The Two Counties Trust & Impetus

The need: Only around 5% of young people who sit their GCSEs in alternative provision pass English and maths compared to 67% of pupils in mainstream schools. Negative outcomes for excluded students persist well into adulthood: young people who have been suspended even once are twice as likely to not be in education, employment, or training (NEET) at 24 than those who haven’t been excluded. Young people from disadvantaged backgrounds are particularly affected, as they are five times more likely to be permanently excluded than their better-off peers.

Our portfolio partner: The Two Counties Trust (TTCT) is a multi-academy trust with nine secondary schools across Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, with ambitions to roll out high-quality, inclusive internal alternative provision (IAP) across all its schools. By integrating IAP within the mainstream school system and offering targeted support for students with higher needs, the trust strives to improve outcomes for young people at risk of exclusion.

Our impact: Together with The Henry Smith Charity, we’ve invested £100,000 per annum for two years to help TTCT expand its IAP centres from one-third of its schools to all nine. With our support, TTCT will place more at-risk students into effective IAP programmes, improving their outcomes and, in time, demonstrating best practices for the sector.

We are delighted to be working with Impetus and The Henry Smith Charity to support the implementation of Internal Alternative Provision across our family of schools. The expertise and guidance from their Investment Team will be instrumental in helping us establish nine effective IAPs that provide essential support for some of our most vulnerable students. We are committed to enhancing the life choices of students, and this project will help us achieve our mission.

Wesley Davis, CEO, The Two Counties Trust