Let Teachers SHINE

Let Teachers SHINE (LTS) is a competition run by SHINE Trust; a charity based in the North that helps raise the attainment of disadvantaged children from the North East, North West, Yorkshire and the Humber regions. Teachers who have an idea they would like to pilot in their classroom to support disadvantaged children to flourish at school can apply for a grant of up to £25,000 over two years.

As well as funding, SHINE offers winning teachers free access to a broad range of development workshops and coaching opportunities – helping teachers to get the best out of their ideas. SHINE also offers additional funding beyond the initial grant to support the very best ideas to grow with the hope that they will be able to improve the outcomes of children particularly in the North of England. We have set aside £150,000 to invest in early stage ideas, which means we are looking to award up to 10 new grants, dependent on grant size.

We will shortlist applicants that show that their project: -is led by a qualified teacher currently practising in a school in the North of England or a qualified teacher currently practising outside of the North who is committed to expanding their project in the North of England. -targets economically disadvantaged children aged 0-18 (we use Pupil Premium eligibility as a general indicator of economic disadvantage). -is innovative: we want to see projects that are exciting and will inspire children. Applicants need to show how their idea is different, or an improvement on what is currently practiced. -focuses on raising academic achievement levels specifically in core subjects (English, maths and science). -can be tested to understand impact at class, year or school level and has the potential to grow. We want to see projects which, if successful, can be scaled up and replicated easily, whether that be in other schools or areas, or working with a higher number of students. -has the backing of your school and leadership team.

We will look favourably on applications for projects that: -could be rapidly expanded in future years particularly in the North, for example online -show that there is a plan in place for expanding the project -have some ‘in kind’ match funding in place, ie your own time or time of colleagues.

We will not fund: -projects that are not based in the North of England or that do not have any plans to scale or develop in the North of England in future. -capital projects including gardens, libraries and school minibuses. -projects where more than 50% of the budget is to be spent on equipment, including books and technology. -projects that do not focus on working with economically disadvantaged children (PP). -pastoral after-school clubs/holiday clubs where the main outcomes are not related to improvements in attainment. -standalone/one-off projects that can’t show a long-term link to attainment, such as summer schools, outreach activities, or single competitions.

Important additional information Let Teachers SHINE grants will be made to a school in the first year. SHINE is a charity; we can only fund projects that meet our charitable purposes. This means that your idea must be of benefit to the public. In most instances this means that we will only fund schools, charities and community interest companies.