School
Placements
Supporting boarding and independent schools to target their fully funded bursary awards
Our Role
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We work with a diverse network of more than two hundred boarding and independent day schools across the UK to support their desires to target their fully-funded bursary award schemes for children facing barriers to opportunity - whether due to where they live (our place-based programme), or their experiences of children’s social care (our care-experienced and vulnerable children programme).
Our Scale and Reach
Our partner schools span urban day settings, rural prep boarding, modern state boarding, and traditional single-sex environments, day-only, flexi, or full boarding. This diversity allows us to match each young person with the educational setting best suited to their needs, interests, confidence, and ability to commute.
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Our Principles of Partnership
Pastoral Care: Ensuring widespread awareness across the school community of attachment- and trauma-informed practice
Best Practice: Confirming commitment by schools’ staff to assuming specific responsibility for the care of SpringBoarders and participating in regular sharing of resources and guidance across the network
Financial Commitment: Understanding how the funding will work – all RNCSF bursary applicants are assessed for being from low-income households and therefore ensuring that all of the bursary award funding is to be met by the school is essential.
RNCSF participating schools are assessed against the RNCSF accreditation standards, which focus on three key areas:
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How We Work
We work with community groups, local authorities and referring schools to identify children for whom a boarding or independent day school might provide the most transformative experience.​
We work with children and their parents and/or carers and meet each young person to assess their suitability and explore their ambitions and needs.
We examine the options available, and recommend the school that will suit them best.​​We help secure a fully funded bursary place at a state boarding or independent school within our accredited network based on the young person’s academic profile, interests, and location. From non-selective to highly academic, the schools we have in our network serve a range of academic abilities and needs.
We work with schools and community partners to support the young person’s transition to the new school. Partners provide wraparound practical and emotional support, mentoring and peer groups with other SpringBoarders to prepare the young person for their new environment.
​We provide ongoing support – for school, for young people and for their families to give the placement the best chance of success.
We ensure the young people remain connected to our ongoing support, and to each other, through our growing community of alumni.
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