Reach out to find support for your pupils and families

At Summit Learning Trust we run an initiative called Summit Base Camp, which is designed to ensure that all children and young people have the chance to thrive during their time in school, regardless of background.

The initiative was formed as part of one of our strategic aims to work in partnership with our communities to try to remove the practical and financial barriers that prevent children from achieving.

As such, all of our support is available to every child, no matter their background or family financial situation.

Business and charity support for families

Since it began in 2022, the Summit Base Camp has delivered nearly half a million free breakfasts, 3,000 food parcels and 32,000 curriculum-linked cultural experiences to pupils.

On top of this, we have also handed out 8,000 packs of revision guides and learning resources, 32,000 stationery packs, 4,000 new and pre-loved uniforms, 8,000 hygiene product packs, 3,000 laptops and wi-fi access to 200 families, and even 45 beds.

Whichever way you cut it, this is an impressive amount of stuff given away for free. Of course, though, our trust is not doing this from deep pockets. We face resource challenges like everyone else.

However, through engagement with local community organisations, big and small, we have been able to secure almost all of the above. This serves as a reminder that it’s always worth asking questions and seeking help.

For example, before the government’s introduction of free breakfast clubs, we provided free breakfasts thanks to Kellogg’s. We always look out for all potential funding opportunities and were lucky to receive grants from the company.

One of our schools benefits from a partnership with Warburtons, which also supplies breakfast food. Meanwhile, a partnership with charity The Hygiene Bank has helped us to provide everything from everyday toiletries to sanitary products.

Our food parcels are arranged through local charities and FareShare, while we have also got some funding from The Richardson Brothers Foundation to support our bed poverty initiative.

Making connections

I often find out about such charities through word of mouth and approach them to see if and how they can help. The worst that can happen is that they say no.

The data sim cards we provide come from the Good Things Foundation, a digital inclusion charity. I found it after searching online. There aren’t any centralised places with this information, therefore initiative is needed.

While emailing is a start, nothing beats picking up the phone and developing a personal relationship.

Working closely with the local council is always beneficial, and our schools have strong relationships with councillors, who are also useful when it comes to signposting opportunities.

Contacting your local chamber of commerce is another way to keep abreast of any funding opportunities from local businesses. Signing up to the newsletters of all such organisations is always worthwhile.

Our partnership with The Multibank, which is a clothes, bedding, baby products, hygiene products, toys and furniture bank all rolled into one, came about after we were signposted to it by Birmingham Voluntary Service Council.

Most areas will have their own voluntary service council, so I recommend contacting it and asking to be made aware of any opportunities.

Using your parent community

Your parent community can also be a great resource, too. You never know who might work somewhere that can offer you something, and we’ve had success in this way.

We have a parent who is a manager for a large supermarket that supports our food pantry in one of our secondary schools. It donates surplus food to support breakfast booster sessions or intervention sessions after school

Being clever with your own resources is also important. RE(YOU)S CIC, a community recycling group, was on the hunt for some digital resources.

We were replacing digital devices, so donated them to the charity. In return, it provided us with tokens to exchange for paint, which was used for a community DIY SOS-type project to improve a local school environment.

We always send out actual thank-you letters to those that support us and mention them on social media and in any press releases we do, too.

It’s also important to demonstrate how the trust gives back, and we have raised over £35,000 since 2023 for local charities. This helps to show funding partners that we also give back to society.

While we, of course, do all of this for the good of our learners and their families, we were delighted that this work was recognised at the national nEdEx School and Trust Leadership Awards 2026.

For me, it was a recognition that trusts can act at scale to support families, and that, through a bit of research, relationship building and outreach, it is possible to provide a raft of support to give all pupils the best start in life.

Mandeep Kaur is community and marketing lead at Summit Learning Trust, which runs nine academies in Birmingham and Solihull