
Narrowing the Gap

A new approach to our grant-giving
Narrowing the Gap is our first Education Partnership grant
Over the next five years, we’ve identified £1 million in grant funding to help narrow the education attainment gap between disadvantaged children from low-income families and their peers.
Developed in response to consultations with schools, Achieving for Children, and voluntary and community organisations, the project addresses three critical areas:
- The importance of family wraparound support
- The impact of rising absenteeism
- The growing complexity of special educational needs and mental health challenges

Launching with a focused two-year phase from January 2025, we've awarded three grants to local schools.
- Embedding family support in primary schools: Darell Primary School is leading this work to integrate dedicated family support services across six primary schools. By embedding family support within school, they aim to address underlying socioeconomic challenges that impact children’s education and well-being, working toward reducing inequality. This initiative aims to support families, improve pupil outcomes, and foster a supportive school environment that empowers both children and their families.
- Embedding family support in secondary school: Richmond Park Academy will develop activities to improve family support, with a focus on Year 7 pupils and their transition from primary to secondary school. Outcomes include improvements in attendance, an increase in families accessing support and services, and increased staff awareness of voluntary and community support.
- Professional development around early intervention and Special Educational Needs and Disabilities: This is an expansion of the school-staff training offer, led by Barnes Primary School, to all East Richmond primary schools. It addresses the growing need to develop expertise within schools to support vulnerable and disadvantaged children. Barnes Primary will coordinate delivery of a range of training including upskilling staff in occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, and emotional wellbeing support.