The Worshipful Company of Educators is a livery company founded as a guild in 2001 to represent the professions of education and training for charitable purposes. The PDF attachment describes the origins of livery companies.
Almost all the names of livery companies in London begin with ‘The Worshipful Company of…’, followed by the title of the respective profession, craft or trade. Sir Peter Birkett is a member of the Worshipful Company of Educators, with a background in education that includes founding a school for pupils with special educational needs and establishing the UK’s first college-led federation. Membership is open to all levels and disciplines of educators, as well as those with a proven genuine passion for education.
Company Foundation
The Worshipful Company of Educators was initially established on the 24th May 2001 and granted livery status by the Court of Aldermen on the 10th September 2013. Prior to becoming a livery company, the organisation was set up as a guild for the representation of the training and education professions and for the purposes of charity. It is the City of London’s 109th livery company and Her Majesty the Queen granted the Worshipful Company of Educators a Royal Charter on the 11th October 2017.
Charitable Giving
Part of the work of livery companies, dating back to the time of their precursors – medieval guilds – has always been charity work. This work has traditionally been funded by members of the guilds, or modern-day livery companies, and remains so to this day. An estimated £40 million is donated each year to charities from all the livery companies in London combined.
The Worshipful Company of Educators holds charitable activity at the heart of the organisation’s values, with a dedication from all members to support the promotion of education as a profession and create learning environments that are enriching, diverse, supportive and stimulating.
The primary focus of charitable giving within the Company is the celebration of excellence and outstanding innovation within the profession through the award of various grants and bursaries. These are facilitated through the Educators’ Trust.
The Educators’ Trust
The Educators’ Trust was established to manage the charitable funds of the Worshipful Company of Educators and to raise funds that can be used to support charitable endeavours.
The Trust is funded by individuals rather than the government, with regular generous legacies and donations from Liverymen and Freemen of the Company, along with outside donations from other organisations and individuals with the same belief in education’s transformative powers. The different levels of membership of the Worshipful Company of Educators are outlined in the infographic attachment to this post.
The Trust currently confers a total of 22 bursaries, prizes and awards on professional educators each year.
Supporting All Levels of Education
The awards given out by the Educators’ Trust support all levels of education, from early years right through to research institutions. There is also plenty of scope for niche educational areas to receive awards, such as in the specialist arenas of the performing arts, business, and military education.
In addition to this, each year a theme is nominated by the trustees for ‘The Inspirational Educator Award’, which is a specialist, competitive award that recognises eight annual winners. Previous themes for this award have included prison education, special needs and disability, and hospital education.
In the embedded short video, you can learn more about the work of the Engagement Committee of the Worshipful Company of Educators.