How East Midlands Businesses Are Powering Opportunity and Transforming the Lives of Young People
Added by Love Business East Midlands | 7 April 2026
UPDATED: 8 April 2026
Across the East Midlands, businesses are increasingly asking a simple but searching question: how can our investment in corporate social responsibility make a genuine, lasting difference, not just tick a box?
For Nova Education Trust, the answer lies in partnership.
Nova supports more than 12,000 pupils across a diverse family of 19 schools serving Nottingham City, Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire & Leicestershire. Many of these children grow up in communities facing high levels of socio‑economic disadvantage (almost double the national average), where barriers linked to poverty, special educational needs and limited access to enrichment are an everyday reality.
In response, Nova launched the Transforming Lives Foundation, a philanthropic initiative designed to connect the ambition and investment of the region’s business community with the aspirations of children and young people who might otherwise be left behind.
Turning disadvantage into opportunity
Across Nova schools, the proportion of pupils eligible for Pupil Premium funding is consistently above national averages, with significant numbers of children also identified with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). While schools work relentlessly to meet academic need, leaders recognised a persistent gap: too many pupils were missing out on the wider experiences that help young people build confidence, raise aspirations and believe in their own future.
The Transforming Lives Foundation was created to address that gap directly. Its purpose is simple but powerful: to ensure that disadvantage does not limit a child’s access to life‑shaping opportunities , whether that’s a first residential trip away from home, exposure to arts, sport or culture, meaningful encounters with employers, or experiences that help pupils see futures they never thought possible.
Rather than relying on one‑off donations, the Foundation offers a structured, values‑led model for business engagement. It enables organisations to align their CSR investment with clear outcomes for children, delivered through a trusted education partner with the scale and infrastructure to make a real difference.
Business partnerships currently support:
- Residential and enrichment experiences that build resilience, independence and wellbeing
- Programmes designed to raise aspiration and broaden horizons
- Mentoring and real‑world employer engagement
- Targeted support for pupils facing the greatest disadvantage
For businesses, the model offers something increasingly sought after: credible social value with tangible impact.
“Many organisations genuinely want to invest in their communities, but they also want assurance, that their support is reaching the right children, and that it’s making a difference,” says Alison Ingram, Executive Lead for the Transforming Lives Foundation. “We provide a trusted, accountable route for turning good intentions into experiences that truly change lives.”
Accountability, credibility and scale
A defining strength of the Foundation is its delivery through an established, high‑performing multi‑academy trust. Nova brings:
- robust governance and financial oversight
- deep understanding of local need
- the capacity to deliver programmes across multiple schools
- and the ability to evidence impact over time
This gives business partners confidence that their investment is not only well‑intended, but well‑used.
Partnerships are shaped collaboratively. Some businesses choose to support a specific school or cohort of pupils; others align their investment to themes such as wellbeing, aspiration or employability. Many combine financial support with employee volunteering, mentoring or workplace visits, creating value for both pupils and staff.
Social value that employees can believe in
For employers, engagement with the Transforming Lives Foundation delivers more than external impact. Partners report increased employee pride, stronger connection to organisational values, and meaningful opportunities for staff to contribute skills and time in ways that feel authentic rather than performative.
For pupils, meeting people beyond their immediate community is transformative. These encounters help dismantle invisible barriers, showing young people that opportunity is not reserved for others, but something they can claim for themselves.
Shared responsibility for the region’s future
At its heart, the Transforming Lives Foundation is built on a belief that education, business and place are deeply connected. When 12,000 children and young people are supported not just to achieve academically, but to flourish personally, the benefits ripple outward, strengthening communities, workforces and the regional economy.
“This isn’t about charity,” Ingram reflects. “It’s about shared responsibility, and about recognising that the future prosperity of the East Midlands depends on the potential of the children growing up here today.”
As more organisations seek to embed social value at the heart of their operations, partnerships like these offer a compelling way forward: grounded in trust, driven by purpose, and focused on outcomes that genuinely transform lives.
