BFSS Annual Report 2022

The £1 million Displacement Education Fund was established in response to the continued plight of young people in Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan, Ukraine and many other parts of the world where communities are being displaced from their homes to seek safety. With a rolling application process the Fund had an excellent start in 2022 and is already enabling over 10,000 young people to continue their education by providing a safe space to learn, opportunities to learn in their own language, and the post-trauma support that they need in order to heal, thrive and learn.

Our Main Fund continued to support projects to improve the educational outcomes and life chances of young carers or care experienced young people in the UK, and projects to improve the quality, sustainability, and access to education for young people within international marginalised and financially-deprived communities.

In addition to grant-giving we made a concerted effort to increase shared learning opportunities by hosting our first-ever hybrid conference for Members and Grant Partners on 13 May 2022 alongside our AGM. It was an inspirational day of presentations and discussions on how to build resilience into education in a post-covid world.   At the conference we launched our new online Forum which allows Members and Grant partners to continue their discussions beyond the conference and provides a platform for advice to be sought on any topic, or news shared whenever the need arises throughout the year. In November we were thrilled our Grant Partners’ Workshop could return as an entirely face-to-face event for organisations with a current BFSS grant.  The event focused on climate responsibility with delegates passionately sharing ideas and learning on how to work towards net zero.