We are focused on the future: not just maintaining excellence, but expanding it. Our priorities reflect both the scale of the challenge and the strength of our response.

1. Supporting those who need it most

We are determined that no child is held back by their circumstances. From the cost-of-living crisis to the legacy of the pandemic, our families face real and persistent pressures. Yet Harris students succeed, because we stand beside them with practical support and high expectations..

Many of our students come from households earning less than £7,400 a year, the threshold for free school meals. Despite the challenges they face, these children are succeeding, often against the odds. We are dedicated to improving those odds and ensuring they receive the support needed to reach their full potential.

Your support enables us to provide for these students, those who, through no fault of their own, need a helping hand. It ensures they have warm coats, meals, and dignity, while allowing their education to take centre stage. With your help, we can give them the best possible chance to shape their futures and define what is possible.

2. Supporting student opportunities

Great education is more than what happens in a classroom. We provide our students with experiences, support and opportunities that open doors: many students of all ages experiencing visiting London, visit a farm, spending a night away from home for the first time. We know the difference this makes: broadens our students’ horizons, fostering independence, and building confidence. These opportunities help our students develop a greater sense of the world, improve their social skills, and inspire them to dream bigger, opening doors to new possibilities in education and life.

Harris students are twice as likely to attend Russell Group universities as their peers nationally, despite facing disproportionately high levels of socio-economic disadvantage. This is no accident. We nurture ambition, expand horizons, and offer opportunities that many students wouldn’t otherwise have access to—from one-to-one academic tutoring and university visits, to leadership training and cultural enrichment.

Nothing brings this to life more fully than the entirely philanthropically funded Harris Experience.

The Harris Experience is a five-year, two-part programme designed for our most academically gifted but historically underrepresented students across the Federation. Built on the belief that talent is universal but opportunity is not, the programme is aimed at helping students reach the country’s most selective universities—and thrive once there.

• Students take part in a curated series of enrichment activities that build leadership, teamwork, and problem-solving skills.
• They visit top institutions like Oxford, Cambridge, and UCL, engage with cultural experiences from theatre and museums to orchestras, and take part in high-level seminars, masterclasses, and residential trips.

Through these hands-on experiences, they develop confidence, independence, and cultural fluency—crucial for success in both education and the workplace, but often inaccessible to those from the socio-economically disadvantaged communities Harris serves.

The Harris Experience doesn’t just open doors, it gives students the self-belief to walk through them. As a result, over 200 Harris students have progressed to Oxbridge since 2019, with many more attending other elite universities and emerging as future leaders in their fields.

3. Driving sector-wide change

We do not just want Harris students to flourish: we want to pioneer interventions that allow this for all underrepresented students.

We share our learning, partner across the sector, and invest in scalable interventions that others can adopt. Our work is pioneering in areas such as mental health support, literacy, and EAL provision—key areas which affect socio-economically disadvantaged students the most.

With over 1 in 3 of our students having English as an additional language, and many of our schools welcoming large numbers of refugees, we are pushing the boundaries of what inclusive excellence looks like. We are helping others do the same.

We are already leading the way in providing opportunities for underserved students. Your support lets us go faster and further

4. Meeting the national challenge of falling school attendance

At the Harris Federation, we recognise that regular attendance is critical to student success, particularly for those from disadvantaged backgrounds. Lack of school attendance is strongly linked to economic disadvantage which can create a vicious cycle. Limited attendance impacts academic achievement which in turn further hinders economic opportunities. Across our 55 academies, we serve around 45,000 students, with around one in three students eligible for free school meals, and around one in three speaking English as an additional language. Despite these challenges, we are proud to consistently achieve a 93% attendance rate across our academies, a figure which rests above the national average. At Harris, we understand that time out of school widens the attainment gap, which is why we make attendance one of our most important priorities.

A key part of this strategy has been the introduction of HALOs (Harris Attendance Liaison Officers) who have been introduced to certain Harris schools that have attributed lower attendance rates. HALOs are dedicated staff who work with students at risk of persistent absence to re-engage students, build trust with families, and ensure that children remain in school. Our commitment to attendance is a reflection of our wider mission: ensuring that every student, regardless of background, has access to the full benefits of education. Through robust support structures and innovative roles like the HALO, we are not only closing the attendance gap, we’re actively transforming lives.

5. Supporting equal access through SEND provision

At the Harris Federation, we are dedicated to providing every child with the support they need to succeed, including the more than 6,000 students in our schools identified as having special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). We educate a slightly higher proportion of SEND students than the national average, and in a national landscape where this section of the education system is often described as fragmented and under pressure, our commitment to high-quality education is more important than ever.

From primary to post-16, our most common needs include Speech, Language and Communication Needs (SLCN), Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH), and Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLD). Despite misconceptions, at Harris we understand that SEND is not the responsibility of one individual or department but rather a whole school responsibility, and we take our duty to not only meet statutory obligations but to go beyond these. Our schools are supported by skilled SENCOs and SEND Link Governors who monitor provision and advocate for the needs of all learners. While national reforms remain slow and families often face long waits and confusing processes, we are acting now through prioritising early identification and personalising our support.

We believe that an inclusive school is one where every child feels seen, supported, and set up to succeed. We’re proud to embed that principle across the Federation.        

6. Supporting young people's mental health

Many of our students across the Harris Federation come from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds, and there is a well-established link between poverty and poor mental health. According to the Poverty and mental health report written by the Mental Health Foundation, disadvantage can increase the risk of developing mental health problems and, in turn, poor mental health can further entrench a cycle of hardship. Children facing financial and social insecurity are particularly vulnerable and are recognised as being among those most at risk of developing mental health issues.

We are acutely aware of these challenges surrounding mental health in education. So, to keep our pastoral support systems responsive, especially as student needs continue to grow in the wake of the Covid pandemic, we are committed to expanding and improving our system. With your support, we can strengthen and grow our vital mental health and pastoral services, ensuring every student receives the care and encouragement they need to truly thrive.

Add your support to our number

Regular donations help us plan for the future. To recognise those who pledge ongoing support to our community, we have launched The Friends of Harris.

Click here to find out more, or to make a regular donation

For a confidential conversation about supporting us, or simply to find out more, please email Emily Clarke, Head of Fundraising.