LSL newsletter for Clerks

Welcome to the LSL newsletter. You will find details of various activities we need your Company to help us with as we continue our goal of raising aspirations for disadvantaged young people mainly in London schools. 

1. LSL Livery Showcase

The LSL Livery Showcase will be live again as part of the London Careers Festival (LCF).  The in-person Livery Showcase will be held at the Guildhall in July. Please think about having a stall this year as it is great fun. Top age primary pupils are great fun to talk to and it is the right time to get them thinking about possible careers. They come eager to find out about the various stalls many of which are promoting career areas that are new to them. Middle school pupils are often less enthusiastic but can be drawn out to realise the range of exciting career opportunities available.

2. Livery in Education and Skills booklet

We are planning a revision of the booklet Livery in Education and Skills this summer. We will be writing to ask you to update your entry in a couple of months’ time. The booklet now covers the whole of life long learning so it would be great if you could expand your entry beyond earlier versions which were inevitably rather schools orientated. This booklet is on our website and made available to schools so that they can understand various educational opportunities offered by different Livery Companies.

3. Opportunity Fund

The current ‘cost of living’ crisis affects many young people. LSL is dealing with London schools that are often in really deprived parts of London with families who are finding the financial side of life really difficult. The purpose of the Opportunity Fund is to help schools to encourage and enable participation in the full curriculum. A donation from a Livery Company can start a longer relationship with a school. We have had discussions with the Livery Charity Chairs Group which is encouraging Livery Companies to support the Livery Food Initiative working with City Harvest. These two requests are complementary as several of the schools LSL works with could be receiving food help from City Harvest often for additional meals which are not provided through the government Free school Meals scheme. Please think about the Opportunity Fund as another way of making a difference to some young people in the current difficult financial time.

4. Volunteering platform ‘Be Their Inspiration’

We continue to be in discussion with our two partner charities: ‘Inspiring the Future’ and ‘Speakers for Schools’ which encourage Livery volunteers to offer career talks and motivational talks to young people in schools. Much of this work is done virtually so can be offered more widely than just the London area.

5. Other opportunities

LSL is always keen to promote particular initiatives that any Livery Company would like to run for schools. We can do this through our website or by a special note to schools if you let us know. Last year we were delighted that a small group of pupils from one Tower Hamlets school were invited to lunch with the Sheriffs and Judges at the Old Bailey. We have been offered two further slots for this year. The opportunity for a small group of older students to attend some form of Livery event is also really welcomed by schools and we can recommend particular schools. Some Companies do this already with their own schools but we hope other Companies will also consider a similar opportunity.

This newsletter gives you a summary of the various activities that LSL is involved in at present. We write to Companies separately about the different items but please contact Lis Goodwin lisgoodwin@btinternet.com if you would like to know more about any of the items mentioned. The LSL website is www.liveryschoolslink.uk.

Dr Elisabeth Goodwin
Chairman
Livery Schools Link