Sky, the European broadcaster and telecommunications company, has established a two-year cooperation with Sir Lewis Hamilton’s philanthropic organization, Mission 44, to address the disproportionately high number of school exclusions among Black pupils in the UK.
The agreement is part of Sky’s £30 million commitment to combating systematic racism, and Mission 44 will receive over £1 million over a two-year period. Sky has previously established a fund to help Black company owners in the UK as part of its £30 million pledge to make a difference in areas affected by racism and to utilize the power of its voice and platform to address racial injustice. Sky has also committed to a three-year relationship with Kick It Out, which aims to promote inclusiveness in football and make it easier for fans to report prejudice.
Sky’s collaboration with Mission 44’s social projects such as grant funding for Multi-Academy Trusts to invest in initiatives that reduce school exclusion rates, as well as grant funding to support high potential or high impact interventions that prevent exclusions or improve the trajectories of excluded students. A study effort aimed at clarifying the perspectives of a group of marginalized students is being performed, in order to determine what kind of assistance they require in order to achieve positive outcomes. Also, Sky is leading an early-career insight initiative to provide information, advice and assistance on prospects in the broadband and telecoms industry for students who are in danger of being excluded from mainstream school, or who have already been excluded.
Announcing the partnership, Sky’s Group CEO, Dana Strong, commented: “We are passionate about tackling racial injustice and welcome the opportunity to partner with Sir Lewis Hamilton and Mission 44 to champion and empower young people. We hope our partnership will support Mission 44’s work to improve the experience of Black pupils and support them to succeed at school and beyond.”
