Nova’s Family Programme addresses the interconnected needs of education, health, wellbeing and employability; offering year-round services and activities to families experiencing disadvantage and exclusion. The programme  was originally established as a direct response to the Grenfell Tower tragedy. Now our local community, still recovering from the impact of Covid-19, is experiencing further severe challenges due to the cost of living crisis.  

Last year, the number of people registered for Family Programme services doubled, and our small committed team is now working with over 1,000 adults and children.

Your help is urgently needed so that we can plan ahead for the year and reach all those families who most need our support, during this critical time.

A bit of our history

For 40 years, Nova has helped people work towards a better life through our adult education and pre-employment advice services, supporting people to develop their skills and confidence. In the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017,  we expanded our community support and established a wider community programme to offer respite for families affected and a place where they could feel 'at home'. We created our Family Programme, providing opportunities for local families with children to take part in healing social and educational activities, opening up London to those who had felt its rich resources beyond their reach. 

Since then, our programme has continued to develop: offering holiday and term-time activities and services; empowering communities to raise aspirations and overcome barriers to opportunity in life and work; nurturing confidence and agency and breaking the generational cycles of poverty. During the pandemic, we offered online home-school classes to complement curriculum learning and support families who could not afford additional tuition or were otherwise ill-equipped to undertake home-schooling.  We continue to offer after-school classes in Maths, English and Science, alongside a wider programme of fun and educational termtime and school holiday activities to bring people together.

Why we need your support

The cost of living crisis has compounded the challenges for those we work with, and demand has surged to unprecedented levels. As basic needs become a priority, access to essential opportunities for social interaction, learning and play have been severely diminished – placing those who may be already facing barriers, at further risk of exclusion.

With the hard work and commitment of our small team making the most of limited resources, and the support of our friends and partners, we have been able to deliver an extensive programme of fantastic activities during the last year. We’re really proud that 97% of people we’ve worked with have rated us Very Good or Excellent.

We need your support to help us continue meeting demand, maintaining the range and quality of our services and sustaining our opportunities for families during the difficult year ahead.

Thank you.