About us
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We believe all children should be able to access a great education, as the firmest foundation for a fulfilling future.
Our long-term vision
Our mission
We widen access to the opportunities available in state boarding and independent schools for young people facing the greatest barriers to their development.
Impact
To achieve this, we work with state boarding and independent schools to help them target their fully funded school places for the young people who need them most, and with community organisations and local authorities to access these effectively.
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 environment they most need.
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We work with children and their parents or carers to explore the young person’s ambitions and needs, the options available, and which school might suit them best.
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We meet each young person to assess their suitability, and will means test the family as part of this assessment.
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.
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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.
Our values
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We always start with the child
In everything we do, we ask: “What is in the best interests of the or young person?” Our ‘Whole Child’-centred approach means continually asking ourselves if we are doing all we can to ensure children are healthy, safe, supported, engaged, and thriving academically. -
We are optimistic
We believe passionately that a boarding or independent school education can transform the life chances of any child, regardless of their background.
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We act with integrity
Our pupils, families, schools and community partners trust us to make good decisions. They have confidence in our values and how we work. -
We are focused on impact and learning
We hold ourselves accountable, and we are committed to continuously reflecting on our pupils’ experiences and adapting our model to respond to what we learn. -
We work together in a network
We believe that it is only by working collaboratively in long-term, committed school and community partnerships that we will make a lasting difference to social mobility.
Our history
Royal National Children's SpringBoard Foundation is the UK’s largest bursary charity, helping disadvantaged and vulnerable children from across the UK to access fully funded bursaries at leading schools. We are the result of the 2017 merger of two charities: Royal National Children’s Foundation (RNCF) and The SpringBoard Bursary Foundation (SpringBoard).
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RNCF started out as the Royal Wanstead Children’s Foundation, an organisation founded by Dr Andrew Reed in 1827. Initially an orphanage the charity benefitted from donations from the young Princess Victoria who later became Royal Patron. The charity evolved to support vulnerable children at a range of boarding and day schools across the UK.
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The SpringBoard Bursary Foundation was launched in 2012, inspired by the Arnold Foundation of Rugby School to help children from some of the UK’s most deprived communities to attend leading boarding schools on full bursaries.
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On the merger of RNCF and SpringBoard, HRH The Princess Royal, who was previously patron of RNCF, became patron of Royal National Children’s SpringBoard Foundation.
