A volunteer-led group set up after a campaign from Bradford Parent Power has secured a £9,000 funding grant from the National Lottery Community Fund.
After work to secure funded Year 11 tuition places at the University of Bradford, it became clear that there was a need in the community for tuition starting earlier, from Year 9. Parents were concerned that the Covid-19 pandemic had had a lasting impact on their children’s confidence and academic progress, but private tuition was not financially viable.
As a response, Rahilla Ali, Community Organiser for Bradford Parent Power, set up a meeting to discuss ideas for a community-led tuition campaign. As conversations continued, it was clear that a formal arrangement needed to be made for the group, and so ‘The Learning Legends Club’ was founded, with a Chair, Treasurer and Secretary nominated from a core group of 22 parents and carers.
Bradford College provided the group with space for tuition sessions, and children of parents in the group who were already in higher or further education volunteered to act as tutors. The Brilliant Club has been able to offer the tutors safeguarding and teaching and learning training sessions. The first tuition session officially took place in early March.
The group has started to fundraise in earnest, with more support from the External Affairs team at The Brilliant Club, and has just secured its first big grant, £9,000 from the National Lottery Community Fund, which will go towards enrichment activities, learning resources, and travel expenses for volunteers.
Jimmy Pickering, Director of Communities at The Brilliant Club, said: “It’s a real pleasure to see the Learning Legends Club create such momentum and secure a significant funding grant in this short space of time. We support our Parent Power chapters across the country to campaign for issues relevant to education in their local communities. What we’re seeing in Bradford is the identification of a need, catch-up tuition, and then a volunteer-led drive to make that happen.”
Parent Power creates parent/carer communities across the UK, each one supported by an anchor institution. Parents are empowered to ensure their children have a fair chance at education and their future careers by:
We have 13 Parent Power chapters in England and Wales. If you are interested in supporting a Parent Power chapter, email nationalparentpower@thebrilliantclub.org.