Our partnership with Liberum has been Highly Commended at the Charity Times Awards!

 We’re delighted to announce that School-Home Support (SHS) and Liberum Capital’s partnership has been Highly Commended for the Corporate Community Local Involvement award at the Charity Times Awards 2017. The partnership came ahead of some excellent projects such as the Berkeley Foundation, The Conservation Volunteers and NatWest, Hackney Cooperative Developments, UnLtd and UBS, Scottish Book Trust and Scottish Gas, Sported and Deutsche Bank , and St Giles Trust and The Lancashire Foundation – this was a real achievement.Liberum employees fundraise for SHS staff to work in three schools in London, as well as directly volunteering with children and families from those schools. The driver of the partnership is a shared passion for ensuring vulnerable children get the education they need to lead secure adult lives, and this is reflected in the evaluations. From January – April 2017, for example, SHS Practitioners in these schools made 595 interventions – instances of direct support work with or on behalf of a child/ family (such as support with housing, poverty or mental health) – over the course of the term. In one school, 91% of children whose attendance was classed as poor (<95%) have seen an improvement in their attendance, while 100% of pupils worked with who were previously classified as persistently absent (90%) improved their attendance.Children from a Liberum volunteer-led reading group call the volunteers “superheroes” and “their banker friends”. Ashan Venn, Assistant Headteacher at St Mary’s Primary School where the group takes place, said:

“These kids don’t have the opportunity to read with adults at home, Liberum volunteers have a really positive impact on their confidence, helping them to come out of their shells and promoting their love of reading.”

In addition to the reading group and fundraising for SHS Practitioners, Liberum staff host ‘aspiration sessions’ where families can visit their offices to learn about their work and pathways to employment, and also distribute Christmas hampers.Tony Scawthorn, COO of Liberum, said:

“We’ve really valued the opportunity to get directly involved with School-Home Support and the families they help. For us, it’s not just about fundraising – all of our employees participate in some way to make a difference. We’re thrilled that the Charity Times Award has recognised this work.”

The Charity Times Awards continue to be the pre-eminent celebration of best practice in the UK charity and not-for-profit sector. Now in their 18th year, the awards are run by Charity Times Magazine – the leading title for UK non-profit professionals. This year’s winners will be announced at the Charity Times Awards Gala Dinner & Ceremony on 4 October 2017 at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge, London. The event was attended by over six hundred guests in 2016 and this year is set to be bigger and better than ever.About the Charity Times Awards:The Charity Times Awards continue to be the pre-eminent celebration of best practice in the UK charity and not-for-profit sector. The awards are free to enter and open to any UK-based registered charity, or international charity with registered UK offices. Now in their 18th year the awards are run by Charity Times Magazine, the leading title for UK non-profit professionals: www.charitytimes.com/awards@CharityTAwards#CharityTimesAwards