Membership
Inequality in education is not simple, and is rooted in an intricate web of social issues. Addressing such complex problems will take more than one institution, organisation, or even government. We believe that by combining the passion, talent and ideas of educationalists, charities and business, we can offer a strong collective voice that creates a lasting impact on young people’s lives.
We have paused new membership applications until spring 2025 at the earliest while we are delivering a lot of activities with current members and going through a strategy refresh process.
We will get in touch in due course when we are able to take on new members.
In the meantime please sign up to our weekly bulletin here, to stay up to date with news across the alliance.
Images: Members at Wellington Festival of Education 2022, From our Annual Summit 2022 and Members at dinner post 2021 Annual Summit
Being a member of
the Fair Education Alliance
The purpose of all FEA activities is to help each member increase their collective and individual impact, as achieving these goals means we can have a faster and bigger impact on changing outcomes for young people. Information on the wide range of activities available to members can be found here.
All of our members agree to the Fair Education Alliance guidelines for engagement, which sets out what it means to be a member, including commitments and expectations.
Who are we looking for
Fair Education Alliance member organisations* have a deep commitment to tackling educational inequality in England and a shared appetite, knowledge and capacity to contribute to our joint approach.
The diversity of our membership is one of our key strengths: we are a network of charities, businesses, education organisations, think-tanks, membership bodies and unions; we work with organisations from early years through to Further and Higher Education; and we are a national movement reaching all corners of England.
Criteria for membership
You work to improve outcomes for children and young people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds to make education fair.
The Fair Education Alliance focuses on closing the education gap between children and young people from a lower socioeconomic background and their more advantaged peers. We look for organisations whose mission and work directly targets this group.
2. You can demonstrate positive impact on children and young people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds (directly or indirectly)
We require our members to have demonstrable commitment to supporting their target group and evidence of the impact to date on those children and young people.
3. You deliver work in England
The Fair Education Alliance works only within the English education system, so we require all member organisations to work in England.
4. You are an established organisation with at least two full time members of staff.
It’s important that our members have the capacity and organisational structure to be an active and engaged member, regularly involved in Fair Education Alliance activity.
5. You have insights and capacity to contribute to the membership network e.g. expertise, evidence, resources, connections with your networks or organisational experience
There are various ways to engage with Fair Education Alliance work, from joining our collective action working groups, inputting to government consultations, supporting our Fair Education Award winners or attending our events. We are looking for engaged members who will get the most out of their membership to the alliance.
6. If your organisation is not a registered charity, please let us know about your legal structure and why that was chosen. Please also explain how your programme targeting and governance enables you to work towards the Fair Education Alliance’s vision.
If your organisation meets these criteria and is interested in becoming a member, we’d love to hear from you. Fair Education Alliance membership is free for charities and not-for-profit organisations.
If you are a business, trust or foundation and interested in joining the movement, please contact us on info@faireducation.org.uk.
*The terms ‘member’ and ‘member organisation’ are interchangeable, as all Fair Education Alliance members are organisations.
Application process
A typical application cycle follows the steps below, and takes place four times a year:
Step 1: Applicants email info@faireducation.org.uk to express their interest and discuss the initial criteria for membership
Step 2: If they meet the initial criteria, they are sent an online application form
Step 3: We assess membership fit based on the application form, due diligence and reference checks
Step 4: Our Board of Trustees makes a final decision on membership, and applicants are notified of the outcome
If you are an individual (not representing an organisation), or if you would like to support our work without becoming a member, please see other ways to get involved.