The seeds of change are pleased to announce that we have become members of the Fair Education Alliance.
This organisation with more than 200 members aims to tackle inequality of education across all sectors.
It has never been so important for those involved in educating children and young people to pull together to help close the gap of disadvantage and inequality in the education system.
The types of learners that we work with at the Seeds of Change represent across sectors of society who we believe are under-represented in these situations.
Many of our learners only attend school on a part-time basis and some are not in any kind of education at all. This means that they cannot be fairly represented when it comes to having a voice about the types of system that suits their needs.
We hope to give some of these young people a voice by joining with other educators to look at how we ensure all young people are able to access an appropriate curriculum to progress them in their lives.
During the pandemic, those children who live in the most deprived areas in our communities have struggled more in terms of their education than others. In years to come, this will result in a more divided society.
They may live in areas with poorer schools or may not have been able to access schooling so readily during the pandemic. The access to home-schooling and the digital equipment required to undertake this may not have been sufficient for their needs.
Many live in poverty where food is not always readily available and their home may not be suitable for home-schooling.
We are all aware of the mental health issues that the pandemic has bought about but for our children, many do not have access to the right kind of support.
We believe that access to an appropriate education is essential for every child. This does not just mean an academic curriculum, but also a therapeutic and supportive environment where they can develop strategies to support themselves in their everyday lives, putting them in a place where they can mentally focus on learning and not just surviving their everyday problems.
We look forward to being part of the Fair Education Alliance to be able to provide input about the needs of the learners that we work with but also to learn more about how other organisations are already working with young people and new approaches that we can embed into our work to ensure we offer them the very best chances to progress.