Speakers for Schools is pleased to announce it has joined the Fair Education Alliance, a coalition of over 100 organisations working together to tackle educational inequality.
A UK education charity launched in 2011, Speakers for Schools levels the playing field for state secondary school students by increasing access to inspiring talks and work experience with today’s top figures and leading employers. Through their programme of free school talks, esteemed work experience and linked partner opportunities, Speakers for Schools connects young people with the leaders of today, creating better access to expert resources and opportunities ensuring state educated students feel prepared and confident about their future.
Ashley Hodges, CEO at Speakers for Schools Education, said:
Social mobility can be stinted if state school students don’t have access to the same opportunities as their fee-paying counterparts. Evidence points to state school students having less confidence in their future prospects caused by perceived barriers to success such as a lack of connections and access to work experience. At Speakers for Schools, we believe having access to leading figures and their illustrious organisations disrupts this pattern and gives state school students the opportunity to engage with influential people who can share guidance and expertise on how to reach the top via our engaging school talks and impactful S4SNextGen work experience programme.
Our charity already works with many like-minded organisations to see that state schools are connected with all the support they need, so we look forward to working collaboratively with the Fair Education Alliance to help us all tackle educational inequality, ensuring every young person has an enriched and rounded education.
Sam Butters, CEO of the Fair Education Alliance, said:
Research has shown that from a very young age, social capital matters a great deal in inspiring children to set their aspirations high. When disadvantaged children have the opportunity to meet influential figures and here about their experiences, it can have a transformational effect on their confidence and school performance. Speakers for Schools’ work in providing these opportunities is fantastic, and we are delighted to have them join the Alliance.
Ensuring we have an education system which develops the whole child is a key priority for the Fair Education Alliance, and through our project on rounded education a number of our member organisations, including Speakers for Schools, are seeking to share and embed effective practices which develop social and emotional skills and wellbeing alongside academic attainment to reach more young people. Independent evaluations have shown that this can decrease behavioural issues and increase prosocial behaviour.
For more information about Speakers for Schools and their work, please visit www.speakers4schools.org
Notes to Editors
About the Fair Education Alliance
Please see our press page.
About Speakers for Schools
For more information about this press release, please get in touch with our team at: team@speakers4schools.org
Speakers for Schools is a UK education charity launched in 2011 to help level the playing field for state secondary schools and their students by increasing access to inspiring talks and engagements with today’s top figures and employers, as often seen in fee-paying schools. Speakers are high-profile leaders and experts donating their time and travel, keeping all engagements free of charge to our schools.
In 2017, the charity launched S4SNextGen, its portal connecting state schools with speakers’ esteemed companies to offer work experience and related placements to those students who need it the most: S4SNextGen.org.
The charity was founded by Robert Peston and has facilitated over 5,500 school talks and 800 placements reaching over 600,000 young people to date. Chaired by Andrew Law with a board of trustees, the charity is funded by the Law Family Charitable Foundation.
Visit www.speakers4schools.org to find out more about how you can get involved today.