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One of our key areas of focus for our social impact programme is engagement. It’s focussed on the impact our businesses can make when we support young people’s education through aspiration activities or attainment.
Aspiration can cover a broad range of activities including career insight sessions, mock interviews, and assemblies. Attainment focuses on interventions which will have a direct impact on educational achievements. For August, we wanted to focus on two case studies which bring this to life.
If your business can get involved in supporting our education engagement programme, then reach out to me or the team.
Head of Social Impact, Luke Richardson
Please continue to support the PPP social impact programme. If you want to get involved, then reach out to the team – social.impact@sl-ppp.co.uk
 Creating a generation of lifelong readers thanks to our volunteers
At Programme and Project Partners (PPP) and Sellafield Ltd we’ve placed a focus on creating impact through attainment interventions. Our partnership with Chapter One UK is one of the ways we are delivering social impact, focusing on how evidence-based intervention methods can help support educational achievements.
Working with our amazing supply chain partners, corporate volunteers and charity partner Chapter One UK, we’re helping to create a generation of lifelong readers through the PPP at Sellafield Reading Programme.
Our volunteers from across our entire network truly make this programme possible, and without them we would not be able to reach as many children as we do. The reading programme has so far seen volunteers step up to support 104 primary school pupils in West Cumbria. And this is set to expand even further as we look to support around 300 local children during the next phase.
North-West Coast Energy Coast Alliance (NWEC), a joint venture between McMennon and TIS Cumbria, is just one of our many suppliers that has actively been involved in the Reading Programme and have seen the value that dedicating a small amount of time each week can have on a child’s future.
Reading programme volunteer Helen Thompson, from NWEC Alliance, said:
“Spending just half an hour reading with a child is nothing in the grand scheme of things but I know it’s going to make a huge difference over the year.”
What does it mean to the children we’re supporting?
Luke Richardson, PPP’s Head of Social Impact, said:
“Government statistics show one in five children don’t have a book of their own at home, and one in three children from disadvantaged backgrounds aren’t able to read at the required level, we’re now hoping to change this using the power of our partnership at Sellafield Ltd."
Flimby Primary School Headteacher, Tanya Peers, said the project is "extremely beneficial" for her pupils:
“This is quality one-to-one work with children of all abilities and will help them to improve their fluency, comprehension and use their phonic skills to interpret unknown words.”
And the results speak for themselves. At Northside Primary School, 28 of our volunteers supported pupils with their reading, providing 78 hours of classroom reading support. As a result, the schools phonics pass results increased from 25% to 75%, and the pass rate for KS1 SATs has improved.
Vicky McDowell, Northside Primary School Headteacher, said:
“Thank you so much for your help in supporting our children in their reading and their understanding of the world of work. The majority of children are not read to at home and families often struggle with literacy and confidence around this. There is also a three generational or more unemployment around many of our families and you provide a role model for the positive working world for these children.
“Your contribution to the lives and future prospects for our children cannot be underestimated. Thank you all for the part you have played in this. Without you, we wouldn’t have been able to do it.”
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 Skillsblox – addressing stereotypes early to inspire
PPP's social impact programme also focusses on how we can use aspiration to inspire and demonstrate the huge range of pathways young people can follow to realise their ideal careers and support them on their journey to a bright future.
Balfour Beatty Kilpatrick, through PPP, partnered The Primary Business Partnership (CfLP) and Valley School in Whitehaven to deliver Skillsblox sessions to groups of Year 6 students. SkillsBlox helps to identify and build the skills which will enable young people to flourish in the future, whichever pathways they choose. The Year 6 pupils were given a mini ‘Dream Big Session’, introducing them to various careers, allowing them to think about and discuss their aspirations.
The Year 6 class at Valley School in Whitehaven were treated to a visit from Cath Howard, Environmental Sustainability Manager at Balfour Beatty Kilpatrick and two mystery guests, for an ‘Ideal Me’ session. It was a great opportunity for the children to be introduced to careers in the artistic and creative fields.
The children met Emma Hunt, Artist and Musician, and Graphic Designer Christine Andrews, who introduced them to careers in the artistic and creative fields. Cath Howard chatted to them about how varied and stimulating her role is, helping them to consider the importance of job satisfaction.
The session concluded with a practical exercise, where the children were given blank templates for them to fill in with colour, collage, words and drawings to build up an image of their ideal futures. Their Ideal Me’s represented many different careers; among them a handful of footballers, a businesswoman in a neat, tailored suit, two mechanics, a scientist, a nurse, an artist and a graphic designer.
Cath Howard of BBK said:
“We have so much focus in west Cumbria on engineering and STEM, so it was wonderful for Year 6’s to learn more about the creative jobs they can do.”
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PPP Timebank Volunteering
The following are a list of opportunities to volunteer through timebank, if you would like further information on these or any other upcoming opportunities, please get in touch via our email - social.impact@sl-ppp.co.uk
- PPP Reading Programme is set to expand in September and is seeking volunteers. Each volunteer reader ‘meets’ virtually with the same child for just 30 minutes a week, during the school day, over an entire academic year. We are now registering volunteers who would like to take part.
- Northside Community Centre require support with digital support including office reorganisation and website updates.
- Together We Cumbria would like help to develop a clear marketing strategy for all four of their core services.
- Carnegie Theatre Trust - The Carnegie Theatre in Workington still has a wide range of outstanding jobs requiring completion, including marketing and commercial support.
- Howgate Family Centre in Kells requires a wide range of general maintenance, along with specific trades needed, including plumbing and joinery works for their full development of a new family centre and Early Years provisions.
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