7 minute read
IN CONVERSATION
IN CONVERSATION WITH…
We have created this brand new section in The Standard in which pupils have meaningful conversations with people in our community, both from our school and also across the wider John Lyon Foundation, comprising John Lyon School (incorporating Quainton Hall), Harrow School, the Harrow International Schools and John Lyon’s Charity. Head Boy Youki’s Q&A session with Dr Lynne Guyton, CEO of John Lyon’s Charity
1. Youki: What effects does the charity have on the wider Harrow Borough community that would be noticeable to John Lyon School families?
Dr Guyton: The Charity provides grants to nine London boroughs, Harrow being just one of them, and over the last 30 years it has given out 90 bursaries to John Lyon School since 2002 (£8.1M). Currently focused on young people’s charities, we support a range of programmes ranging from support for young parents to sports and the arts. In the Harrow borough specifically, however, we’re concerned that too few people are aware of our Charity and its potential benefits for them. With that in mind, we’ve been working with Miss Haynes (Head, John Lyon) and Mr Land (Head Master, Harrow School) to promote the collaboration between the John Lyon School, Harrow School and John Lyon’s Charity.
2. Youki: How does the Charity want to impact pupils in schools generally?
Dr Guyton: In many different ways. Since the advent of austerity, the pressures and demands on the Charity have been increasing day-by-day – nevertheless we must be careful not to take responsibility away from the state. Instead, we focus on emotional wellbeing, pupil exclusion and the arts in primary and secondary schools in Harrow and other boroughs too. In particular, our wide-reaching pilot study into preventing pupils from being removed from schools has shown some very promising results. Our work providing conduits for emotional support has also had a big impact and, whether by offering pastoral care or counselling, we are looking to develop this area further. In the arts we face new challenges since state sector arts funding has collapsed and while STEM subjects are still developing well, some state schools lack any arts facilities at all, so we are working to provide those facilities and teach drama and creative arts in dynamic ways.
3. Youki: How can John Lyon pupils get more involved?
Dr Guyton: By getting involved with the work of the Philanthropy Committee, which brings together Harrow School, John Lyon School and John Lyon’s Charity and meets termly to look for projects we can help collectively. A lot of work goes on outside the committee, though, albeit very ad hoc at present, and we are keen to get John Lyon pupils more involved. We look forward with great interest to hearing pupils’ points of view and their ideas on where we should be focusing our efforts.
There are lots of ways to get involved. We offer summer work experience placements for John Lyon pupils and we’re always more than happy to help Year 11 and Lower Sixth pupils over the summer. All pupils are very welcome to come along and join us on our projects on a Friday afternoon and, in general, we’re always pleased to see visitors. Don’t hesitate to drop us an email if you’re interested!
4. Youki: When was the Charity founded and in what circumstances?
Dr Guyton: Historically, the Charity grew out of an endowment granted by John Lyon in 1578, to maintain Harrow Road and Edgware Road. In its modern form, though, it was founded 31 years ago when the John Lyon Foundation’s governors wanted to find a better way to use its funds and to be truer to John Lyon’s original wishes to provide affordable education.
5. Youki: How has it changed since then and what are its priorities going forward?
Dr Guyton: Since its founding in 1991, John Lyon’s Charity has grown from “two men and a dog” to more than 15 employees and has distributed over £171million to various organisations within our beneficial area. In that time, we’ve seen funding increase from half a million pounds per year to £14 million per year and have learned to be much more open, sharing ideas with other grant-makers and learning about best practice – it’s definitely not a competition. On the contrary, it’s all about understanding one another’s challenges: appreciating why one funder is in a particular area, for example, or how they maximise their impact on children and young people. We’ve also come to understand the importance of the longevity of funding and its security. Some funders only fund for perhaps one or two years, whereas John Lyon’s Charity funds for a minimum of three – and we’re now even looking at offering five-year grants. Going forward, we’re looking to keep supporting as many young people with as many opportunities as we can, even as austerity bites and demands on John Lyon’s Charity are increasing.
6. Youki: What are some highlights from this year?
Dr Guyton: One major highlight is a new funding pot. To cushion the lasting impact of Covid-19, we asked the John Lyon Foundation governors for an additional £22million. And we’re very pleased to say that they approved that amount to fund charities working within the beneficial area – and the first grants have started going out over the last year. We’re living in exceptionally challenging times and if ever there ever was a rainy day, it’s now!
Another highlight, now that Covid-19 is largely over, is going out and seeing grantees again. Alongside this, going out in the summer and seeing young children and giving out cakes and prizes is also quite special. Another is school holiday activities. People often talk about ‘holiday hunger’ but what about ‘activity hunger’? Our grants are giving children who haven’t had the opportunity to go anywhere and do something over the summer the chance to do exactly that. And seeing them talking and writing about their experiences has got to be among our brightest highlights!
7. Youki: How often do you hold charity events?
Dr Guyton: It really depends on the event. Big social events – usually specific celebrations – typically take place twice a year but we also have information events for grantees, such as funders’ fairs or seminars, where funders talk about how they fund. A big annual occasion is the Media Trust Event in which the John Lyon Charity pays for grantees to have films made by real filmmakers. All John Lyon School pupils are invited to the event, which may be held for countless reasons, including of course fundraising and raising awareness. The whole Media Trust project each year culminates in a “Mini Oscars” ceremony at a central London venue.
8. Youki: What does the future hold for the Charity, particularly in light of these changing political and economic times?
Dr Guyton: John Lyon’s Charity must continue to evolve and learn in order to provide support during these changing times. Until recently we’d been making grants, but not necessarily learning from the mistakes that we had made. However, as demand for funding has risen, we need to be more nimble and more aware; we need to be as wellpositioned as possible. We must link up with London Funder – the overarching funding organisation – so we can influence what happens here and we must also serve as a mouthpiece for all our grantees and voice their concerns where needed.
9. Youki: In terms of collaboration between John Lyon School and John
Lyon’s Charity, what’s been done in the past, what are we currently doing and what exciting plans do we have together?
Dr Guyton: In the past, we’ve run many Music Junction Projects in which the London Chamber Orchestra came together with local schools, John Lyon School and the Head of Music to create a piece of music over a few weeks and perform for local communities. We also have a live project with the Photographer’s Gallery, where teachers and facilities at the John Lyon School are used in connection with the Photographer’s Gallery in Oxford Circus. Going forward, the world’s your oyster! We welcome ideas and suggestions from pupils and staff alike, so please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
10. Youki: How can you assess the success of your work? It must be rewarding to see the output.
Dr Guyton: The feedback we receive from grantees is very rewarding. Actually measuring success, though, is very tricky because it’s largely subjective and definitely in the eye of the beholder. It’s important to recognise there are both quantitative successes and qualitative successes. And while quantitative success is important, the qualitative impact is crucial. Seeing the long-term impacts of the funding is highly rewarding, while the qualitative feedback, the hearsay, the comments, understanding from the local councils and so on, is enormously helpful to us in ascertaining how successful we’ve really been.
