Community engagement

Georgia Barratt, MA Educational Leadership, Children Without Limits volunteer

I feel really really proud to be able to be part of giving back to a community that’s so close to where I’m from.

On screen text

Children Without Limits raises aspirations and narrows attainment gaps for children in local communities.

This project supports 500 primary school children by inviting them onto campus every Saturday morning for lessons in English and mathematics.

They’re supported by 150 student volunteers who are passionate about making an impact.

Georgia Barratt, MA Educational Leadership, Children Without Limits volunteer

I first heard about Children Without Limits during the first initial stages of starting my PGCE at Manchester Met, and as I wanted to be a better teacher and I also wanted to give back to the community that I grew up with, I knew it definitely aligned with what I believed in.

As a Teacher and Coordinator, one of my main responsibilities is making sure the teachers are well supported, giving support with lesson planning, teaching styles, being able to effectively delegate their TAs.

Once we’ve developed a relationship as a class and once I’ve developed a relationship with the children, they really start to come out of their bubble, and you start to see a whole different child a few weeks in, and it shows that we’re doing something right.

Andrew Marchant, Head Teacher, Wilbraham Primary School and parent

The volunteers are the people that make the programme, the face of the programme. Essentially, from my point of view as a dad and as a Head Teacher, they’re the people who make it what it is.

I have a little girl that goes to Children Without Limits. It’s incredibly satisfying to see she’s excited to attend - she really enjoys it.

As the Head Teacher, I want the very best for the children of the school and as the dad I want exactly the same for my children. And I spoke to a number of the children here at Wilbraham Primary, I noticed a difference in their confidence, I noticed a difference in how they held themselves.

Naemma, parent

Coming to the Saturday school, I think just gives them that extra support. As a child growing up here, I didn’t get these extra lessons. It’s a really good thing and I will fully support that as a parent.

Professor Saul Becker, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Faculty of Health and Education, Manchester Met

Children Without Limits has a massive impact on local communities. It raises the aspiration and the abilities of primary school children, 500 every Saturday, to do maths and English. It gives them more confidence.

So, it shows our connectedness, and it shows our relevance, but it also shows our service to our local communities. And our ambition is to ensure that our connectedness leads to better outcomes for people in our local communities. Whether it’s educational outcomes, whether it’s health outcomes, we’re providing children with opportunities that that would have been denied to them had we not had our Saturday school.

Andrew Marchant, Head Teacher, Wilbraham Primary School and parent

The people who are committed to the program are offering some quite special. They’re doing this because they want to help the children and that’s essentially what makes it work.

Georgia Barratt, MA Educational Leadership, Children Without Limits volunteer

It carried such a great social ethos to it, being able to advocate and support these children who have come from similar communities it raises their aspiration, and we’re giving them hope and opportunity also for their local communities.