Big Change Impact Report 2017

WHAT Makes BIG CHANGE. Five years of transformation.

/Contents/

Our mission is to transform the way we support the next generation.

We back big ideas that set young people up to thrive in life, not just exams.

05 Our Founders 06 Story of Big Change So Far 08 Creating Big Change 10 Why Change is Needed 12 Project Selection 14 Our Projects 16-19 Spotlight: Frontline, Voice 21 20 Our Theory of (Big) Change 22-25 Spotlight: Generation Change, Reclaim 26-29 Targeting Outcomes: Oracy, Teachers Thriving, Broadening Horizons 30-33 Our Community 34 Looking Ahead

www.big-change.org info@big-change.org

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£2.4m

impact In numbers

total Funds raised from Strive

Years of helping young people to thrive

18

Research Papers Published

Projects funded

1,000

Community Members

ONE million+ Total social media impressions

1,000’s

£20m+ in FollowOn Funding

OF Connections made by Big Changers

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Total STRIVERS

£4m+ Raised for young people across the UK

OUR FOUNDERS " From the start we were on a learning mission.

There is a benefit to never having done this before…. it means you get to ask a lot of questions and have a lot of mentors!

We not only get the benefit of their wisdom but the courage to build something genuinely different. Plus we’ve made great friends along the way."

Phil Nevin

" The most important part of what we do is finding and backing the best projects.

I remember the pride of standing up and helping to launch Frontline. Every time we help make a great project happen – projects that are really changing things for young people – it’s the most extraordinary feeling.

One that never gets old."

Holly Branson

“ I believe that the stories we tell ourselves shape our beliefs and our actions and that narrative is currently warped. There is so much fear and negativity based media out there and we need to support the positive counterpoint. I am passionate about shifting the messages society is sending young people. We want to show that although it can be hard, change is not only possible but is happening already.”

Sam Branson

" What really excites me is learning from the cutting edge of change in the business world and applying those lessons to drive positive social change. There is so much we can learn from venture capital, tech incubators, brands and campaigns that are challenging how we behave, and vice versa."

Beatrice York " As the mother of two young children the mission of Big Change has become even closer to my heart. It feels so important we put young people at the heart of all of this. Listening and learning from them and what they need to be happy, healthy adults.

They are our future and we need to prioritise each and every one of them."

Isabella Branson

" From the first caterpillar run when 34 of us ran the marathon to raise money for charity we have shown how much you can achieve, and how much fun it can be, if you’re all in it together. Five years ago none of us would have predicted where this would take us – to think now we’ve backed 18 Big Change projects, and have nearly 1,000 in our community. And it keeps growing, it’s amazing."

Sam Richardson

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The Story of Big Change so far...

Small grants to 3 local projects that empowered young people with skills and experiences to create positive change in their lives

2010

32 friends ran the Virgin London Marathon as a giant caterpillar, raising £250,000 to support 12 selected charities, achieving a World Record

2012

milestones

Our six founders launch Big Change and raise £250,000 from The Big Climb to support our first Projects

Launched research into key outcome areas – Communications and Social Skills, and Teacher Wellbeing – where change was needed

2016

2015

projects & impact

Virgin STRIVE Challenge from the Matterhorn to Mount Etna saw 280 STRIVERS raise £1.5 million for our projects

Growth Mindset Research published, calling for change in how we help young people believe that change is possible

We backed Reclaim, Generation Change and City Year

Our first project, Frontline, went on to get government funding to scale nationally

We launched our Youth Advisory Board and ‘grown up’ Advisory Board

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Venture Philanthropy – Big Change model shifts to achieving disproportionate impact by backing early stage projects that then go on to create positive long term systemic change

2013

Inaugural Virgin STRIVE Challenge saw 250 STRIVERS go from London to the top of the Matterhorn under human power, raising £750,000 and building a community of Big Changers

First Big Change Big Bet: support to Frontline for their 3-year pilot Rethinking Social Work

Finding our purpose – We shift from reactive to proactive thinking, looking at the change we want to see and where the greatest need is for young people.

The result, our new organisational purpose: “Rethinking how we set young people up to thrive in life, not just in exams”

2014 We backed our first cohort – Franklin Scholars, NCS, Voice 21 – who all think differently about how to build critical life skills in young people

Reimagining Education – Partnering with Virgin Unite, we hosted a gathering of cross-sector leaders and influencers to shape a vision for rethinking how we support the next generation

impact

Being a catalyst for change – Recognition that big change won’t happen unless there’s a mindset shift; we bring together cross-sector, cross-discipline leaders and influencers to create the vision for the change that’s needed

2017 We backed our largest cohort to date with a £1m investment – nine projects across three key outcome areas – and started developing our ‘accelerator’ offering so we can scale

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Creating Big Change Big Change started with a question.

How can we be the most effective catalyst for positive change for young people in the UK? For the past five years we’ve been learning by doing. Some of our key lessons:

Meet the Big Changer Name: Essie North Role: Managing Director Organisation: Big Change How I got here: With a background in psychology, I spent 10 years working with 500 leading global organisations on best practice in how to drive change in a networked world. Understanding how people and societies thrive has always been my passion so Big Change is the dream for me: being able to combine smart business practice with a social change I deeply believe in.

1 Rather than treating symptoms of a broken system we aim to prevent problems later. Ensuring that all young people have the skills, belief and support to play a positive role in their own lives, and the community around them.

2 Having the courage to back game-changing ideas. Since our first support of Frontline (when we committed everything we had in the bank), we have learnt the power of boldly supporting a powerful idea early, and helping them prove themselves.

3 Focusing on critical outcomes.

We can have more impact if we go deeper on fewer areas where there is a real need, but little existing support.

In 2017 we focused on 3 outcome areas: 1) oracy 2) teachers thriving 3) broadening horizons.

4 Uniting the agendas of education, youth, parents, business, policy and mental health. One of the key lessons from our work on Reimagining Education is that change will only happen if we work together, so we are increasingly bringing together voices and insight from different sectors.

Big Change is no small task and it isn’t an easy path. Long term system change means that impact is often hard to quantify in the short term. It has required

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a leap of faith from many of our early supporters, while we worked to prove our model, hone our role and build the evidence base around why change needs to happen.

One thing is for sure, change takes guts – whether it is on an individual, organisational, or societal level. It requires challenging the assumptions that have gone before, and often stepping into the unknown to learn along the way.

We are very proud of the 18 projects Big Change has backed so far and the impact they are now having: Frontline has gone on to receive multi-million pound government support to scale nationally and change the face of social work; Voice 21 is already helping young people find their voice in over 200 schools; the NCS Opportunity Hub shared 70,000 development opportunities with young people in its first 3 months of launching.

I could go on.

These are all changes that wouldn’t have been possible without the belief and support of our community. We’ve grown from six friends around a kitchen table to more than one thousand in our network.

Every individual plays a critical role in accelerating change – whether through sharing their expertise, funding, voice or time.

A huge thank you for being a part of the change.

Big Change backs people with the courage to focus on what we need for the long term, and the humility to work with others to get there. – Lord Jim Knight

Why Change is Needed Education is our greatest lever for social change, yet the incumbent system is increasingly failing to meet the needs of young people and society in the 21st Century. Unacceptable gaps in academic attainment, poor social mobility, rising mental health issues and a failure to provide young people with the skills they need for life in the 21st century are just some of the consequences of a system rooted in the needs of a bygone era.

young people in crisis According to the Deloitte Millennial survey 84% of young people consider it their duty to make the world a better place, yet few feel equipped to do so. We are also seeing rising levels of stress and mental health issues amongst UK youth. In the past 4 years, Childline has seen a 36% rise in children needing help for depression and other disorders.

Teacher burnout 75% of teachers join the profession because they want to make a positive difference but in the UK today teaching is facing a major crisis. A crisis that is seeing teachers fast becoming the most stressed workforce in the country; teacher attrition is at the highest ever recorded rate with more than a quarter of teachers turning to medication to cope with the stress of their work.

Negative Media portrayals Young people are at the heart of building a brighter future, but don't feel the current system represents them or acknowledges their opinions. Over half of teenagers surveyed for the Generation Citizen Report in 2014 thought that negative media portrayals made them less active in their communities (58%), and less willing to reach out to those outside of their peer group (62%).

Employer skill gapS The current model of education is outdated, we need to rethink the way we teach and inspire young people and anticipate the skills they’ll need in the future. – Richard Branson

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Employers at all levels continue to voice concerns about skill gaps and the ever increasing disconnect between the education system, school life and the real world. A British Chambers of Commerce survey of 3,000 employers found that 9/10 felt school leavers were not prepared for work, and over half felt the same was true of university leavers.

Stagnant Social Mobility The Social Mobility Commission published a report in June 2017 showing that government policies over the last 20 years have had almost no impact in terms of improving social mobility. Postcode still remains the most powerful predictor of educational outcomes in the West.

Principles behind Big Change Focus on long term positive change Caught in the status quo The current model of funding and support, while fuelled by good intentions, can inadvertently keep us locked in putting plasters on a broken system vs. actively addressing and supporting real change.

We aren’t afraid of a big ambition, focusing on the future we want: young people set up to thrive in life, not just exams.

Address the root cause of the problem We hold a high bar for our project partners, finding Big Changers whose solutions are based on insight around the root cause vs. symptom of a problem.

The focus on acute needs means we often treat symptoms Risk-averse funding favours existing approaches Short term horizon due to government cycles Change often imposed from the top Ad hoc charity giving based on personal experience Solutions are often isolated projects vs. integrated

Back early stage innovative ideas We back pioneers, funding core costs of powerful ideas at an early stage, so they can prove themselves and go on to change the way things are done.

Learn from best practice We are always on the hunt for better ways of doing things, stealing the best ideas from other sectors around how to be catalyst for change (whether it is venture capital, tech accelerators or the latest neuroscience).

Bring people together We know that the only way to drive change is to work together – whether that is convening experts from different disciplines to challenge assumptions or uniting the agendas of young people, educators, business and policy. big-change.org

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How we choose our projects Selecting which projects to support is mission critical at Big Change – finding the right idea with the right people

3

Key Outcome Areas

278

Proposals

51

to First Round

24

to Second Round

18

Selected

Stage 3: IMPACT COUNCIL Stage 2: REQUEST PROPOSALS Applications from across the sector that feed into outcome areas

Stage 1: SECTOR RESEARCH Gather information, identify root causes, share emergent narrative

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Initial filter by experts against project selection criteria

Stage 4: DUE DILIGENCE Trustees evaluate second round or proposals and due diligence conducted

Stage 5: SELECTION AND INDUCTION Successful projects receive BC support

project selection criteria We have five key criteria we use to assess projects – both for their impact potential and their fit with Big Change:

Bold ambition for system change Could the project have significant impact on the broader system?

Focus on positive growth Would the project clearly support young people to unlock their potential and build a growth mindset?

Demonstrable Need Is there clear benefit to the education system in the UK and would it have support from sector experts and young people?

Passionate Leadership Are the right people in place with the expertise and experience to fulfil their big ambition?

Good fit for Big Change Can we add significant value to the project?

Big Change funds with guts – you have real potential to influence the way billions of pounds of funding are spent in the future by backing great projects at an early stage to prove their impact.

– Jake Hayman, Founder of the Social Investment Consultancy big-change.org

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“Young people from disadvantaged backgrounds are six times less likely to go to university than people from wealthy backgrounds. Through the Fairer Futures research and campaign we have started to bridge the gap between these talented young people and major employers.”

“Over half of all mental health issues start before the age of 14 years. We provide targeted mental health support in schools to young people and their families, and to school staff, building children’s abilities to cope with stress and often complex life challenges”

BIG CH PROJE 2015

“40% of children nationally fail to make expected progress in Year 7.

With Big Change seed funding, we’ve demonstrated the power of peer-peer mentoring and have now trained 945 Year 10 students as peer mentors to Year 7 students through this tough transition time.

2012

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Backed in 2014: “On average an inner-city child speaks only four words per lesson. We’re on a mission to change this by giving all children the opportunity to find their voice in school. In three years we have gone from impacting one school to impacting 250 – and we won’t stop 'til it’s national”

“500,000 children in England don’t have a safe or stable home. With Big Change’s support we successfully piloted a new model of attracting and training 230 new social workers who are transforming the system and the lives of the most vulnerable children and families."

2015

“Only 55% of NCS graduates are still involved in the NCS and social action after finishing the NCS programme. With Big Change’s support we created an Opportunity Hub that empowered hundreds of thousands of young people to continue social action and personal development after NCS.“

2014

2014

2013

2013

“The Key support young people to build 12 key skills and unlock their potential.

Big Change support helped them invest in data and impact measurement to prove and scale their impact, so far working with 9,213 young people.”

“London has the highest poverty rates of all England’s regions.

With Big Change support we built the skills and confidence of young people in areas of high crime, helping them to make positive life choices”

“Only a third of young people currently volunteer or take part in social action. We aim to improve the impact of youth social action across the country – so both young people and their community benefit.”

2017

2017 2017

“Nine in ten employers report that young people leaving education lack core employability skills needed for work. We improve young people's employability and life skills through high quality work experience, bespoke skills training and social action projects"

“Children excluded from school are 4x more likely to be born in poverty and 9x more likely to experience mental health challenges. We’re creating a new generation of leaders to deliver the best in education to the most vulnerable children."

“Two thirds of disadvantaged children still do not achieve five good GCSEs at age 16.

We work with senior leaders to close these attainment gaps and support young people to thrive emotionally, socially and academically.”

2017

“3.7 million children grow up in severe poverty in the UK. We recruit 18-24 year olds from diverse backgrounds to give a year supporting at risk young people in schools through mentoring, coaching, tutoring, and running clubs and projects. ”

2017

2016

ANGE CTS

“In some areas of deprivation more than 50% of children start school with poor speech, language and communication skills. Our new Early Voices programme trains health visitors to be experts in oracy so they can better support parents in the home.“

2017

2017 2017

“40% of new teachers leave the profession within 5 years of qualifying. We’re leveraging the HR expertise from business to help schools boost teacher wellbeing and increase professional development opportunities.”

“Schools spend more than £1 billion every year on teacher development, but it mostly doesn’t help them get better.

The IfT is a new specialist graduate school that will help close achievement gaps and ensure every child gets the best possible education.”

“90% of school leaders report an increase in students suffering from stress and anxiety. We counter this by building young people's resilience through equipping teachers and parents to prioritise wellbeing in school.”

“Children from disadvantaged backgrounds hear 30 million fewer words by the time they enter school than their wealthier peers. We’re launching a campaign to engage parents and practitioners to work together in supporting children's oracy and speaking skills.”

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changing social work from the inside

For society to work, social work needs to work. – Josh MacAlister

PROJECT SPOTLIGHT

FAST FACTS Big Change needed Improving life chances for the 500,000 children with social workers.

Scary statistic: Children in care are statistically more likely to face significant challenges in and out of school, with only 11% of looked after children attaining 5 A*-C GCSE's.

The opportunity: Attracting and developing top talent to social work to change the system and support from the inside.

People impacted: By 2020 we will have trained 1,000 social workers and 420 social work managers, impacting thousands of families.

Funds from Big Change: ÂŁ287,000

As a Teacher I could see the real issues young people were facing and often found that I was spending more time supporting them than teaching them.

I knew that something needed to change.

As part of the innovative TeachFirst model I had the idea to apply a similar concept to social work to raise the profile, practice, skill and leadership of the profession. I did this by setting up Frontline.

graduates through the Frontline Programme

2. Through our 10-month Firstline programme for social work managers which develops them into outstanding leaders.

3. Through the Fellowship – a movement of Frontline Alumni affectionately known as Fellows.

students currently in the Frontline Programme

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1,500 191

1. Our two-year Frontline programme develops future social workers.

Our programme is innovative and creates social workers that can help families change.

Name: Josh MacAlister Role: Founder and Chief Executive Organisation: Frontline How I got here: I am passionate about changing society for the better.

Formerly a secondary school teacher through Teach First, I was Head of Department before leaving the profession to set up Frontline in 2013.

418

of all local authorities in England are now working with us

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anticipated Frontline Fellows by 2020

Here is how we are doing it:

Meet the Big Changer

Change

1/3

There are half a million children in England who do not have a safe or stable home and need the support of a social worker. These children and their families are often those on the edge of society, the people that other agencies have not been able to help turn around.

In many cases, they are individuals who face multiple disadvantages such as neglect, homelessness, poor education, and imprisonment. Social work is at the forefront of an effort to help make the country a more mobile, socially equal, and fairer place for children to grow up in. For society to work, social work needs to work.

Frontline are #28 in The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers List

1,000's

By 2020 Frontline aims to provide best in class training and support to around 1,000 children’s social workers, 420 social work managers and thousands of families, creating a tipping point that will change the system for good. big-change.org

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Helping young people find their voice When we started at School 21 barely any of us were confident in speaking to our own class. Now teachers don’t need to prompt us to stand up, speak or ask questions – it's just what we do.

– Elias, Student, Year 10, School 21

PROJECT SPOTLIGHT

Across the education sector the development of oracy is overlooked and undervalued within state schools despite the crucial role of spoken communication skills for children and young people’s success within and beyond school. There is a wealth of evidence demonstrating the transformative impact oracy can make in: academic achievement and critical thinking; employability; confidence and well-being; civic engagement; and social mobility.

Despite this, only a small minority of schools explicitly and deliberately teach oracy.

FAST FACTS Big Change needed We are on a mission to ensure that every child gets access to an education in oracy through supporting schools to teach speaking skills.

Scary statistic: Verbal communication skills directly impact on young people’s academic outcomes, employment opportunities, civic engagement, confidence and wellbeing. Yet research suggests that on average, a pupil in an inner city school speaks only four words per lesson.

The opportunity: Giving all children the opportunity to find their voice in school through training teachers, leading school culture change and developing an oracy curriculum for all.

Funds donated by Big Change to Date: £166,010 (2014), £89,000 (2016), £150,000 (2017) People Impacted: 250 Schools, 3,363,750 teaching hours a year influenced, 1,300 teachers in network.

Research shows that teachers and schools lack understanding about what good ‘talk’ is and how best to teach it. Voice 21 was launched to change that, giving oracy the platform, practical resource and prestige it so desperately needs in the state education sector. Voice 21 trains, inspires and supports state schools to teach spoken communication, dialogue and public speaking to all students and campaign for oracy to have higher status in our education system.

As a result of Big Change’s ongoing support, oracy has become a hot topic in education and Voice 21 has a national and international reputation as one of the leading experts in the field. We know this is only the beginning our aim is that by 2021 we will have engaged 700 teachers in training and partnered with 2,100 schools. None of this would have been possible without Big Change’s support.

Voice 21 was born from School 21, set-up in 2012 to disrupt the education system by demonstrating the power of educating the head, heart and hand.

Meet the Big Changer Name: Beccy Earshaw Role: Director of Voice21 How I got here: My career has been dedicated to campaigning for young people’s voices to be heard.

As the first Director of Voice 21, I was tasked in 2015 with making a project of one innovative school in Stratford East London in a movement of schools across the country (and maybe beyond!). Bring it on.

250

●

OVER 60

1,500 teachers trained

teaching hours a year influenced

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schools engaged in programmes

3,363,750

●

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●

in additional funding received

Change

£250,000

We will have achieved our mission when every child and young person receives a high quality education in oracy regardless of their background, location or the type of school they attend.

resources available online to expand knowledge in the Oracy space big-change.org

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Our Theory of (Big) Change

back Projects

call for change

What we do

What that creates‌ er top Bring togeth ors minds and act nge in driving cha

Sector influencers eng aged and activated;

become advocates

le ndtab t rou Exper

Research what is needed to

drive change

rch resea eate Co-cr n io t a eclar and d e g an for ch

Evidence base

created; Knowledge gained is shared

Iden tify top needs

and opportunities for change

Find powerful

project partners

unch Frontline la

Develop emergen t narrative and

request project

build Community

proposals

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Run Big Change events (eg. Strive Challenge)

enge Chall Strive

Identify and engage a values-aligned community

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Raise funds and build network

Build funding

circles around key outcome areas

of non-financial support

What that leads to‌ Increased support from differen t sectors and

disciplines for cha nge

rch Sector resea

Increased will to

adopt and suppor t viable solutions

Give financial

support to develop their solution

Give non-financial

Voice21 follow-o n funding vative f Inno ity o Viabil ional , addit roven idea p ding d fun rt an suppo red s secu o ther from

support to

Young people are set up to th rive in life no t ju st in exams

Solutions equip more

acceler ate growth

young people with

skills, opportunity and support

Community brings in other great people and org anizations

Community

to support

workshop

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Sometimes the thing that can create the most impact isn’t launching another programme for young people but helping improve the impact and funding for those that already exist. – Generation Change

Improving Impact Across the Sector

PROJECT SPOTLIGHT

FAST FACTS Big Change needed: Improving the impact of youth social action across the country – so both young people and their community benefit.

The opportunity: Driving system change – developing a learning programme and tools to accelerate the impact of social action through learning, best practice and super smart impact measurement.

Funds donated by Big Change to Date: £30,000 People Impacted: 6 Organisations have engaged in the Pilot Scheme so far, thousands of individuals will be impacted as a result of the initiative Number of young people indirectly impacted by the pilot programme: 260,000 Sometimes the thing that can create the most impact isn’t launching another programme for young people but helping improve the impact and funding for those that already exist. Over the last two decades there has been almost no growth of youth social action in the UK, despite it having a ‘double benefit’ for both the young person and society.

One of the reasons why is because there is no common approach to know which programmes are truly making a difference or what a good programme looks like.

The pilot has been more successful than we could have dreamed possible. It has deeply challenged these organisations to listen, learn and evolve their practices, and has led to improvements in a wide range of youth programmes. 83% of the participants said they would recommend the scheme to others. This pilot has now given us a method for building a rigorous, impact-driven community of practice in youth social action that can drive forward best practice and establish a benchmark of quality for investors and funders.

Meet the Big Changer Name: David Reed Role: Director Organisation: Generation Change How I got here: I have always been passionate about and active in youth social action. When the opportunity came to incubate Generation Change in 2013 I knew it was the perfect opportunity to create the change I wanted to see at scale.

What change are we creating: We are a movement of organisations that are committed to helping young people change the world through social action.

Our mission is to transform the status of social action in society.

46 staff members trained in evaluation methods

1

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in additional funding achieved

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Robust common impact framework and outcomes charter developed

Big Change’s funding enabled us to run a pilot programme that could develop a quality standard for youth social action. This incentivised programmes to engage in continuous learning, delivering better outcomes.

Change

£95,000

As a small team, we have developed a common definition, language, and set of goals. Using this, we've motivated a critical mass of organisations to adopt a shared approach to evaluation and learning. It all sounds quite straight forward, but believe me it hasn’t been. An approach like this will help us to establish a universally recognised set of benchmarks, and a common knowledge base. This will enable funders and investors to identify best practice to scale up, thus increasing and improving social action in the UK.

6 organisations have adopted the common Impact Framework

organisations have expressed interest in taking part in the Impact Accelerator

Improve the programme design for social impact activities that engage over 260,000 UK young people a year.

Appointed Independent Chair, Trustee Board and formal Steering Committee big-change.org

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CLOSING THE CLASS GAP FOR THE LEADERS OF TOMORROW My motivation is based on living through the challenges and hardships I’ve faced.

I intend to go as far as I can, and take others with me too.

– Participant aged 16, Team Future, 2016

PROJECT SPOTLIGHT

FAST FACTS Big Change needed: We are ensuring that no matter the postcode, working class young people can fulfil their leadership potential Scary Stat: Young people from disadvantaged backgrounds are six times less likely to go to university than people from wealthy backgrounds. Pupils who attend just a handful of leading public schools in England are 94 times more likely to reach the highest positions of power and privilege in society.

The opportunity: Bridge the gap between these talented young people and major employers.

Funds donated by Big Change to Date: £149,639 People Impacted: Over 10,000 young people have come into interaction with RECLAIM brand between 2016 and the end of 2017 Number of people who have participated in a Fairer Futures programme: 150

All young people deserve the right to fulfil their potential, however, many face endless barriers and challenges.

As a country we have accepted that a postcode can dictate potential and we have allowed working class communities

Since 1979 the number of MPs with previous work history in manual or clerical roles has decreased from 40% to 5%; and working-class young people face numerous barriers to traditional routes (such as elite universities) to the highest leadership positions. This must change. We need more diverse modern leaders to act as role models for the younger generation; and working class young people need the support to step in to leadership roles and redress society, making it a fairer and more equitable place for all.

RECLAIM nurtures and galvanizes the talent of young people aged 12-15 who are natural socially-conscious leaders but face barriers to fulfilling their potential.

Big Change's initial funding of £149,639 allowed RECLAIM’s Fairer Futures programme to conduct an extensive piece of youth-led research into the barriers working class young people face moving

from education into work, and from entry level to leadership.. Fairer Futures identified 8 practical ways employers can improve access to leadership positions for working class young people and created a manifesto for change that has been adopted and supported by leading employers changing their HR policies.

Meet the Big Changer Name: Ruth Ibegbuna Role: Founder and CEO Organisation: RECLAIM How I got here: The wasted talent and potential of young people from working class communities is an absolute scandal and one that I witnessed first-hand as a teacher in Manchester. Young people need the skills, knowledge, belief and, crucially, access to influential networks to enable them to achieve their ambitions.

conducted since 2015 demonstrating young people being experts in their own lives and communities

4,000,000

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3

social media impressions of RECLAIM campaigns

16 to 23

1,200 young people have participated in our programmes

●

w we ant e to s e

additional funding achieved

Change

8 campaigNs

£400,000

new regions where RECLAIM has launched

to fail, with no mechanism to support their children in benefitting from the networks of support and influence accessed by their wealthier peers. I started RECLAIM in 2007 out of my frustration in seeing so many young people written off, with low expectations placed on them. A young man from Moss Side or Merthyr Tydfil may be capable of brilliance, but top companies are unlikely to seek top talent from those communities.

We need to transform who can enter decision-making roles – we need to create a movement of young leaders from working-class backgrounds.

RECLAIM has grown from 16 to 23 people big-change.org

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targeting outcomes At big change we prioritise areas where we can make the biggest difference.

Through our learning in the sector, in 2017 we identified three big needs with unacceptable gaps in support that are ripe for innovation.

HELPING YOUNG PEOPLE THRIVE IN LIFE NOT JUST IN EXAMS.

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Key skills gap: Oracy

Talent crisis: Teacher wellbeing

Lost opportunities: Broadening Horizons

Communication is a critical life skill but grossly underserved in the current education system.

Teachers are a primary influence on young people’s development, yet the profession is facing a crisis in burnout and teacher attrition.

Young people are leaving education with little idea of their unique strengths and real career support.

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rs across England hools and teache sc r fo t ys tal ca a the quality of Voice 21 is ills and improve nt’s speaking sk de ange in the stu ch lop g ve tin de las to ey aim to lead a Th . om ro acy the ss Or cla talk in the in England give m so that schools ers in ste ne sy pio on are ati 21 uc ed d writing. Voice an ing ad d young re an as n s same statu re that all childre project makes su high eir to Th ss r. ce cto ac se ve e ha th eir background th of s skills les e rd th ga people, re g them to develop ucation, enablin ed y. y ur ac nt Or ce ty st 21 ali qu e in the they need to thriv and confidence 0 ribution: £150,00 Big Change cont

Oracy

Helping young people find their voice Communication is fundamental to children’s development: to understand and to be understood. Essential for learning and the foundation of relationships, mental health, social engagement, your ability to get a job and thrive in life. It is often cited as the top skill required in the modern workplace and a deal-breaker in interviews. Yet, we face an unacceptable (and often hidden) skill gap, with children in care exposed to 32 million less words by age 4 compared to those raised in the homes of professionals.

Voice Bradford is an initiative to make Bradford Britain’s firs t City of Oracy.

A great example of a ‘place-based strategy’ where se rvices across Bradfo rd are working togeth er to create a city where “our familie s talk”. They are do ing this through their inn ovative “50 Things to do Before You’re Five” campaign, empowering tough -to-reach families to share experienc es and spend time speaking with their kids.

Big Change contr ibution: £150,000

Trust recognise the The Communication ntification and importance of early ide around speech es issu intervention of any ment. That’s and language develop h health visitors wit g why they’re workin oned to support who are uniquely positi s/carers from ent par ir children and the are boosting the the earliest age. They communication of lls ski awareness and n, impacting 100 leaders in the professio age. ant adv areas of social dis on: £150,000 Big Change contributi

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rity hoping to The Difference is a new cha mental health for te rou er care build a new Changer, Big specialist teachers. Led by ic approach tem sys ’s nce ere Diff Kiran Gill The need x ple will create specialists in com mme. gra pro ters Mas r yea through a two into go will rs Chosen specialist teache to U), (PR s ool sch on visi alternative pro ere behavioural learn how to deal with sev expertise back difficulties, before taking this ing best her gat into the school system – ving and thri , lthy hea ping elo practice in dev and staff. s ent stud learning environments for Big Change contribution:

The Institute for Teachi ng aims to develop best in class teacher training to create expertise in the profes sion. Big Change funding will improve the development and delivery of a world cla ss holistic curriculum .

The central teaching program will not only focus on the technical and academic proces s of teaching but will ens ure that psychologica l and wellbeing aspect s of performance are central to the teaching program.

Big Change contributi on: £125,000

£50,000

Teachers Thriving

Trailblazing teacher wellbeing In the UK today, teaching is facing a major crisis. A crisis that is seeing teachers fast becoming the most stressed workforce in the country. Teacher attrition is at the highest ever recorded rate with more than a quarter of teachers turning to medication to cope with the stress of their work.

If teachers aren’t thriving, young people won’t thrive.

Whole Education aims to transform human resource s (HR) in schools .

They hope to de velop, adapt, pil ot and apply effectiv e HR strategies to help all teachers develop persona lly and professionall y. The initiative wi ll support teachers to have fulfilling careers in teachin g and make scho ols amazing places to work for all sta ff.

Big Change cont ribution: £69,000

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AfA aims to improve teacher wellbeing in busy schools and other environments by engaging the greatest experts in the field: teachers themselves. AfA will run a programme that identifies and funds the top 10 solutions from teachers for teachers, and then share these tools and ideas back to engage a broad network of schools and teachers nationally.

Big Change contribution: £63,000

ven How to Thrive have pro nce based de evi eir h th oug results th mmes gra pro emotional resilience ng you and rs che tea rt that suppo y the lls ski the people to develop rld. wo x ple com a in ive need to thr g them look Big Change are helpin scale this to ls de mo nt into differe al impact. ion work and achieve nat on: £160,000 Big Change contributi

bridge ective model to d a new and eff te orting ea pp cr su s – ha t t en ar Headst and employm n io at ills uc sk ed d n acter traits an the gap betwee the critical char l in ca ga lo r to ei le th op ith young pe ting them w , whilst connec NCS, this e th d pe lo ve for work and life at de om the team th g placements community. Fr es volunteerin us m ra og pr e lp set young he to s new innovativ ing workshop in tra l na ements. sio es and prof experience plac cceed in work people up to su ,000 ntribution: £166 Big Change co

Broadening Horizons

Setting the next generation up to succeed Talent is evenly distributed, opportunity is not. Rather than a top down response focused on interview training and traditional careers advice we want to start with the young person – helping young people to deepen their understanding of themselves and access the opportunities, skills and support needed to achieve their dreams.

In 2018 and beyond we will be increasing the projects that we support within this area.

?

We are still hunting the for the next innovative and creative big idea that can help us to achieve the outcomes we want to see within this portfolio. Stay tuned as we continue to search for big ideas with big impact poten tial.

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OUR community

A community of change-makers Big Changers, The past four years of Striving and Big Changing have been an unbelievable experience and privilege.

When I first joined Big Change in 2013, Strive was just a kernel of an idea between two cousins and Big Change was in its infancy. Since then, through the Strive Challenges and key individuals and organisations we have managed to raise £2.4m to support 18 amazing projects.

Meet the Big Changer Name: Noah Devereux Role: Community and Strive Director How I got here: I am a firm believer in people and the power of collective positive thinking and action, and its ability to drive change. I came to be a part of Big Change after Sam and I came up with the idea for Strive together.

My biggest learning: That magic really does happen when you bring extraordinary groups of people together to challenge themselves and think about how we can drive change together.

None of this would be possible without our current community – you are the rocket fuel that powers the motor and have backed us at every step of the journey. Every one of us has a role to play – adventurers, entrepreneurs, mums and dads, progressive philanthropists, STRIVERS, influencers, creatives, teachers, and most importantly, young people.

2016 saw an exciting milestone for Big Change when our first big bet project, Frontline, who we backed with £215,000 in 2013, finished their pilot and won a multi-million pound grant to scale nationally. When you are backing long term change and supporting big ideas at an early stage it takes a while to get proof of concept so this was a big deal for us – and we’ve now seen other early projects go on to drive real change. We now had a proven model of finding and backing brilliant projects and accelerating them with the power of our community.

On top of the seed funding we tap into the skills, contacts and experience of the community to get the money-can’tbuy support these projects desperately need if they are going to make Big Change happen.

And there’s few that escape without being made to Strive! So far about 600 people have strived with us from London through Europe via the top of the Matterhorn and Mount Etna. Strive helps us grow the community of supporters, raise invaluable funds and gives us a voice to accelerate the mission. It is also a unique moment in time when people come together to push themselves right to their very limits via a few tears and a lot of laughing. Never has this been made more apparent to me than when I overheard Richard telling a group of people that he valued his Striver of the Month (2016) award more than his knighthood! Showing even the most experienced and successful can learn and grow by striving.

If you had told me when I joined about the places Big Change would take us, the people we would meet, the amount we would learn and the change we would see, I would never have believed you.

Today, we are a thriving community of people united by a belief that change is possible, especially if we do it together.

From the bottom of our hearts thank you for being a part of it and keep striving!

We have now launched our Funding Circles where we find and support a portfolio of projects around key gaps or opportunities to create Big Change.

The fact that visionary philanthropists and organisations are now choosing to give through Big Change shows how far we have come. Together we are able to have disproportionate impact.

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CONNECTING FOR CHANGE BIG CHANGERS

STRIVERS

ADVISORS

SUPPORTERS

Disruptive social innovators.

Leaders of the Big Change projects.

Willing to push themselves to their physical limits to raise money and profile for Big Change.

Experts across youth, business, charity and entrepreneurship.

Donors, connectors, influencers and energy givers making change possible.

Simon Sinek Author and Speaker

Richard Reed Co-founder, Innocent Drinks

Joanne McPike Founder, Think Global School

Ajaz Ahmed Founder, AKQA

Hamish Stevenson Founder, Fast Track 100

Lord Rumi Verjee Entrepreneur, Thomas Goode Jonathan Bullock COO, SoftBank

Morten Albaek Founder, Voluntas Min Kim Impact Investor

Nick and Becky Bacon Oracy Funders

Kiran Gill Founder, The Difference 32

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Ed Fidoe Project Founder

Sara Blakely Founder, Spanx

Lara Milward Founder, BlitzFitness

Ruth Ibegbuna Founder, Reclaim

Matt Isaacs Philanthropist and Entrepreneur

Lord Jim Knight Director of Education and ex Schools Minister

Lord Michael Hastings Global Head of Citizenship, KPMG International Andreas Schleicher Director of Education, OECD Jeremiah Emmanuel Influencer and Big Changer Tim and Sally Davey Founders, One Fine Stay and Trip Bod

Lucy Morris Education Change Maker Karl Lokko Poet and Activist

Ryan Kohn and Cassandra Stavrou Founders, Propercorn

Education is bigger than school. Big Change is giving young people a chance to have a life full of experiences that will help them to succeed. – Simon Sinek, Author and Speaker big-change.org

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Looking Ahead to The Next Five Years 40% of small businesses and 50% of start-ups close within 5 years. The rate for NGOs and charities is thought to be even higher. Not only has Big Change made it, but the Founders and core team have built something lasting and powerful, taking the organisation from one improbable success to the next.

Meet the Big Changer Name: Noah Bernstein Role: Director of Operations How I Got Here: After many years working on poverty reduction in developing country contexts, I saw first-hand how education can make or break a country. The UK is no different and I’m excited to be a small part of the big change that is now rolling through the education sector in support of young people.

Biggest Learning: Someone's sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.

Over five years Big Change’s small dedicated team have raised over £4 million to support 18 projects impacting thousands, embedded ourselves within the UK and global education landscape, and built and nurtured a formidable community of like-minded entrepreneurs and experts. And to think it all started with a caterpillar costume.

My job is to translate this tremendous momentum into long-term sustainability, setting us up for future success. There are three key operational priorities that Big Change must do to achieve this.

The first is to continue to back incredible ideas that deliver impact. 2017-18 is a flagship year for Big Change as we’ve backed 9 new projects with an investment of over £1 million. This is our largest cohort to date and their success will be one step in the right direction on our way to scale. However, backing brilliant people and ideas isn’t enough: we need to measure the change. We need to understand the impact we’re having on teachers, students, parents, and decision-makers. This is not an easy task when it comes to long-term behaviour change. Fortunately, our new Insights and Impact Manager, Rosie Clayton, will be looking at how we measure the impact of not only our projects, but our work as an organisation overall. The eventual impact and KPI framework will give us and our community a good idea of our direction of travel.

The second ‘must’ is to codify our ways of working so we can better serve our

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project partners, community members, and the overall sector. We want to remain nimble and innovative in our approach, but do recognise that thoughtful systems and platforms will help us be as effective and efficient as possible.

We’ll need to further develop our offer to partners, providing support beyond just grants. For example, setting up a Partner/Community Matching Platform, a place where our diverse community of entrepreneurs and businesses offer nonmonetary support which is then matched to requests made by our project partners.

Initiatives such as these will widen and improve our offer as a social impact accelerator and, by 2020, Big Change will be the choice of visionary individuals and organisations who want to collectively invest in a positive future – for young people, society and themselves.

Finally, Big Change will continue to spend your money strategically. Big Ideas often have difficulty attracting early-stage core funding due to uncertainty and risk. Big Change itself was an uncertain proposition in 2014, but thanks to Virgin Unite covering our core costs (now via the Catalyst Circle), the organisation has thrived. Big Change pays this ethos forward by remaining open to covering the core costs of Big Ideas, often funding incredible people who are at the vanguard of change (see School 21). A snapshot of how your funds have been spent can be found on the page opposite.

To our founders, trustees, staff, project teams, young people, donors, Strivers, friends of the organisation, and partners: your ongoing dedication, commitment and expertise have made the last five years unforgettable.

Thank you and here’s to five more,

1,200,000

1,082,000

1,000,000

800,000

project spend 2012-present

600,000 335,453

400,000

363,025

194,630

184,000

2015

2016

200,000 5,481 0 2012

Project Finding and Support 9%

2013

2014

2017

how your money's been spent

Research 4%

Projects 87%

how to thrive

who we've funded

reclaim £150k 2015

headstart NCS £143k 2014 AFA

place2B

ARK £12k – 2014

only connect £5k – 2013

CABNAB £5k – 2012

£21k – 2013 youth action £15k – 2015

key fund

£34k – 2013

gen nexT

£21k – 2013

£161k 2017

£63k 2017

whole education

franklin scholars £42k – 2014

£69k 2017

city year £95k 2016

the difference £50k – 2017

institute for teaching £125k 2017

school 21 £166k 2014

comms trust £150k 2017

£166k 2017

voice bradford £150k 2017

voice 21

FRONTLINE

£249k 2017

£275k 2013/14

big-change.org Disclaimer: Every effort is made to make sure the information, names and dates used in this report are true and accurate at the time of publication (November 2017). © Big Change 2017

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Design: hope.agency

We aspire

-- to -a generation where everybody believes they can

change the world. will look at THEY an intimidating crowd and see an audience.

TheY will look AT an imposing mountain and see a journey.

the way ahead and see that often the path of least resistance

They will look at

is the path of least existence.

They will challenge themselves to

overcome hurdles

that might not be your hurdles,

but are hurdles nonetheless. tHEY WON'T be a bystander in their own life.

They’ll create new futures because they

believe that now can be changed. big-change.org

@BigChange