The Henry Smith Charity

📈 School Exclusions Surge: Contribute to Important Research! 📈 A report released in September by the Who’s Losing Learning? Coalition, (IPPR, our partner Impetus - Backing the best, Mission 44 and The Difference) reveals a shocking 20% rise in school exclusions and suspensions across England this year. The exclusions are disproportionately affecting low-income and at-risk students, including those with special educational needs. 💡 Shaping Education Policy 💡 Now, The Coalition is gathering insights for their upcoming Solutions Report (to be released in spring 2025) which will support their call to action for meaningful change to reduce lost learning. If you’re an educator, student, or advocate, your input is crucial. 📢 Head to our blog to read the report and contribute to the research. Let’s create positive change for children!👉🏾 👉 👉🏿 https://lnkd.in/enMhz3U7 #LostLearning #WhosLosingLearning #Report #PolicyChange #Education #EarlyYears #Youth #Children #Exclusion #Schools #Pandemic #LostLearning

🙌 We're delighted to be supporting Pro Bono Economics' upcoming event, A Civil Alliance: Connecting Civil Society and the Civil Service 🙌 📅 The event will be held on 21st November, 2024 at 11:15am. Online tickets are still available (In person charity places have sold out). 🔗 This unique, cross-sector event aims to develop richer and more powerful connections between the civil service and civil society and set out the potential impact a closer working relationship could have at both a local and national level. 💡 Join fellow guests from across the civil service and civil society to hear best practice case studies 🗣 Have your say on the potential structural changes that could enable closer working between the two sectors 📚 Learn more about the opportunities for mutual upskilling that already exist 💭 Discuss the Civil Society Covenant and how it can help build more effective partnership between government and civil society Register online: https://lnkd.in/eGp5Z_6k Speakers and chairs include: ✔️Marc Rooney, Department for Education ✔️Becky Morrison, Director of Civil Society and Youth Directorate, Department for Culture, Media and Sport ✔️Sarah Elliott, Chief Executive, NCVO ✔️Dr Lindsay Cordery-Bruce, CEO, WCVA ✔️Jane Ide OBE HonDUniv, CEO, ACEVO ✔️Joanna Penrose Buckley, Deputy Director Refugee Resettlement & Integration, Home Office ✔️katie ghose, CEO, KIDS ✔️Dr Wanda Wyporska, FRHistS, CEO, Safe Passage International ✔️Polly Payne, Director General for Culture, Sport and Civil Society, Department for Culture, Media and Sport ✔️Charlotte Hill OBE, CEO, The Felix Project ✔️Ian Dunn, former CEO, Plantlife ✔️Marie-Elise Howells, Deputy Director for Volunteering and Tackling Loneliness, Department for Culture, Media and Sport ✔️Sarah Swash, Deputy Director - Head of National Biodiversity, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs ✔️Susannah Storey, Permanent Secretary for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport ✔️Kunle Olulode MBE, FRSA, RSM, Director, Voice4Change

📢 Insights: Parenting and Early Years Services 📢 Our research reveals the urgent need for greater investment and integrated support in the Parenting and Early Years sector. Earlier this year, our research team travelled across the UK, engaging with grant holders and organisations working in this area and local authorities to better understand the state of Parenting and Early Years provision. Here’s what we found: 💡 Early intervention matters: Preventative services are crucial for reducing family crises, but funding cuts have left these services vulnerable. 👥 Community organisations are key: Local support is often the first touchpoint, connecting families to broader resources. 🤝 Collaboration is essential: A cohesive approach across sectors is essential to providing holistic support for families. With only 6% of charitable funds reaching children 0-5, there is a gap to fill. As we look ahead to 2025, we are committed to narrowing the attainment gap for children in vulnerable communities. ➡️ Read the blog to learn more about the research findings https://lnkd.in/eDSuf6q8 #EarlyYears #ParentingSupport #SocialImpact #Research

🚨 We’re Hiring: Join Us in Driving Social Change🚨 The Henry Smith Charity is recruiting for three Programme Directors to drive our ambitious new strategy and bold new brand, launching in 2025. The Programme Directors will lead our three core areas: 1.      A Safer Future 2.      Parenting & Early Years 3.      Transitioning to Adulthood This is a unique chance to join us at a pivotal moment as we work to create a fairer, more equitable society. If you’re a purpose-driven leader passionate about tackling social inequity, visit our Careers Hub for more information and to apply 👇 https://lnkd.in/dVEPFiQf #Leadership #Hiring #NonProfit #Funding #Foundation #Charity #SocialChange #ProgrammeDirector #Opportunity #Job #Vocation

Today we’re excited to announce two new organisations are entering our portfolio 🎉 We are delighted to welcome The Two Counties Trust and the Co-op Academies Trust, who are joining us as part of our Engage Fund. These two organisations have made significant commitments to developing high-quality internal alternative provision (IAP), which is increasingly regarded as a high-potential intervention for young people at risk of exclusion and lost learning. Through our Engage Fund, in partnership with The Henry Smith Charity, we’re working to reduce the number of school exclusions and improve outcomes for young people in alternative provision (AP) in England. Read more about our partnership plans with these two wonderful organisations: https://lnkd.in/ekusq9GT

We're proud of the #research project our partner, Social Finance is conducting and the 15 incredible support #services we are funding through this project to assess the impact of #advocacy #support services for people with #learning #disabilities and #autistic people. Check out their post to learn more and read the interim project report 👇🏽👇🏿👇 #AdvocacyAwarenessWeek

🚀 In 2023, The Henry Smith Charity launched a #DEI (#Diversity, #Equity and #Inclusion) working group to refocus our efforts on DEI, both within the organisation and in our external grant making activities. 📣 As a #social #impact funder, we must live our values. Our DEI working group is the driving force behind efforts to ensure that staff, trustees, and volunteers feel empowered to embed DEI principles in their work. 📰 Read our latest #blog to find out how we are developing DEI in our work 👉🏿👉👉🏽 https://lnkd.in/e89P3kmD 📸 Luke Webb, Pexels

How can meaningful values can increase #impact? 📆 Since 2023, we have been undergoing a #strategy redevelopment project to align our work with the complex social challenges faced by #communities across the UK. 📈 We identified a need to establish a new working #culture and #values to shape and support our mission: empowering economically and socially excluded people, and supporting those in adversity to #thrive. 🤔 But how do the culture and values of a social impact organisation uphold and support its work? And how should values be agreed? 💡We spoke to Nicola Taylor, our Strategy Change Manager, and Nicola Pye, our Leadership & Culture Consultant, about the adventures, challenges and opportunities that lie in shaping a new organisational culture and values. Read the blog 👉🏽👉👉🏿https://lnkd.in/eDu_RF3j 📸 Javier Allegue Barros for Unsplash

🍞 “[The Breadwinners Programme] helped me to set goals, and I’ve achieved most of them!” - Bemnet, Breadwinners participant, 2024 🎉 Bemnet, a recent graduate of the Breadwinners programme talked to us about building skills, achieving goals and learning to enjoy the present more fully. 📸 We ran a two-day photographic storytelling workshop with PhotoVoice to help the Breadwinners participants tell their stories. Read Bemnet's story on our latest blog 👉🏿👉🏽👉 https://lnkd.in/e5UXweyp Photo © Bemnet, 2024

“It’s all about community, fun and creating a safe space” – Martha Solloway, Breadwinners programme lead. As part of our continued commitment to amplifying the voices of our grant holders and those they support, we spoke to Breadwinners, a London-based social enterprise supporting young asylum seekers and refugees, at a photographic storytelling workshop we ran with PhotoVoice earlier this year. We spoke to Martha and Josie, two key Breadwinners staff, about how they support young refugees and asylum seekers to develop stronger skill sets, more confidence and a safe, welcoming community. Read the blog 👉🏿👉🏽👉https://lnkd.in/eQ7m7XUu Image credit: Copyright © Tom Elkins 2024.