The National Resource Centre for Supplementary Education (NRCSE) is a national charity supporting the vital work of supplementary schools. It is the only dedicated support body for supplementary schools and the organisations that work with them.
What are supplementary schools?
Supplementary schools are a readymade network of volunteers and activists in many of the hardest to reach communities. They can be run by community voluntary organisations, by individual community volunteers or by individuals as limited companies on a social enterprise model. The vast majority of supplementary schools are volunteer led and identify with a particular ethnic, faith or national identity.
Supplementary schools seek to raise children and young people’s achievement in mainstream education. They provide mother-tongue and cultural classes, sports and arts activities such as music and dance, and some supplementary schools also provide faith instruction. To find out more, please click here.
How does the NRCSE help supplementary schools?
The UK has over 3000 supplementary schools supporting tens of thousands of children, yet currently there is no statutory body monitoring standards in these schools and making sure children are safe.The NRC has developed their Quality Framework to address this. This Framework sets high standards by giving supplementary schools the tools and training they need to develop robust safeguarding, management and teaching practises.
If a supplementary school has a Quality Framework award, parents can feel confident that their child is learning in a well-run, well-resourced and, most importantly, a safe environment.
The NRCSE also provides a range of training to support supplementary schools including accredited Open College Network (OCN) courses.
We core fund the NRCSE and have a long relationship with the organisation. Any organisation that runs, or wants to run, a supplementary school in the Charity’s Beneficial Area should get in touch with NRCSE to access a variety of support and training.
For more information about the NRCSE and supplementary education, please click here to read a report evidencing the impact of supplementary education across the beneficial area of John Lyon’s Charity.
You can also watch the video below, which was made as part of the JLC Volunteer Films initiative in parnership with Media Trust.