Shine: Support And Help In Education

Quick Stats

• Annual Giving: ??2-2.5 million (typical year)
• Success Rate: 50-60% (for applications reaching Board review stage)
• Decision Time: 2-4 months from submission
• Grant Range: ??20,000 - ??100,000+ (over 2-3 years)
• Geographic Focus: North of England (North East, North West, Yorkshire & Humber)

Contact Details

Website: www.shinetrust.org.uk

Email: info@shinetrust.org.uk / grants@shinetrust.org.uk

Phone: 0113 468 7103 / 0113 868 9321

Address: Based in Leeds, serving the North of England

Pre-application Support: SHINE does not accept unsolicited applications but welcomes enquiries from schools, Multi-Academy Trusts, and early years settings via their website contact form. Successful applicants have generally been in contact with SHINE for 1-2 months before application deadlines.

Overview

Founded at the turn of the millennium (around 2000), SHINE is a grant-making charity dedicated to improving educational attainment for disadvantaged children across the North of England. Since its establishment, SHINE has invested over ??40 million in innovative education projects, benefitting more than 1.4 million children across 20,000 schools. In the past eight years alone, SHINE has supported 400,000 children.

SHINE's mission is clear: “By connecting educators with philanthropy, we drive innovation and create lasting, positive change in schools.” The charity focuses on the North West, North East, and Yorkshire & Humber regions, supporting school-based projects for children aged 0-19 that address reading, maths, science, verbal communication, parental engagement, school transitions, and wellbeing. In recent years, 92% of SHINE funding supported projects that achieved or exceeded their objectives. Since 2017, SHINE has catalysed more than ??35 million into education programmes in the North.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

1. Let Teachers SHINE

• Amount: Up to ??25,000 over two years
• Target: Individual practising teachers with innovative ideas
• Awards: Around 10 grants per year
• Application: Annual competition, launches mid-October, closes mid-January
• Additional Support: Access to networks, training, and expert advice

2. SHINE Partnerships (General Grants)

• Amount: ??20,000 - ??100,000 over 2-3 years
• Target: Schools, MATs, groups of schools, charities, community interest companies
• Application: Rolling basis with three deadlines per year (end of January, April, and October)
• Note: New or pilot projects typically funded at the lower end; established projects with strong evidence base at higher end. Grants over ??100,000 considered for projects with strong evidence, proven impact, and larger reach.

3. SHINE Sunderland

• Amount: Part of ??11 million partnership over 10 years
• Target: Secondary schools in Sunderland
• Structure: Local partnership between schools and philanthropists

Priority Areas

SHINE has established three core funding priorities:

1. Ready for School - Bridging the communication and language gap for 4-5 year-olds
2. Bridging the Gap - Supporting children transitioning from primary to secondary school
3. Flying High - Helping high-achieving students from disadvantaged backgrounds succeed in secondary education

Additional focus areas include:

• Reading, maths, and science attainment
• Verbal communication skills
• Parental engagement
• School transitions
• Wellbeing (when clearly linked to educational attainment)

Geographic Requirements: Projects must target children, schools, and/or teachers within the North of England, specifically focusing on children from low-income homes (using Pupil Premium eligibility as an indicator).

What They Don't Fund

• Afterschool clubs or holiday clubs that don't link to curriculum priorities
• Capital build projects
• Projects outside Northern England
• Projects not benefiting disadvantaged children
• One-off projects without clear attainment links
• Projects spending more than 50% of budget on equipment
• Projects primarily supporting non-cognitive skills without clear articulation of links to educational attainment
• Organizations outside of schools, charities, and community interest companies (in most cases)

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Governance and Leadership

CEO

Fiona Spellman - Appointed August 2017

• Former maths teacher who worked in challenging secondary schools in Manchester and London
• Joined SHINE in 2011 as Programme Manager
• Quote: "Improving education for the most disadvantaged children is my life's passion. I love working amongst such committed people and I love that every day is different."

Board of Trustees

Raksha Pattni (Chair) - National Partnerships Director at Ambition Institute. Trustee since 2018, Chair since 2022.

• Quote: “If we want to make a profound impact on education outcomes for disadvantaged children, we need to support teachers.”

Mark Heffernan - CEO of Alwyne Management, former Goldman Sachs proprietary trader, Co-founder of SHINE.

• Quote: “Since inception SHINE has been dedicated to helping children from disadvantaged backgrounds.”

Lord O'Neill - Crossbench peer in House of Lords, Co-founder of SHINE.

• Quote: “As an economist I believe in the importance of productivity... trying to help the most disadvantaged get a chance to reach their potential.”

Cameron Ogden - Heads Puffin Point family office, Chair of SHINE from 2014-2022.

• Quote: “At our core we believe that an education should be about the ability to learn and not the ability to pay.”

Professor Samantha Twiselton OBE - Emeritus Professor at Sheffield Hallam University, education policy advisor.

• Quote: "The single most important thing you can do to transform children's lives is to give them an excellent education."

Lorna Fitzsimons - Co-founder of The Pipeline, Board member of UK Fashion Textiles Association. Trustee since 2018.

• Quote: “I am committed to making sure that all children growing up in the North of England have the same if not better outcomes at school.”

Sarah Loftus - Technical Innovation Lead at Microsoft Consulting, formerly Engineering Director at Unilever. Trustee since 2018.

Kavita Gupta - Finance industry professional with background at UBS, JPMorgan, and Rothschild. Trustee since 2021.

Jonny Uttley - CEO of The Education Alliance Multi-Academy Trust (TEAL).

The board contributes expertise from education, business, media, and finance sectors.

Application Process and Timeline

How to Apply

For General SHINE Grants:

1. Initial Contact: SHINE does not accept unsolicited applications. Submit an enquiry through the website contact form.
2. Pre-application Discussion: Successful applicants typically engage with SHINE for 1-2 months before deadlines.
3. Application Deadlines: Usually end of January, end of April, and end of October each year.
4. Collaborative Process: SHINE works with applicants to refine proposals before Board submission.

For Let Teachers SHINE:

1. Application Opens: Mid-October
2. Application Closes: Mid-January
3. Initial Review: Applicants notified about interview stage by mid-February
4. Interviews: Video call interviews with judging panel in March
5. Decision: Winners notified end of March
6. Grant Start: September (of the same year)

Decision Timeline

• General Grants: Typically 2-4 months from application deadline to decision
• Let Teachers SHINE: Approximately 2.5 months from deadline to final decision
• Board Review: Applications that reach the final stage are reviewed by the Board of Trustees

Success Rates

Around 50-60% of applications that reach the final stage and are reviewed by the Board have been approved in previous rounds. This success rate applies to applications that successfully navigate the collaborative funding process to reach Board review.

The charity awards around 10 Let Teachers SHINE grants per year (depending on grant size and strength of ideas).

Reapplication Policy

SHINE provides feedback to unsuccessful applicants:

• General Grants: Feedback available on reasons for decision
• Let Teachers SHINE: Verbal feedback via phone call at specified times (no individual written feedback)

There are no stated restrictions on reapplication, though applicants are encouraged to incorporate feedback before resubmitting.

Application Success Factors

What SHINE Values

Favorable applications will:

• Be additive to existing educational provision (not replacing core teaching)
• Help teachers deliver curriculum content more effectively
• Reduce teacher workload while improving outcomes
• Be easily shared and embedded in practice
• Have strong school leadership support
• Be realistically costed with clear budget justification
• Demonstrate innovation and fresh approaches
• Show clear potential for long-term sustainability
• Include robust plans for impact evaluation

Essential Criteria:

• Led by qualified teachers (for Let Teachers SHINE) or reputable educational organizations
• Focus on barriers affecting disadvantaged students in core subjects
• Demonstrate genuine innovation
• Be testable for impact
• Target high numbers of disadvantaged children

Successful Project Examples

1. HegartyMaths - Previous Let Teachers SHINE winner Colin Hegarty created an integrated teaching and assessment platform now used by a third of all secondary schools in England, delivering 3.5 million hours of learning to 600,000 students annually.

1. Times Table Rock Stars - Bruno Reddy's 2014 Let Teachers SHINE project addressed secondary students entering without knowing multiplication tables, creating an innovative resource now widely used.

1. Vocabulous - Lucy Huelin created an online resource expanding vocabulary for children transitioning from primary to secondary school. Following successful trial, it has been commercialized as Vocabulous Limited.

Common Themes from Funded Projects

• Clear link to curriculum and educational attainment
• Evidence-based interventions or robust evaluation plans
• Scalability and potential for wider impact
• Teacher-led innovation addressing real classroom challenges
• Focus on disadvantaged children in the North of England

Strategic Characteristics SHINE Seeks

SHINE looks for partners who demonstrate:

• Shared values with SHINE's mission
• Long-term vision beyond immediate funding
• Deep understanding of educational sector challenges
• Commitment to innovative solutions
• Adaptability and continuous learning
• Openness to evaluation and impact measurement

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

1. Build Relationships Early - Contact SHINE 1-2 months before deadlines. The charity values collaborative development of applications and does not accept unsolicited submissions without prior contact.

1. Demonstrate Innovation with Evidence - Balance fresh, innovative approaches with evidence-based practice. New projects typically receive smaller grants (??20,000-40,000), while proven interventions can secure ??100,000+.

1. Link Everything to Attainment - While wellbeing and non-cognitive skills are valuable, applications must clearly articulate how interventions improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged children.

1. Geographic Focus is Non-Negotiable - Projects must serve the North of England (North East, North West, or Yorkshire & Humber). Pupil Premium eligibility should be used as the primary indicator of disadvantage.

1. Emphasize Teacher Support, Not Replacement - SHINE values interventions that are additive to existing provision, help teachers deliver more effectively, and reduce (not increase) workload.

1. Think About Sustainability and Scale - Applications should demonstrate potential for long-term impact beyond the funding period and potential for sharing/embedding in wider practice.

1. Prepare for Collaborative Refinement - SHINE works with applicants to strengthen proposals before Board review. Be open to feedback and willing to iterate on your application.

References

• SHINE Trust official website: https://shinetrust.org.uk/
• SHINE Trust Application Guidelines: https://shinetrust.org.uk/apply-for-funding/application-guidelines/
• SHINE Trust Let Teachers SHINE Application Guidelines: https://shinetrust.org.uk/what-we-do/let-teachers-shine/application-guidelines/
• SHINE Trust Grants Strategy: https://shinetrust.org.uk/what-we-do/grants-strategy/
• SHINE Trust About Us: https://shinetrust.org.uk/about-us/
• SHINE Trust Trustees: https://shinetrust.org.uk/about-us/team/trustees/
• SHINE Trust Staff: https://shinetrust.org.uk/about-us/team/staff/
• Charity Commission Register - SHINE: Support and Help in Education (Charity No. 1082777): https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-details/?subid=0&regid=1082777
• Get Grants - Shine Trust profile: https://www.getgrants.org.uk/shine-trust/
• Grantway - SHINE Trust Bridging the Gap: https://grantway.induct.net/grant/shine-trust/bridging-the-gap/VGmLRDX9KnNy5GNJ76p4j10O