Devasted that Luljeta Nuzi has died after a long fight with cancer. An incredible, dynamic, fierce woman whose optimism and passion for equality for all, in education, as women, as members of refugee and global majority communities will remain an inspiration for those who met her. I first met Luljeta in 2009 when she came […]
RBKC Supplementary School Awards
Solid Foundations Good Management
What an inspiring evening celebrating the achievements of our incredible supplementary schools in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea!
Proud to see 10 dedicated settings complete the Solid Foundations Good Management certification — an essential step in YPF Trust’s quality assurance framework. This milestone highlights each setting’s commitment to creating safe environments that protect and prioritise children’s welfare.
Thank you to Westway Trust for hosting this special event. Our longstanding partnership, from NRCSE to the YPF Trust Centre for Supplementary Education, reflects our shared vision of empowering youth. Special thanks to John Lyon’s Charity for all your support.
Congratulations to every school recognised tonight. Your dedication to children and young people is truly life-changing!
It’s an absolute honour to stand before you today at the Westway Supplementary Schools Award Ceremony. I am filled with admiration and deep gratitude for each one of you. You are the dedicated individuals who tirelessly pour your heart and energy into making a meaningful difference in the lives of children and young people across Kensington and Chelsea and wider London.
Thank you to the Westway Trust for inviting me to be part of this special event. We have worked together for many years to support supplementary schools in RBKC—first through the NRCSE and now with the YPFT Centre for Supplementary Education. I am truly grateful for our longstanding partnership, which is rooted in a shared vision of empowering our youth.
Today, we come together to celebrate a significant milestone—10 settings have completed the Solid Foundations Good Management an essential step in the YPF Trust’s quality assurance framework for supplementary education. This achievement reflects a commitment to creating safe environments that prioritize and protects children’s welfare.
There settings are now progressing towards achieving the Quality Mark award—a goal we hope they’ll reach soon. This commitment is about so much more than safety alone; it’s about creating spaces where children and young people can freely explore their creativity, gain confidence, and express their unique voices. It’s also about strengthening leadership within your settings, driving continuous improvement and achieving better outcomes for all.
Today, we celebrate more than just certificates; we celebrate your unwavering dedication to this community. Week after week, you give up your weekends to support, nurture, and guide young minds. But we all know your work doesn’t stop when the weekend ends. Behind the scenes, you are tirelessly building not only spaces of learning but also places of belonging where children feel valued and inspired.
Before presenting the certificates, I want to thank each of you for believing in the transformative power of education and for showing up every day with resilience, kindness, and passion. You are not just teaching these young people; you are empowering them to become the leaders of tomorrow. Let’s continue this journey together, hand in hand, to ensure that every child has access to a high-quality education and every young person has a safe space to grow and thrive. Thank you for all that you do. Let’s keep building, keep believing, and keep inspiring.
Dr Monireh Partovi, programme manager for supplementary education at the YPF Trust
Evaluation form
Dear NRCSE subscriber, we would be most grateful if you could answer five short questions about the service you have received from us over the last year and let us know what other support would be useful.
Many thanks,
Pascale Vassie OBE, NRCSE
New Community Language Examination Centre open for entries
CLEx (NRCSE Community Language Examination Centre) is open to entries from students attending any of our subscribing supplementary schools who are trying to find an examination centre for the following languages:
German, French, Spanish, Arabic, Biblical Hebrew, Chinese, Greek, Gujarati, Italian, Japanese, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Turkish and Urdu.
For any information about CLEx please email us, or complete our preliminary registration form and we will get in touch. The closing date for completing your registration with us is is 16/4/21.
We believe strongly that the best place for young people to enter a home/heritage language GCSE is through their mainstream schools if at all possible. There are also community-led supplementary schools that are also registered examination centres for their own students and affiliated settings. For Gujarati we recommend you check whether you can enter through BAPS Swaminarayan. For Persian we recommend Rustam. For Russian we recommend Znaniye. For Polish we recommend the Polish Educational Society. For Greek we recommend getting touch with the Cyprus Educational Mission.
Quality Mark for Supplementary Education
Since 2009, the National Resource Centre for Supplementary Education has supported 504 supplementary schools to develop the quality of their provision through training, facilitation and moderation of nationally recognised and respected quality assurance for the supplementary education sector that:
- raises awareness,
- improves quality, and
- facilitates partnership
To achieve a Quality Mark, supplementary schools must demonstrate that they:
1. Create an effective learning environment
2. Teach effectively
3. Record progress and achievement
4. Choose the right resources
5. Plan and develop your organisation
6. Select and support staff and volunteers
7. Make sure that children are safe
8. Manage finances wisely
There are three routes to ensure good practice is being met and to access the NRCSE Quality Mark.
1. Supplementary schools are supported by a trained mentor or local authority representative who checks that they are meeting local and national safeguarding standards and completes the NRCSE management checklist report.
2. Groups of supplementary schools take the NRCSE 3-day Good Management course and are each supported to complete a management folder. The NRCSE management checklist report is completed by an NRCSE Quality Development Adviser (generally the course trainer)
3. An individual supplementary school completes online assessment of their provision and upload copies of policies and procedures. An NRCSE Quality Development Advisor checks through their documents and gives feedback via the NRCSE management checklist report.
Once safeguarding standards are met the school downloads templates and guidance from the NRCSE website and prepares a portfolio of evidence. The school must arrange an observation visit from an appropriate person (qualified teacher/education professional/NRCSE-trained mentor) who will write a short report witnessing what they have observed. The school then confirms that they are ready for their provision to be quality assured by NRCSE.
NRCSE will discuss with the school and local authority to identify a local ‘educational expert’ and arrange for a ‘Quality Recognition Meeting’ to take place.
At the Quality Recognition Meeting, two experts (one from a mainstream educational background and one from NRCSE) will scrutinise the portfolio of evidence, listen to a short presentation from school representatives, ask questions, and come to a decision as to the level at which the eight standards have been achieved.
A Quality Mark report is prepared, together with a certificate and a logo and sent to the school.
With the school’s permission, this report is included on NRCSE’s online directory of quality supplementary education providers.
Local authorities are encouraged to publicise the achievement of supplementary schools in their area, demonstrating their own good practice and supportive response to government regulation and statutory guidance.
NRCSE arranges a national celebration of achievement annually. Past celebrations have taken place at the British Museum and the Houses of Parliament.
