That is the first thing to say. This is a programme that changed my perspective, my
understanding of young people and my teaching practice. I am a better teacher
because of Lumina.
I care more and am more understanding of the challenges young people face. I now
understand that not all children can be judged by the same standards.
I have also never believed more deeply in the power of education to change lives nor
how unfair life can be. I have never been so inspired to be a teacher.
Lumina was designed after a revelatory conversation with the Director of Education
from our Local Authority, the London Borough of Harrow - Paddy O’Dwyer. Paddy
and I concluded that the greatest impact our school could have on the young people
in our northwest London borough was not to be achieved by focusing on high
achieving, Russell Group and Oxbridge-bound students, but instead to focus on
young people with clearly identified, significant barriers to progress. Could we put in
place a programme to help lower these barriers?
Paddy, a brilliant and far-sighted Director of Education, suggested that if we really
wanted to make a difference through partnerships we should start helping looked
after children (children in care). I met with the equally inspiring Mellina Williamson-
Taylor, the Head of the Harrow Virtual School (which ensures that all children and
young people in care and care-leavers have the opportunity to fulfil their education
potential) and we devised what became the Lumina programme. A programme of
academic support, enrichment and mentoring for looked after children (children
known to the care system). It is a response to the inequality that is faced by
thousands of our young people who do not get a fair go at education. This is a group
of young people who have been regularly, consistently, significantly and shamefully
failed by many of the adults in their lives.
In 2022 The House of Commons Education Committee reported:
“Children in care face multiple educational disadvantages. Outcomes are poor and
there is much that can and must be done to support their progress, champion their
attainment and improve their life-chances. The number of children in care is rising,
and could reach the notable milestone of 100,000 children in care by 2025. We must
act now to ensure every looked-after child is properly supported to succeed in
education and in life.
The educational data paints a bleak picture. At Key Stage 2, for reading, writing and
mathematics, only 37% of looked-after children reached expected standards,
compared to 65% of non-looked-after children. Just 7.2% of looked-after children
achieved the grade 5 ‘good pass’ threshold in English and mathematics GCSEs,
compared to 40.1% of non-looked-after children. The average Attainment 8 score—a
measure of achievement across 8 qualifications—for looked-after children was 19.1
compared to 44.6 for non-looked-after children. And children in residential care at
age 16 scored over six grades less at GCSE than those in kinship or foster care.”
We must act now…
Lumina has grown into a transformative, non-profit collaboration that breaks down
barriers and empowers vulnerable young people to achieve their full potential.
Lumina provides personalised, one-to-one online tutoring, fostering academic
success, building self-esteem, and creating a network of support for our students - at
no cost whatsoever either to the young people, carers or local authorities. We are
committed to closing the attainment gap and ensuring that all young people,
regardless of their circumstances, have the opportunity to thrive.
The ask is simple: teachers volunteer once a week, predominantly in term time, to
provide students with a 45-minute lesson. They deliver lessons across the full school
age range and across all subjects, though we currently have an overwhelming
demand for specialists in English, Maths and Science. Teachers will work with the
same student through a complete academic cycle (usually up to a public exam) –
they have to commit to this.
We ask our teachers to volunteer their time. This is a vital part of what we do -
teachers are doing this because they believe in it. They want to make a difference.
The young person knows the teacher is not being paid to be there. This is not a
regular intervention; a fix for something wrong in their lives - this is an opportunity.
They are with someone who wants to support them and will turn up, week in week
out, and will make a difference. We work with local authorities to make pairings that
will be successful and then we watch our children fly.
The Lumina Tutoring platform is fully funded, providing comprehensive administrative
support for participating schools. A comprehensive safeguarding structure is in
place, as is training and support for new teachers joining. Training in the software,
support and software are provided free of cost to partner institutions and the
administrative costs themselves are fully funded.
Lumina is different to other tutoring programmes. We are aware that we are working
with children who have experienced great trauma in their lives. They are behind their
peers and they're struggling to pass key facilitating exams for the next stage of their
lives. The educational journey is in danger of ending before it has even begun. We
change this narrative by offering them unconditional support. We ask teachers
(brilliant, outstanding, wonderful, warm, kind-hearted, experienced teachers who
have huge expertise both with young people and their subject area) to ‘get’ our
young people. To take our Lumina students through their exams (our tutors remain
with their students for a whole academic year or exam cycle) whilst at the same time
showering them with support, consistency and attention in a way that has been
missing for large parts of their lives.
I've had the privilege of tutoring 6 different children through the Lumina programme.
There have been pairings that have not worked: students not being in the right place
to access the offer, to do the work required to pass the exams, but the vast majority
of the time we have had astounding success (last summer we had a mean
improvement by over 2 grades for students on the Lumina Tutoring course). My
students, and I say this with pride, have passed GCSE maths which they have failed
on numerous occasions previously and are now at the colleges of their choice, on
the courses they want to do: accessing the opportunities from which they were
previously shut out: Nursing, Veterinary Science, Midwifery; but more importantly
than this, they had someone who turned up to help them, to support them with no
questions asked.
Forming connections with teachers in different schools (including some of the
biggest independent schools in the UK) with different resources, skills, connections
and backgrounds is extremely impactful. Lumina invites great teachers and mentors
from all over the educational sector to change lives – to provide the consistency that
has been missing in a young person’s education. Through planning, collaborative
partnerships, and a commitment to educational excellence, a nationally scaled
programme has the potential to revolutionise the educational landscape for looked
after children, benefiting students from across the country.
‘Lumina provides an indescribable experience that has prepared me for higher
education in a way that I cannot imagine without the presence of this programme.
The sheer enthusiasm of the teachers: never once doubting my abilities and building
my self-confidence with continuous support, has led to me beginning my Veterinary
degree this Autumn. Lumina has enabled a fundamental bridge to higher education
pathways and student journey after high school.’ – A Lumina Scholar (a child in care)
2023.
I started by saying that I am better at my job because of Lumina, this is absolutely
true, but it is also true that many young people will have a chance to do the jobs of
which they dream because of this programme.
Lumina is changing the dial for our children in care, and we are looking for teachers
who believe in the astonishing potential of young people to help us achieve this. If
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