need a ‘decision maker’, but this can also lead to other partners feeling less important or lacking in autonomy. Some organisations mentioned that it can feel like the school in the collaboration is ultimately in charge, because their often restrictive policies and procedures (e.g. strict behaviour policies) need to be followed. A collaboration inherently requires partners to give up some autonomy, but this is often difficult and can feel painful. Treating all partners as equally valuable can help to address this challenge. Giving one partner the lead on specific aspects of the project, such as chairing meetings, can work better than appointing one partner as the overall lead.

Communication challenges – Partners who do not know each other well can misunderstand each other over email or interpret things in different ways. What helped some collaborations was going from vague emails to more structured communication, and outlining roles, responsibilities and expectations clearly.

Charities flagged some challenges related to working with schools – Many noted a lack of trust towards external organisations; strict policies and procedures; time-consuming bureaucracy that charities are not used to navigating; and lack of staff capacity and time. Many of these challenges reflect the realities of working in collaboration with schools. However, getting buy-in from the headteacher and senior leadership was seen as key to addressing issues around trust. Buy-in and commitment to the aims of the project are key for all partners working in collaboration.

Information sharing – There was discussion around giving charities access to student data on the school system, and it was generally considered that this would help information sharing and the evaluation of the project. However, there are also data protection and safeguarding considerations that go along with data sharing that need to be managed.

Evaluating impact – Case studies on their own are not necessarily always sufficient and it is difficult to attribute change to a specific intervention. Putting more thought into this early in the process is helpful. It was also felt that more funders should consider providing specific funding to support the evaluation of projects.

What has worked well:

The focus of the discussion was heavily on the set-up phase, with collaborations highlighting how important it is to invest the time and make sure all partners are on the same page from the beginning.

Discussing and aligning values, goals, expectations, wants and needs early in the collaboration. All partners need to be enthusiastic about the project and have the same vision.

Taking the time to build trust and understanding of each other. Regular in person meetings are helpful for this.

Setting clear roles and responsibilities as well as agreeing expectations. Setting ground rules at the beginning is key, which can take a significant amount of time and effort but pays off in the long run.

Agreeing how to manage data collection and sharing from the beginning, so that project evaluation runs smoothly.

Having a neutral setting for hosting meetings, and possibly an impartial facilitator. This is especially helpful when emotions are running high and when conflict resolution support is needed.

Unexpected outcomes:

The other work that has resulted from collaborating with charities from across the sector – many of whom were unknown to each other prior to the project.

The chance to innovate and test and adapt the project as it develops.

The uptick in engagement and networking opportunities that organisations experienced as a result of working with schools. Some groups were overwhelmed with the response and the demand for their services.

The strength of the relationships built. Some participants reported that it is now second nature for them to pick up the phone and inform their collaboration partners of any concerns. Working intensively together has created a real sense of being a team or a ‘family’, and several participants said they could not imagine the collaboration ending.

In summary, while each of the collaborations is unique and creates a unique set of outcomes, there are many commonalities in the challenges they face and the practices leading to success. Based on these commonalities, a practical framework with evidence-based suggestions for building a successful collaboration has been developed by John Lyon’s Charity’s Research, Evaluation and Learning Manager and Home-School-Community Programme Manager. This will be shared in the next blog post later in October, so stay tuned!

Back to school: Why Transitions Matter for Young People

September 2025

For an organisation that largely works around the academic year, September often feels like the true start of the year at John Lyon’s Charity. Beyond the changing seasons, this is a time of renewed energy across the sector and, most importantly, a pivotal moment for children and young people. Whether it’s returning to school after the summer break or beginning primary/secondary school for the first time.

For many young people, the move to secondary school can feel daunting. The shift in workload, daily routines, uniforms, relationships with trusted adults, and the change in expectations all require a significant adjustment. Through its grantmaking, the Charity has seen too many young people struggle to make these adjustments, leading to disengagement and, in some cases, exclusion from their education.

The Charity’s The Excluded Initiative , that supported schools to deliver their own on-site provision for young people at risk of exclusion, revealed that significant numbers of young people reach this crisis point in Years 10 and 11 and require intensive interventions as a last lifeline to keep them in school for their crucial exam periods. The schools we worked with recognised this need but often wanted to support younger pupils in Years 7 and 8 who were showing early signs of exclusion but lacked the resources to meet both the immediate and preventative needs of their pupils.

This raised a key question for the Charity: Why are young people who have only just started secondary school already at risk of suspension and exclusion?

Recognising that every young person deserves a strong start to secondary education, John Lyon’s Charity developed its Transitions Initiative. The initiative builds on voluntary sector and school led programmes supported by the Charity that have demonstrated the importance of supporting young people through the critical transition from primary to secondary education. The initiative provides funding to secondary schools to work closely with their feeder primaries, to create an enhanced and consistent transition offer. In many cases, this takes the form of a dedicated role, shared across the schools, that provides continuity for pupils, parents and school staff. Importantly, the initiative recognises that transition begins well before Year 6, often in Year 5 or earlier, and continues beyond Year 7 as young people continue to settle into their new environment.

A transition focused role offers additional pastoral capacity and support that schools may struggle to provide, including: giving primary-aged children opportunities to experience their new school in advance; helping pupils build relationships with peers and trusted adults; helping parents identify the ‘right’ school for their child; and offering bespoke guidance for Year 7 and 8 pupils as they adjust post-transition.

For some schools, the initiative has supported a broad transition model whilst others have chosen to focus on cohorts most at risk of disengagement, such as young people with special educational needs, who are seven to eight times more likely to be excluded from mainstream schools than their peers.

Although still in its early days, the Transitions Initiative has already shown promising outcomes. Secondary schools are reporting stronger partnerships with their feeder primaries, particularly in how they share pupil data. While this may seem like a technical outcome, the ability to understand a young person’s needs from day one can make all the difference to their education.

Schools are also finding that transitions support helps to address the “hidden curriculum” (the unspoken rules about behaviour, uniform, and expectations that can make or break a young person’s school journey). With persistent disruptive behaviour accounting for the majority of suspensions and exclusions, making expectations clear and consistent helps pupils to thrive. At the same time, reducing overall disruptive behaviour makes it easier for schools to identify those children facing wider challenges at home and provide the necessary targeted support.

Currently, schools have virtually no statutory responsibility or support to provide transition support. Effective provision requires time, capacity, and partnership between primary and secondary settings. This term, the Charity will bring together schools involved in the Transitions Initiative and other transitions focused projects to share learning and best practice. We want to work with our grantees and local services to shape a blueprint for transition support, one that can be replicated more widely and advocated across the sector.

To all the young people starting secondary school this September, we know the first days can feel exciting, overwhelming, and full of new possibilities. Through the Transitions Initiative, John Lyon’s Charity is working to ensure more young people have the support, guidance, and trusted adults they need to feel confident, build friendships, and access the best possible education. Our hope is that with the right first steps in place, every young person starting secondary school cannot just adjust, but thrive in their school.

Celebrating Ten Years of the School Holiday Activity Fund

August 2025

On Wednesday 6 June, John Lyon’s Charity held a huge celebration event at ZSL London Zoo. We invited 500 children and their parents and carers to join us for a day out at the zoo, combined with a party, activity packs and the opportunity to meet the Charity’s furry mascot, John the Lyon.

Why did we do this?

This year marks the 10^th anniversary of our School Holiday Activity Fund. Over that time, we have awarded over £4million in grants to over 1000 local community organisations to deliver fun and enriching activities for children and young people during the school holidays. We invited children from 13 charities across the Beneficial Area to join us on this special day, which coincided with National Play Day. Organisations that attended included the Pirate Castle in Camden, Adventure Play Hub in Westminster, Harrow Carers and APPLE in Ealing.

What is the School Holiday Activity Fund?

Often called our ‘fun’ fund, the School Holiday Activity Fund, or SHAF for short, provides organisations with one-off grants of up to £5,000 that can be used to provide activities during the school holidays. Activities range from stay and play drop-in sessions, to days out in London and also further afield. Demand is high, with this summer alone, 53 organisations securing funding at a cost to the Charity of over £200,000.

Why is this so important?

*In May 2025 we commissioned research to understand how families were coping with the additional financial pressures caused by school holidays. What we discovered was that:

Holiday hunger and activity hunger were major challenges during school breaks

Almost half of UK children missed out on paid play activities over the May half term (2025)

Parents were finding it difficult to access the Government’s Holiday Activities and Food programme (HAF)

56% of parents believed Government must do more to make school holiday activities affordable and accessible for families

Dame Rachel de Souza, Children’s Commissioner for England, with Erik Mesel, Director of Public Policy and Partnerships at John Lyon’s Charity, and pupils from St Mary’s Ukrainian School in front of the #LondonZoo sign.

We at John Lyon’s Charity have long been concerned that too many children from low-income families are missing out on enriching experiences during the school holidays due to financial constraints. Lack of access to both food and stimulating activities risks isolating children, harming both their physical and mental wellbeing.

Our research also revealed that, tragically, 3 in 10 parents often feel they must choose between providing food or activities for their children, due to financial pressures. Providing food for children has to take priority but they also need play, social interaction, and new experiences. We created SHAF to bridge that gap and give every child, regardless of their background, a chance to enjoy their holidays.

What impact do holiday activities have on children and young people?

John Lyon’s Charity believes firmly that its grant making should enhance the lives of children and young people in the Beneficial Area in the here and now. SHAF grants are the most pertinent example of this ethos, with grants enabling children to do something that they wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity to do. We hear anecdotally that children frequently experience their first trip to the seaside or to a theme park as a result of John Lyon’s Charity SHAF funding.

Alex, a 14 year old regular of the Pirate Castle, a SHAF-funded organisation based in Camden, said: “From the minute I stepped through The Pirate Castle’s doors for my first Holiday Scheme over six years ago, I felt an immediate sense of warmth and welcoming. Since then, I have learnt loads of new skills, developed many valuable friendships and had so much fun out on the water – as well as training to become a Paddle UK instructor. JLC’s SHAF funding has allowed me to grow not only in paddle sports but also as a person. Thanks to the amazing work they do, places like The Pirate Castle are able to keep running engaging, fun and affordable sessions and provide opportunities for all young people during the school holidays.”

*Dame Rachel de Souza, Children’s Commissioner for England, and pupils from St Mary’s Ukrainian School listen to a talk from zookeeper Amy at London Zoo.*

The Children’s Commissioner, Dame Rachel de Souza, joined in the celebration at ZSL London Zoo and met children from the Ukrainian St Mary’s Trust who brought over 40 children to the zoo.

She commented: “Childhood is precious and fleeting, so I want every child to have the opportunity to play and have fun. Alongside a safe home and a great education, these are fundamental experiences for every child growing up. With rising costs, too many parents are forced to choose between these things for their families, but no child should miss out on the chance to explore the world around them, meet new people or take up activities. Children from low-income families have spoken to me about the sense of shame that comes from feeling like you’re missing out – that’s why I’m so pleased to be part of this fantastic event at London Zoo celebrating 10 years of creating opportunities for children to just be children.”

As families continue to struggle under rising costs, John Lyon’s Charity is calling on the Government to close this gap, ensuring no child is needlessly confined within four walls during the holidays.

*Group photo of 500 children who attended SHAFari at London Zoo to celebrate ten years of the School Holiday Activity Fund.*

*The research was conducted by Opinion Matters, among a sample of 2001 Nat Rep Respondents (including 1,223 who are parents). The data was collected between 06.06.2025 – 09.06.2025. Opinion Matters abides by and employs members of the Market Research Society and follows the MRS code of conduct and ESOMAR principles. Opinion Matters is also a member of the British Polling Council.

Why We’re Standing Up for Our Charity and the Young People We Serve

June 2025

At John Lyon’s Charity, our mission has always been clear: to transform the lives of children and young people across North and West London, through education. Since 1991, we’ve granted £219 million to more than 1,700 organisations, many of which are small, community-based grassroots projects, that provide education initiatives, youth services, mental health support, access to arts and cultural activities and more. **Many of these organisations rely solely on our funding to stay open.**

To continue awarding grants each year, the Charity depends on two primary sources of income: investment returns and revenue from the John Lyon’s Charity estate, a portfolio of residential and commercial properties in London and beyond. Today, the Charity’s endowment is valued at circa £389million, with around 60% of income generated from property and 40% from investments. The income from our properties is essential to sustaining our grant-making.
That’s why we’ve taken the difficult but necessary step of legally challenging aspects of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 (LFRA 24).

While well-intentioned in parts, the legislation unfortunately poses a serious threat to our long-term financial sustainability and by extension, to the communities we serve.

**Let us be clear: we support the principle of leasehold reform**. For years, we have constructively engaged with successive governments to make the system simpler and fairer. But LFRA 24 does not recognise the unique position of charities like ours. It offers no exemption for organisations funded by historic property endowments, yet it does exempt entities such as the Crown Estate, the National Trust, and the Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall.

Our estate in St John’s Wood is not typical. These are some of London’s most expensive properties, with the majority of leaseholders being high-net-worth individuals, overseas companies, non-doms and professional investors, rather than the first-time buyers these reforms were designed to protect. Under the new law, millions of pounds would be redirected from a children’s charity to private wealth, and specifically to the pockets of those with considerable wealth already. It is this that will have a significant impact on the amount of income John Lyon’s Charity can expect to secure from these properties.

Historically, we have received up to £10 million a year when leases are extended. That has fallen to just over £1 million last year, as leaseholders wait for the Government to enact this legislation. This income directly funds our grants. A sustained decrease in this income would force us to reduce or rethink our support for youth organisations, at a time when the sector, already battered by a pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis, is most in need.

We’ve fought hard to keep these vital services open. We will not walk away now.

We understand that our legal challenge has prompted some criticism, including online reviews from individuals who may not fully understand our position. We accept that criticism with grace. But we must always act in the best interests of our beneficiaries. If standing up for our income means safeguarding services that children and young people rely on, then it is a stand we are proud to take.

To anyone seeking to better understand our position, we invite you to contact us directly at [email protected].

Our mission will always be to defend and support the welfare of children and young people within our Beneficial Area, and we will do this, unapologetically.

Building inclusion to reduce school exclusions

May 2025

Launched by the Evening Standard in 2019 in partnership with John Lyon’s Charity and The London Community Foundation, The Excluded Initiative was a campaign to reduce school exclusions. Its mission was not simple – to help schools build their own inclusion capacity and tackle the root causes of suspensions and exclusions. Eight schools took part, and each was provided with the funding to create and deliver an on-site inclusion hub bespoke to their unique context. The initiative reached over 500 young people, over half of whom were eligible for free school meals and a third had special educational needs or disabilities. While each hub operated differently, schools came together each term to share learnings, challenges, and successes, which has enabled the participating schools and the partners to develop this crucial offering, responding to needs as they arose.

The onset of the Covid-19 pandemic made the initiative even more timely, with national exclusion rates rising by 42% between 2021/22 and 2022/23. An independent evaluation, conducted by the Centre of Evidence and Implementation, has shown that despite this national trend, over the course of the Excluded Initiative the participating schools saw their suspension rates rise at a much slower pace than a matched control group. Notably, these schools started out with significantly higher exclusion rates, but by the end of the initiative, the gap had narrowed, showing a clear positive impact.
A key outcome of the Excluded Initiative was the ripple effect it had, not just for individual pupils, but for teachers and the school community as a whole. Teachers felt that they developed a deeper understanding of their pupils’ needs and, as a result, stronger, more trusting relationships with them. They also reflected on their own learning, adapting their teaching approaches to build more inclusive classrooms. Across the wider school environment, the Initiative helped to cement inclusion as a core school value. It encouraged a move away from the idea of ‘fixing’ children’s behaviour, towards recognising those behaviours as identifiers of need.

“For students, it is not only about avoiding suspension and exclusion. It is also about being more integrated into the school community, having the opportunity to enjoy and benefit from learning, and, fundamentally, being healthier, safer and happier.”- Centre for Evidence and Implementation.

The initiative has led to six key practice recommendations, offering a blueprint for other schools looking to create inclusive, supportive environments for all their students.

Keep links to mainstream education: Pupils in alternative provision should attend mainstream lessons whenever possible, encouraging continued engagement with their learning and keeping them part of the school community.
Strong reintegration strategies: A structured return to mainstream education is key to a pupil’s future trajectory. This includes relationship-building with teachers, phased transitions, flexible behaviour policies, and the involvement of specialist staff.
Consider parents/carers as partners: Schools should actively involve parents and carers in all aspects of provision, including referral and reintegration, keeping them informed and engaged to reinforce impact beyond the intervention setting.
Ensure the inclusion of Senior Leadership Teams: Headteachers and senior staff should have a key role in provision, including line-management of intervention staff, participating in referrals and reintegration processes, and setting clear expectations for mainstream teachers.
Engage mainstream teachers: Giving teachers the capacity and responsibility to teach in intervention settings keep pupils on track with their learning and provides valuable opportunities for teachers to develop more inclusive teaching practices., as well as ensuring their understanding of students attending alternative provisions.
Build a whole-school ethos: A wider whole school approach to inclusion is essential. Training on topics such as attachment, trauma, and safeguarding helps all staff create a culture where every pupil feels supported.
The full evaluation and executive summary can be viewed here.

The London Community Foundation

At The London Community Foundation, we pride ourselves on being responsive to the changing needs of communities across London. We believe that communities are best placed to identify their own solutions to the challenges they face — but too often, they lack the resources to act. Our role is to support them. We do this by championing local organisations, connecting funders to their work, channelling funding where it’s needed most, and helping organisations grow stronger.

The Excluded Initiative is a powerful example of this approach in action. Delivered in partnership with John Lyon’s Charity and the Evening Standard, the initiative brings together schools with shared goals to collaborate, learn from each other, and work closely with the Centre for Evidence and Implementation to measure and demonstrate impact.

Tackling high levels of exclusion is vital to ensuring that children are not left behind or put at greater risk from its root causes. Across our youth-focused programmes, we see how critical early intervention is, helping young people access supportive, inclusive environments where they can build relationships and develop the skills they need to thrive. A good education and a strong start in life create ripple effects that benefit entire communities.

As the report’s recommendations show, the Excluded Initiative demonstrates that real, systemic change is possible when inclusion and reintegration are prioritised. The London Community Foundation is proud to have played a part in making this vision a reality.

A key strength of the Excluded Initiative has been its school-led approach. By empowering individual schools to design solutions based on their unique contexts and needs, the initiative has fostered truly responsive and sustainable outcomes. When learning is shared and evaluation is embedded, the long-term impact can be deep and far-reaching.

John Lyon’s Charity

Since its launch in 2019, The Excluded Initiative has been a linchpin for John Lyon’s Charity in its approach to tackling school exclusions. By working closely with the participating schools, the Charity has had a valuable, ongoing insight into the ongoing challenges schools are facing, and has been able to embed these key lessons and emerging trends across its wider grants portfolio.

For the Charity, one of the clearest themes to emerge from the initiative is the growing number of children with special educational needs and disabilities in mainstream schools and how this is influencing exclusion rates. All too often, schools are unable to provide the level of support these pupils require, leading to disruption, exclusion and, ultimately, the loss of learning. Additionally, while the pandemic undeniably contributed to a national rise in exclusions, what’s even more concerning is its effect on children’s mental health. With emotional wellbeing challenges now surfacing earlier, exclusions are increasingly affecting younger age groups, a trend reflected in feedback from organisations supported by the Charity to provide vital emotional wellbeing services in school.

A common thread across the Initiative has been the critical importance of supporting children through the transition from primary to secondary education. This period is more than just a change in curriculum, it is a shift in environment, expectations, and social dynamics. For many pupils, especially those with additional needs, it can be overwhelming and can spark ‘unwanted’ behaviour that risks exclusion.

In response to this changing landscape, the Charity is building a bold new focus – The Transitions Initiative. Building on everything learned so far, this new phase will prioritise prevention and early intervention, with a strong focus on the primary-to-secondary transition period. Through its Schools in Partnership Fund, the Charity will provide targeted funding to secondary schools, embedding lessons from the Excluded initiative evaluation, to partner with their feeder primary schools, ensuring a joined-up, early intervention approach to supporting pupils at risk of exclusion.

By targeting early intervention and enabling schools to trial innovative solutions, John Lyon’s Charity hopes to encourage a lasting culture change in schools, and by working with both primary and secondary schools, the aim is to build a more inclusive education system, one that prevents exclusion before it begins.

The Power of Partnership: the benefits, challenges and impact of the Collaboration Fund

Julia Rinne – Research, Evaluation and Learning Manager

April 2025

The Collaboration Fund is the most ambitious element of the six-year Home-School-Community programme, which brings together organisations that work across the three most significant areas of a child’s life – their home, their school, and their community. This approach to grant-making has required a hands-on, continuous learning process for all involved. The Fund supported the creation of 12 locally based collaborations, each responding to a specific need. Each collaboration involves at least one school and two to three voluntary sector organisations and is supported through the Collaboration Fund for a duration of three years.

On 6 March 2025, John Lyon’s Charity hosted its first ever webinar for schools involved in the Collaboration Fund. Clare Gilhooly, our Home-School-Community Programme Manager, was joined by Laura Foster, Assistant Head at Whitmore High School in Harrow. They discussed the benefits, challenges and impact of working in this different way with local voluntary and community sector organisations. We chose the webinar format to create an accessible, collaborative space for schools to share learning and reflect on their experiences. Our aim was to highlight effective practice, encourage peer support, and spark new ideas for partnership working across the sector.

This collaboration was established in 2022 between Whitmore High School, Wish Centre, Ignite Youth, and Harrow Association of Somali Voluntary Organisations. It started as a joint approach to improving the safety, wellbeing, and achievement of students in the context of increasing mental health challenges, exploitation, and the ever-growing waiting lists for external services. Through the collaboration, support such as psychotherapy, mentoring, sports, and parental guidance have been provided to support the students at Whitmore High School.

Read on for some highlights of the conversation between Clare and Laura, in particular, how working in this collaborative way was different for the school, the challenges they faced along the way, and the benefits that they experienced.

Benefits of the collaboration

The collaboration has created a stronger safeguarding culture between the school and its collaboration partners. Prior to the project, agencies would come into the school to meet the young people, but there was limited interaction between them and the school beyond this. A huge benefit of the collaboration has been that all professionals involved regularly share updates around safeguarding concerns, creating a shared accountability of safeguarding, and a more rounded understanding of each young person and the challenges that they are going through. In Laura’s words, “when you have everybody working together and sharing information regularly you do build that bigger picture for that child and are able to identify the support they need”.

The school now has excellent early intervention provision which has had a very beneficial impact on the students. Laura mentioned a specific young person who was at risk of being transferred to Alternative Provision prior to the collaboration, who is now a completely “transformed child”. The project has enabled the school to be truly inclusive and meet the needs of the whole child.

How this was a different way of working for the school

Laura explained how the collaboration has had a huge impact on how the school works with all external agencies, not just those involved in this specific project. Previously, referrals to outside services were often made in a scattergun way — isolated and reactive, with little follow-up or coordination. Now, the school takes a more integrated approach, building ongoing relationships with external partners and working together from the outset. There is a shared understanding of roles, responsibilities and a collective commitment to supporting each young person in a more joined-up, consistent way.

The school’s commissioning process is more strategic now and focuses on commitment from agencies to partnership working, aligned objectives, and a shared accountability. When working together, the school expects regular updates from partner agencies and requires all partners to follow their safeguarding rules. This is a much more sustainable model. It has also made a huge difference for young people, as information sharing is really important to keeping children safe and identifying the right support for them.

“I think as a as a collaboration, we have actually developed what I think is a model of best practice within a safeguarding culture.”

Challenges and how these were overcome

Facilitating student acceptance by partner organisations. Laura discussed how one partner in the collaboration had very strict thresholds for accepting students, initially creating frustration within the school. Over time, through working together, the school gained an understanding of their eligibility criteria and were able to adapt to this. The school also refined their in-house support that was available to students to help with demand, and the partner organisation supported with this. The partner delivered training to in-house mentors so these mentors could provide lower-level support to students while they waited for mental health and wellbeing support from an external agency.

Capacity. Daily administration of the project has taken substantial time and oversight, including the management of referrals, coordination, ensuring facilities are available, and maintaining contact with parents and social workers. The school managed this challenge by refining the job description of a member of staff who ended up leading on the day-to-day running of the project. This ensured that the project was delivered to a high standard, and as an added bonus, that staff member received a developmental opportunity that was beneficial to them.

High demand from young people. Lots of young people were already familiar with some of the sports activities one of the partners already provided in the community and were keen to take part in school. The school tried a few different approaches to managing demand, such as accepting students on a first come first served basis or identifying a particular cohort in need. It was important for the school to be as inclusive as possible, whilst also enabling young people who would benefit most, to access the activities. In the end, some activities were expanded so that the intervention was running more frequently with additional funding provided by the school and delivered at lunchtime in addition to after school. The school was financially able to justify the expansion by focusing on key priorities for the school, including keeping children safe and protecting them from exploitation, which highlighted that the investment was necessary and worthwhile.

“I think post-pandemic it has taught us that, you know, children’s needs are becoming more and more complex, and we don’t always have the expertise in school, no matter how hard we try and how much we invest. And actually, we do need to build positive relationships with these experts”.

In summary, the collaboration has had a transformative impact on the school and how it works with external agencies to support the safety and wellbeing of its students. While there have been challenges along the way, they have all resulted in rich learnings and Laura describes the process of collaboration as absolutely worthwhile:

“Absolutely do it. It’s worth it. And yes, it’s a lot of work, but in terms of the impact and what the benefits that you get from it, absolutely worth it”.

Reflections and Feedback

Teachers responded positively to the Charity’s first ever webinar, showing strong interest in the Collaboration model and actively engaging in the Q&A session that followed. Many participants shared reflections from their own contexts, asked thoughtful questions, and expressed enthusiasm for exploring similar approaches in their schools. The high level of engagement highlighted a real appetite for collaborative working and a desire to learn from peers. The webinar format proved effective in creating an accessible, inclusive space for schools to connect, exchange ideas and reflect on their practice. It offered a valuable opportunity to showcase what’s working well, build a sense of community, and inspire new ways of thinking about partnership work. We hope this marks the beginning of many more webinars, providing ongoing opportunities for learning and collaboration.

Building Stronger Communities: The Impact of the Home-School-Community Strategy

Clare Gilhooly

Home-School-Community Programme Manager at John Lyon’s Charity

April 2025

The Covid-19 pandemic highlighted stark inequalities across society. The consequences of lockdowns were not felt equally: BAME communities were significantly impacted by the virus, while the prolonged closure of schools disproportionately affected children from disadvantaged backgrounds. This included families with limited financial resources, those with caring responsibilities, and children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. Covid-19 exposed and deepened these disparities.

Home-School-Community (HSC) is the strategy developed by John Lyon’s Charity to address these inequalities by increasing support for organisations working with children and young people in the Beneficial Area. Running from 2021 to 2027, the strategy is helping to rebuild the sector as it adapts to the post-pandemic world. Shortly after lockdowns ended, the Cost-of-Living crisis saw inflation rise to a 41-year high of 11.1% in October 2022. Once again, those with limited financial resources were disproportionately affected, spending a greater share of their income on essentials such as housing, food, and utilities. Meanwhile, many children and young people’s organisations faced soaring costs at a time when short-term Covid funding had ended, and new funding opportunities were scarce.

The ambitious HSC Strategy, with £22 million in additional funding over six years ringfenced from the Charity’s endowment, became a lifeline for these organisations. It enabled them to meet increasing and more complex demands while navigating financial shocks in an evolving economic environment. Unusually, HSC allowed organisations to hold multiple grants from John Lyon’s Charity simultaneously—a significant departure from standard grant-making practices, reflecting the severity of the challenges faced by longstanding, highly valued organisations in the Beneficial Area.

The £22 million in additional funding was allocated through five distinct but interrelated funds, designed to help organisations survive (Recovery Fund, Cultural Capital Fund, and Young People’s Foundation Small Grants Fund) and thrive (Replication Fund and Collaboration Fund). HSC was intentional in ensuring that the local voluntary sector remained strong enough to address the increasingly complex needs of children, young people, and their families—needs that the pandemic had exacerbated.

Four Years On

Recovery Fund – Twenty-six organisations were awarded Recovery Fund grants for their core costs, receiving between £90,000 and £150,000 over three years. These grants provided crucial breathing space, allowing organisations to determine their recovery path post-Covid and address underlying operational challenges. Four years on, all 26 organisations have survived, with most thriving in their new normal. Many reported that the funding helped them avoid redundancies, rebuild reserves, and secure additional funding, leaving them in a stronger financial position. Some organisations used the grant to move beyond day-to-day challenges, focusing on strategic objectives, recruitment policies, and fundraising. Others sought external expertise to improve financial management or bid-writing, strengthening their long-term sustainability.

However, some organisations are still in survival mode, as the funding landscape remains challenging. For a few, the Recovery Fund may have delayed, rather than prevented, their eventual closure. As a relationship-based funder, John Lyon’s Charity was committed to making a final attempt to help longstanding organisations address deep-rooted operational challenges. The focus on resolving underlying issues, alongside Covid-specific impacts, has now been incorporated into the Principal Grants Fund when awarding core cost grants.

Cultural Capital Fund – The Cultural Capital Fund (CCF) was designed to reinvigorate arts education post-pandemic and encourage schools to prioritise cultural activities as a means of addressing broader issues caused by Covid-19. To date the CCF has provided £3,637,890 for arts and cultural activities in schools over four years. Initially budgeted at £2.5 million, demand was so high that an additional £1.1 million was allocated from the HSC budget. The Fund has supported 39 arts organisations and 305 schools, benefiting 25% of the children and young people that live in the Charity’s Beneficial Area—many of whom rely on their schools as their only access to arts and cultural experiences.

The overwhelming demand and success of the Cultural Capital Fund has led to its incorporation into the Principal Grants Fund, ensuring that arts and cultural activities remain central to school life in the Beneficial Area. It is now open for applications from both Arts organisations and schools.

Young People’s Foundations Small Grants Fund – The Charity recognises the value of micro-organisations and small community groups embedded in local neighbourhoods. Often volunteer-led, these groups lack the capacity to access mainstream funding but played a vital role during the Covid-19 lockdowns. The Young People’s Foundations Small Grants Fund enables John Lyon’s Charity to reach these smaller organisations, that are often not eligible to apply directly to JLC, by leveraging the knowledge and networks of Young People’s Foundations (YPFs) in each borough. This mechanism allows grassroots organisations to access funding and support, build a track record of prudent financial management, and demonstrate their local impact.

The success of this approach has shaped the Charity’s strategic direction, recognising that YPFs are best placed to distribute smaller grants, while the Charity focuses on longer-term and larger-scale funding.

Replication Fund – The Replication Fund addresses gaps in provision of vital services, ensuring greater equity of provision across the Beneficial Area. It provides funding for organisations delivering successfully in one location to replicate their offer into a new area. This is done sensitively, with the support of both the local YPF and Local Authority, to ensure that the new service is successfully embedded into these new communities. For example, local authority areas can differ in the availability of support for care experienced young people taking on their first tenancies. With support from the Replication Fund, Settle Support has been able to replicate its service that enables young people to confidently transition into independent living and thrive. Settle have replicated its original offer in Barnet and Camden into Brent and Hammersmith & Fulham. The Fund enables successful service models to be replicated in underserved areas, ensuring all young people, regardless of location, have access to high-quality support.

The key criteria for successful replication projects have now been integrated into the Principal Grants programme, allowing the Charity to continue addressing service gaps where needed. Ingredients of projects that are a strong fit to replicate are those that have tight inputs, outputs and outcomes that can be ‘codified’, picked up and with the same inputs will broadly garner the same outcomes in a different location.

Collaboration Fund – The Collaboration Fund supports partnerships between schools and voluntary organisations, fostering innovative approaches that are often hindered by siloed funding structures. Post-Covid, the challenges facing children, young people, and families exceed the capacity of any single organisation, making collaboration essential.

This is the most complex and ambitious element of the HSC Strategy. Over four years, the Charity has invested in nine collaborative projects involving 28 organisations, with three additional collaborations in development. Each project is unique in its focus and partnerships, but common themes are emerging regarding the benefits and challenges of collaborative working.

What’s Next

With £18m committed as of March 2025, the final £4m is expected to be allocated by the end of the year. In collaboration with Lucent Consultancy, we are reflecting on key learnings to date, leading to the publication of a review on the impact of each of the five Funds, starting in late 2025. A final report in 2027 will capture the overall impact of six years of the HSC Strategy.

Insights from the HSC Strategy will continue to inform the Charity’s main grant-making programme. Best practices developed through the Core Recovery and Refurbishment Fund and the Cultural Capital Funds are already being integrated as early examples of this approach.

Conclusion

Four years into the HSC Strategy, its impact is evident. By responding to the inequalities exposed by the pandemic and evolving in response to new challenges, John Lyon’s Charity has strengthened the children and young people’s voluntary sector in the Beneficial Area. As the strategy progresses, the lessons learned will continue to inform the Charity’s approach, ensuring long-term sustainability for organisations and lasting benefits for the communities they serve.

Understanding Financial Sustainability for Small Voluntary Organisations – Insights from Ampacc

Clare Gilhooly

Home-School-Community Programme Manager at John Lyon’s Charity

As a funder, John Lyon’s Charity are committed to understanding the needs and challenges faced by organisations supporting children and young people in our Beneficial Area.

The precarious financial situation of many small grassroots organisations, especially since the Covid-19 pandemic and the ongoing Cost-of-Living crisis, has been a growing concern for us. We’ve witnessed many of these essential small groups constantly struggling to survive, often without a clear understanding of the full costs involved in running their services. This financial instability threatens the continuity of the vital support they provide to young people.

In response, John Lyon’s Charity has taken proactive steps to help voluntary organisations better understand and manage their finances. In 2023, 35 locally-based voluntary organisations were supported, via the Young People’s Foundations (YPFs), to engage with Ampacc – a unique financial sustainability tool – and go through the online support process. As part of our Home-School-Community Strategy, we provided the funding for 25 locally-based voluntary organisations, and the remaining 10 were funded via Brent’s NCIL (Neighbourhood Community Infrastructure Levy) through the Young Brent Foundation.

What is Ampacc?

Developed by Clear Thinking Consultancy, Ampacc is a tool that enables small voluntary organisations to adopt universally-recognised full cost recovery principles. This helps groups accurately calculate the full costs of delivering their services, including both direct expenses like staff, travel and materials, and a proportionate share of overheads such as office rent, IT, and insurance.

By understanding these costs, organisations can make more informed financial decisions, ensuring their services are sustainable over the long term. Ampacc has been implemented with small voluntary organisations for over six years, and its impact is clear: it helps charities articulate their financial needs more effectively to funders – like John Lyon’s Charity – and allows for better resource allocation and long-term stability.

Insights into a Thriving Small Charity Sector – Webinar

On 17^th October, Clear Thinking Consultancy (CTC) will be hosting an online webinar with funders and their funded partners focused on Ampacc, with the aim of exploring and sharing insights on how to support a more robust and sustainable small charity sector – one that is truly thriving and, therefore, is best placed to support its communities to thrive too.

The session will feature Clare Gilhooly, Home-School-Community Programme Manager at John Lyon’s Charity, alongside CTC Director Kita Ikoku and Donna John from IGNITE Youth. In this session, they will talk about about Ampacc’s findings from carrying out financial analysis and support for voluntary groups to implement full cost recovery during the past twelve months, and what this tells us about the support needs for the wider small charity sector.

These workshops offer a valuable opportunity for participants to explore the challenges facing small charities today and discover actionable solutions to help them thrive. We encourage everyone to join via the link below and contribute to building a stronger voluntary sector equipped to support its communities.

Key Findings from the Ampacc Programme

Kita Ikoku

Director at Clear Thinking Consultancy

1. Most of the workforce is in insecure or unpaid employment

At the start of the process, participating organisations tell us how many and what types of workers they engage to deliver services. Through this we learned that only 16% of the workforce is on PAYE with most of them paid on a sessional basis or working in a voluntary capacity (58%).

For many organisations this is because they do not have the long-term secure funding that would give them the confidence they need to commit to increasing their payroll, or the structures in place to meet their increased responsibilities as an employer. This also accounted for many founders invoicing their organisation as a contractor.

2. Levels of reserves aren’t getting any better for micro and small voluntary organisations

Various pieces of research during the pandemic made clear that reserves amongst smaller voluntary organisations were low. Out of those that we worked with, over 60% were micro and small (up to income of £100k) and out of those, 60% of them had fewer than a month of running costs in reserves. We saw several examples of founders who were not taking a consistent income out of fear that, to do so, would leave the organisation in financial difficulties.

It is widely considered that a minimum of three months’ running costs put aside in a separate bank account (and not used as ongoing support for cash-flow) is the minimum necessary for an organisation to be able to function well and respond to unforeseen events.

The table below shows the level of reserves held by each of the 35 groups that were supported.

3. The sector is struggling to find, develop and retain talent

Anecdotally, it became clear early on that the sector has lost lots of its time and capacity to HR issues especially recruitment. We learned that participating organisations were putting out recruitment posts two or even three times without success and had lost staff due to not being able to increase its salaries in line with cost of living increases. We noted that only 1 in 4 participating organisations have an intern – this accounts for 8% of all workers, reducing to 2% if we omit figures relating to one outlier organisation (who strategically support a higher number of interns as part of their core work).

Training budgets were nominal and low – commonly equating to £50 per person or £500 – £1,000 in total. Many participating organisations did not have a training budget at all and, whilst they made good use of the free training and resources available from their local YPF, did not feel able to respond to specific and specialist support needs within their workforce.

4. Space matters

Where space is made available for little or no rent, usually from the local authority, this makes a significant difference to the total amount of overheads and, therefore, the costs of the charity. In places where space was at a premium and particularly with music and sports development charities, where specialist equipment and/or extensive space was needed to deliver services, this inflated associated costs for these small charities, making it challenging for them to demonstrate value for money and to keep their costs competitive.

5. The sector is paying too much to meet their governance and operating obligations

There are some costs that charities cannot avoid paying and, in some areas, these organisations are committing a significant proportion of their expenditure on them. Costs like insurance, IT and auditors/independent examiners are essential and, where high, they can impact heavily on a charity that is not apportioning their overheads against their project costs correctly. We also noted high costs for some participating organisations for office equipment whereas others had been able to benefit from accessing these at little or at no cost through existing business relationships or their local YPF.

All these expenses affect an organisation’s overheads and, therefore, their service costs. Where an organisation is being funded less than it costs them to deliver their services they are creating and compounding a deficit, which is overstretching the workforce and impacting on service quality.

Moving Forward – Conclusion by John Lyon’s Charity

This initiative has not only helped these organisations better understand and manage their costs but also provided valuable insights into the state of the small charity sector, which underscores the importance of doing more to help these essential groups thrive.

We strongly encourage all organisations applying for funding to invest time in fully understanding the true costs of delivering their services and to use tools like Ampacc to clearly communicate those costs to funders.

We also would like to call on funders, within their funding application processes, to make provision for applicants to share the consideration they have given to implementing full cost recovery and covering their overheads so that funders can be confident of resourcing the services that they are funding fully.

As we continue to work with Clear Thinking Consultancy and roll out the Ampacc programme to a further 40 organisations this year, we remain committed to strengthening the small charity sector. The insights we gain from this process will shape how we support these vital organisations in the future, ensuring they are equipped to thrive and continue their essential work within their communities.

To find out more about Ampacc, organisations should contact their local YPF or with Clear Thinking Consultancy directly.

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