FELLOWSHIP PENNY ELL
EMPOWERING COMMUNITY, UNLOCKING OPPORTUNITY.
FORE ORD
There are moments when a community decides to do something differently, not out of convenience, but out of conviction. The Pennywell Fellowship is one of those moments.
At a time when the challenges facing young people are increasingly complex, it is no longer enough for schools to shoulder the burden alone. What’s needed is a shared responsibility, a collective effort that draws on the strengths of every part of a community. The Pennywell Fellowship represents this shift: from fragmented services to coordinated action, from isolated good intentions to aligned ambition.
This initiative is not simply another programme. It is a bold reimagining of how we work together, a new model for civic collaboration that places young people at the centre. In Pennywell, this means six schools joining forces with employers, charities and public services in a long-term, place-based partnership that reflects both the urgency of the present and the hope for a better future.
It is rooted in the belief that transformation doesn’t come from top-down mandates or one-size-fits-all solutions, but from local relationships, shared leadership and the lived experience of the people who know their community best. The Pennywell Fellowship offers a powerful example of how this can be done, not through grand promises, but through consistent, collective effort.
This foreword is not just an introduction to a document. It is an invitation: to imagine what becomes possible when we act not as isolated institutions, but as a unified civic force for good.
Let this be the beginning of something extraordinary.
- Sally Newton, CEO of Laidlaw Schools Trust
INTRODUCTION:
a new model for civic collaboration
Good schools are essential, but they cannot do it alone.
The Pennywell Fellowship marks a landmark shift in how schools and civic institutions work together to support young people. It is built on a simple but powerful idea: that no single organisation, no matter how committed, can meet the full range of needs that young people face on its own.
In Pennywell, Sunderland, six schools are joining forces with the city’s key civic and national anchors – its local employers, public services and charities – in a transformative new partnership, united behind one common goal: to improve outcomes and expand opportunities for children and young people in the area.
The Fellowship creates a new structure for deep, cross-sector collaboration: a practical way to bring together the insight, energy and resources across the community. It is a bold attempt to break through institutional silos and pioneer a new kind of civic leadership that amplified community voice into a stronger platform for change.
Together, we will improve the lives of the 2,000 young people in six schools in Pennywell – not only through building better mechanisms for support, but through richer opportunities, stronger relationships and a renewed sense of what is possible when a community truly works as one.
But this is only the beginning...
THE CHALLENGE WE’RE TAKING ON
Across the country, too many children are growing up in communities where opportunity has quietly ebbed away. In places like Pennywell, a proud Sunderland neighbourhood with deep roots and a strong sense of identity, the support systems that once surrounded young people have been steadily eroded.
Cuts have torn through enrichment services, youth work, mental health provision and early help. Schools have absorbed more and more responsibility, but their capacity to meet every need is stretched thin. The result is a growing gap between what young people need to thrive and what any single institution can provide on its own.
Our work to create the Pennywell Fellowship was guided by the voices of Pennywell and Sunderland: the headteachers, families, community organisations, employers, charities and public services who know the area best. Together, we explored the barriers holding young people back. They paint a clear picture of the issues young people in Pennywell are up against:
Stubborn levels of child poverty, with many families facing food insecurity, poor housing and economic strain.
Consistently low school attendance, undermining learning and putting long-term outcomes at risk.
Limited access to sport, culture, art and the outdoors – the kinds of experiences that build confidence, curiosity and ambition.
A fragile bridge to the future, with too many young people leaving school without the support, networks or opportunities they need to thrive in work or training.
These challenges don’t define Pennywell, but they do shape the landscape young people are navigating every day.
The Fellowship exists to tackle them not as isolated issues, but as a connected system, building powerful partnerships between schools, services, employers and communities to create the conditions for change.
A NEW AY OF WORKING TOGETHER
The Pennywell Fellowship is more than a network: it’s a new civic infrastructure for collective action. It offers a fresh, practical model for partnership that’s designed to work across all types of schools, enabling a more coordinated, resilient approach to the challenges young people face.
During the design phase, we spoke to dozens of local leaders – school heads, public service teams, employers, charities – and heard the same message again and again:
“We want to work together, but the system makes it hard.”
There is no shortage of good will or innovative practice in Sunderland. In fact, we found brilliant examples of schools partnering with local organisations. But these efforts were often limited to individual schools, fragmented across the system and vulnerable to collapse when key people moved on.
Schools told us they are frequently approached by organisations offering help, but lack the time, bandwidth or consistency to form deep partnerships with each one. Meanwhile, employers, civic organisations and charities told us they struggled to engage across multiple schools without duplicating effort or relying on informal contacts. Too often, collaboration comes down to luck, timing, or who happens to know whom.
The Fellowship is our answer to that challenge.
We have built a structured, shared model that brings together schools and partner organisations around clear priorities, consistent collaboration and real delivery. This model:
Enables all types of schools - local authority, academy, primary, secondary and special - to work together on shared local priorities;
Gives partner organisations a single, coordinated point of connection to engage with schools more easily and efficiently and share information; and
Builds stronger, more sustainable relationships, not dependent on individual champions or fleeting opportunities.
At the heart of the Fellowship is a Board of local schools. This Board steers the overall strategy and ensures alignment with community needs. Supporting the Board are three focused Delivery Groups:
Enrichment, broadening access to cultural, sporting and personal development opportunities;
Employment, connecting young people with employers, further and higher education and career pathways;
Engagement, strengthening ties between schools, families and the wider community.
Each Delivery Group brings together schools alongside public, private and voluntary sector partners. They meet termly to set shared priorities, co-design projects, and monitor progress – all coordinated through dedicated Fellowship facilitation.
IT IS A SIMPLE MODEL, BUT A POWERFUL ONE.
By replacing fragmentation with focus and ad hoc effort with strategic collaboration, we’re laying the foundations for lasting change – the kind that no single organisation could achieve alone.
THE SCHOOLS BEHIND THE FELLO SHIP
At the heart of the Pennywell Fellowship are six schools that know their community inside out. They differ in size, phase and governance - some are local authority-maintained schools, others are academies in different trusts - but they are united by something far more important: a shared commitment to working together for the good of their children and families.
It is thanks to the headteachers of these schools that the Fellowship exists. They came together with a bold idea: that by building stronger partnerships they could achieve more together than they could alone.
The six founding schools of the Pennywell Fellowship are:
Academy 360 Christ’s College
St Anne’s Roman Catholic Primary School
North View Academy
South Hylton Academy
Highfield Primary School
Together, they educate over 2,000 pupils across Pennywell at any one time. And together, through the Fellowship, they are helping to reimagine how Sunderland supports its young people – not with small fixes, but with a shared ambition for long-term change.
Delivery Group 2: Employment
Delivery Group 3: Engagement
Pennywell Fellowship Board School-Community Council Youth Advisory Board
Delivery Group 1: Enrichment
DELIVERY GROUP 1: ENRICHMENT
Broadening horizons, boosting wellbeing, inspiring young people
OUR SHARED AIM
To ensure every child in Pennywell can access and enjoy meaningful enrichment experiences that fuel their wellbeing, build resilience and deepen their connection to school and community.
OUR INITIAL PRIORITIES
• Connect all schools to existing enrichment programmes, unlocking the wealth of opportunities already available through local organisations.
• Expand an enhanced enrichment offer for pupils in years 5 to 9culture, sport, tech, music, art and nature - designed to engage and inspire pupils as they transition from primary to secondary school.
• Pilot ‘kit-out’ scheme with Sunderland City Council, removing financial and practical barriers so no child misses out.
• Launch a ‘Young Pennywell’ initiative to bring age-appropriate enrichment directly to primary pupils, planting early seeds of curiosity and confidence.
PARTNERS POWERING THIS WORK
Active Sunderland, Altitude Foundation, Durham Cricket Foundation, Foundation of Light, InspirED, School Readers, Sunderland City Council, Sunderland City Farm, Sunderland Culture, Sunderland Music Hub, Wildfowl and Wetland Trust.
DELIVERY GROUP 2: EMPLOYMENT
Opening doors, sparking ambition, empowering futures
THE CHALLENGE
For too many young people in Pennywell, the path to further study, training, or meaningful work feels unclear or out of reach. Despite Sunderland’s thriving and diverse economy, many lack exposure to the opportunities around them and the confidence, knowledge or support to seize them. This disconnect feeds lower progression rates to higher education and a troublingly high number of young people classified as NEET (not in education, employment or training). Too often, these opportunities do not feel like they’re made for Pennywell’s young people.
OUR SHARED AIM
To open doors into the world of work, provide every young person with meaningful experiences, clear guidance and the confidence to make informed choices – empowering them to shape their own futures with ambition and hope.
OUR INITIAL PRIORITIES
Connect all schools to existing employment programmes and realworld experiences already available through local and regional partners.
Launch a dynamic series of ‘career roadshows’ in Pennywell spotlighting Sunderland’s growth sectors – from advanced manufacturing to tech and health – for pupils and their families.
Develop a long-term, area-based careers programme for all local schools, aligned with the Gatsby Benchmarks, that delivers sustained, high quality careers education and guidance.
PARTNERS DRIVING THIS WORK
Barclays, CyberNorth, Foundation of Light, NE Automotive Alliance, NE Business Innovation Centre, NE FinTech Cluster, Nissan, North East Combined Authority, RedStart, Sunderland College, Sunderland Software City, University of Sunderland.
DELIVERY GROUP 3: ENGAGEMENT
Building bridges, inspiring trust, unlocking potential
THE CHALLENGE
Low school attendance and limited parental engagement are among the biggest hurdles to success in Pennywell. While families want the best for their children, many feel disconnected from schools, unsure how to access support, or overwhelmed by the pressures they face every day. Without strong relationships and trust, too many young people slip through the cracks, unable to fully engage or thrive. These relationships are also pivotal to the success of the Enrichment and Employment Delivery Groups – without engaged families and connected communities, opportunities in these areas struggle to reach those who need them most.
OUR SHARED AIM
To forge stronger, more trusting partnerships between schools, families and the wider community, ensuring every child is supported, encouraged and empowered to attend school, engage fully and succeed.
OUR INITIAL PRIORITIES
Train and grow a network of ‘family champions’ drawn from schools and local organisations, who can act as trusted guides for families navigating the complex landscape of support.
Coordinate attendance initiatives across schools, working closely with public services and community groups to share what works and pioneer new ways to engage families.
Create a School-Community Council and Youth Advisory Board that amplify the voices of schools, families and young people, ensuring the Fellowship’s work stays rooted in local needs and driven by community priorities.
PARTNERS POWERING THIS WORK
Gentoo, Hope 4 All, NHS, Pennywell Children’s Centre, Pennywell Community Centre, Pennywell Community Hub, Sunderland City Council, Together for Children.
CONTINUING THE MOMENTUM
The Pennywell Fellowship was born out of urgent challenges, but it is powered by an unwavering belief that lasting change is possible.
Already, dozens of organisations have come together, pooling their expertise, passion and resourced to support schools and transform the opportunities available to children and young people in Pennywell.
While our Delivery Groups are just getting started, the momentum, collaboration and shared commitment we’ve seen so far gives us real confidence in what is to come.
This is no quick fix or passing initiative. The Fellowship marks the beginning of a bold, long-term partnership rooted in place – one that puts young people at the heart and builds the strong, connected support systems they need to thrive.
We are deeply grateful to every organisation, school and individual who has invested their time, insight and belief to lay these strong foundations.
As we move into the next phase, we are excited to deepen these partnerships, learning and adapt together, and continue driving real, positive change, creating a brighter future for Pennywell’s young people – together.
If your organisation wants to join this movement and make a difference, we would love to hear from you.
Please get in touch at marketing@laidlawschoolstrust.co.uk
