In 2020 we launched an ambitious strategy that focused on narrowing the attainment gap for Key Stage 2 children across Bath and North East Somerset by 2030.
Through our Best Start in Life initiative, support is provided to children from birth to 12 years old to help them grow into healthy, happy educated members of our community. Interventions have been funded that directly work on improving educational outcomes as well as addressing children’s physical, behavioural, and emotional needs. The Best Start in Life initiative provides educational and mental health support to children in pre-school settings and primary schools. It also funds the distribution of food across the region via schools, food clubs and pantries.
To mark World Book Day on 6th March, St John’s has donated £4,238 to seven primary schools in Bath and North East Somerset to help expand their library collections.
The seven schools that received the donation collaborated last year as part of our 850th anniversary to create a unique book titled The Day the Alien Came. Written by 192 children with the guidance of author Stewart Foster and illustrator Andrew Prescot, the book was sold locally to raise funds. Now, in a fitting full-circle moment, the proceeds are being used to provide books for the libraries of the participating schools.
Georgia Clark, teacher from St Mary’s Church of England Primary School and Nursery said: “Reading is not just a skill; it’s a gateway to knowledge, imagination, and personal growth. Thanks to the generous funds raised through this project, we are expanding our library and providing children with more opportunities to develop their reading skills. These resources will not only enhance their literacy but also inspire a deeper passion for books and learning. The active involvement of our children in this initiative further demonstrates the powerful impact of our shared commitment to reading and writing.”
Catharine Brown, our CEO said: “We believe that every child deserves access to great books that inspire a love of reading and learning. Working with these schools and their students on The Day the Alien Came was an incredible experience, and we are delighted that the funds raised will directly benefit their libraries. This initiative is just one part of our ongoing commitment to supporting children’s education in Bath and North East Somerset.”
Other funding sources contributing to this donation amount include the money raised from the Bath Half Marathon, our SouthGate partnership and the Salisbury Trust Procurement team.
The schools receiving the donation include St Martin’s Garden Primary School, St Michael’s Junior Church School, Twerton Infant School and Nursery, St Keyna Primary School, Roundhill Primary School, Castle Primary School, and St Mary’s Church of England Primary School.
St John’s works with these seven schools as part of its Best Start in Life strategy, which provides additional support in reading, writing, mathematics, and oracy, as well as emotional and behavioural support. Together, these schools serve 40% of the region’s most under-served children.
St John’s Foundation is delighted to announce the appointment of our new CEO Catharine Brown.
Catharine has been serving as Interim CEO since July 2024 and following a highly competitive selection process, the Board of Trustees unanimously decided to appoint Catharine to lead the charity into its next chapter.
With an impressive background in leadership, strategy, and impact-driven change, Catharine brings a fresh perspective and a deep commitment to ensuring St John’s continues to evolve and thrive.
“I am delighted to take on the role of CEO at such a pivotal moment for St John’s,” said Catharine Brown. “This charity has a remarkable history of supporting the community in Bath and the local area, and I look forward to building on that legacy with fresh ideas, renewed energy and a clear vision for the future. Change brings opportunity, and I am excited to work with our team and partners to ensure St John’s continues to grow, evolve and make a meaningful difference to the people we serve.”
Catharine’s career began in marketing leadership roles at Selfridges and Marks & Spencer, then becoming Global Marketing Director in The Economist group. After relocating to Bath, she transitioned into the charity sector, holding senior roles in marketing, fundraising and leadership at national charities. Catharine also founded a consultancy business, helping boards and leadership teams drive meaningful change. Most recently, she was Chief Executive of Designability, a national charity dedicated to creating life-changing products for disabled people.
Sandy Forbes, Chair of St John’s, said, “On behalf of the trustees, I am delighted to welcome Catharine as our CEO. Having recently taken on the role of Chair myself, I know how important it is to honour the incredible 850-year legacy of this charity while ensuring we continue to evolve for the future. Starting our roles at a similar time gives us a fantastic opportunity to work closely together, bringing new energy and a shared commitment to making a lasting impact in our community. I look forward to collaborating with Catharine and the entire team to build on St John’s proud history and ensure we keep making a real difference in our community.”
In 2024, St John’s Foundation is turning 850 years old and to celebrate our milestone anniversary, we embarked on a special project. We harnessed the creative minds of 192 primary school pupils from seven local schools in Bath and North East Somerset to write a one-of-a-kind book.
In June, Bath-based children’s author Stewart Foster visited each of these seven schools. Over two sessions, Stewart helped the children from each class bring their ideas to life, guiding them as they wrote a book together. The result was The Day the Alien Came —a fun and heartwarming story about Jai, an alien whose spaceship crash-lands in Bath with his Grampy. Emerging from the wreckage of his ship, Jai is greeted by local children who take him on an extraordinary adventure, discovering the wonders of Earth and the magic of friendship.
The Day the Alien Came will be released in October. The children featured within the pages will be published authors, and it is their hard work, imagination, and enthusiasm that has made creating this enchanting story possible. Through this project, we aim to highlight the incredible power of reading and literature.
Catharine Brown, CEO of St John’s Foundation, expressed how much this project means to us:
“We are delighted to celebrate our 850th anniversary and mark this occasion by creating something that positively impacts our community and leaves a legacy for the future. Every child contributed something unique, turning this story into a whirlwind of imagination. We’re so proud to share their work with the world.”
Once the book is published, Stewart will return to the schools for a special launch event, where each child will receive their very own copy of the book. We hope that each child involved will forever cherish the memory of writing this book, inspiring them to continue exploring the world through words.
Stewart Foster reflected on the project saying “When St John’s asked me to be involved in this project, I had no idea what an amazing experience I was about to have with the children, and certainly no indication of the incredible work we would produce. The book is the result of my visits, guidance, but ultimately their hard work and imagination. There are lines that will make you laugh, poems that will make you cry, because when an alien lands its spaceship near your school, that’s the sort of emotions it can bring out.”
The book will be available to buy at Mr B’s Emporium and The Oldfield Park Bookshop, with all profits going back to the schools to help fill their libraries with more books. We’re also sending a copy to the British Library so that these young authors’ work can be enjoyed for years to come.
The story is brought to life with illustrations by Andrew Prescot and is a collaboration between seven fantastic schools: St Martin’s Garden Primary School, St Michael’s Junior Church School, Twerton Infant School and Nursery, St Keyna Primary School, Roundhill Primary School, Castle Primary School, and St Mary’s Church of England Primary School.
Since February 2020, St John’s Foundation has been working with these schools, which serve 40% of the region’s most under-served children. Through our Best Start in Life initiative (formerly known as The Foundation Fund), we provide support in reading, writing, maths, and more, along with emotional and behavioural guidance.
We would also like to say a huge thank you to our sponsors, whose support made this project possible. Our headline sponsors are Almeda Facilities, The Curated Property Company, Evelyn Partners, and Thrings Solicitors. We’re also grateful to our Silver sponsors YTL Utilities UK and Cazenove Capital, for their generosity.
In 2020 we launched an ambitious strategy that focused on narrowing the attainment gap for Key Stage 2 children across Bath and North East Somerset by 2030.
Through our Best Start in Life initiative (formally known as the Foundation Fund) support is provided to children from birth to 12 years old to help them grow into healthy, happy educated members of our community. Interventions have been funded that directly work on improving educational outcomes as well as addressing children’s physical, behavioural, and emotional needs. The Best Start in Life initiative comprises three programmes:
- The Primary Empowerment Programme funds additional support with foundational reading, writing, maths, oracy, and with emotional and behavioural wellbeing.
- The Early Years Programmes funds speech, language and mental health support to children aged 3-5 in pre-school environments, as well as mental health support for new mothers.
- The Nutritious Food and Safe Places Programme funds the distribution of food across the region via schools, food clubs and pantries.
This report contains the evaluation from the year 2022-23
St John’s is passionate about supporting the under-served members of our community. Our work within the Best Start in Life initiative (formally known as the Foundation Fund) ensures that children are supported through a range of initiatives to support them as they learn and grow. It is vital to us that we work with others to provide an environment where children have the chance to live happy, healthy lives and in turn, contribute to our communities for generations to come.
We also focus on providing older people with housing and outreach services. With older adults now outnumbering younger people in our region, it’s more important than ever that we foster an age-friendly community, promoting independent living for longer.
This year, we will be donating all proceeds from our Bath Half run to the people we support through our ongoing work within the BaNES community. With your generosity, we aim to continue the work we’ve been doing for the last 850 years by providing a wealth of support to children, older adults and people in crisis who are struggling due to stark inequality within Bath and it’s surrounding areas.
Together we can work to ensure everyone have access to a fair and equal opportunity in their lives.
Public Notice for the purpose of Section 121(2) of the Charities Act 2011
In a significant collaborative effort, an alliance of determined charities and organisations have come together to kickstart a groundbreaking programme, to make Bath and North East Somerset an Age Friendly Community.
Fuelled by funding from St John’s Foundation and Age UK Bath and North East Somerset, this transformative two-year initiative will drive change in the Bath and North East Somerset region to improve the lives of older people.
The programme will revive a local Ageing Well Forum, that hasn’t existed for over a decade, encouraging older people to speak out about the issues that are important to them and their communities.
The feedback will inform a wider Ageing Well Steering Group made up of local government, businesses, health and care services and charities. This will ensure older people’s needs and views are listened to when decisions are made.
As well as an Ageing Well Forum and steering group, the programme will also collaborate with the existing Ageing Well Network, facilitated by Bath and North East Somerset’s Third Sector Group (3SG). The network has so far welcomed 100 participants from 35 organisations supporting older adults.
Simon Allen CEO Age UK Bath & North East Somerset said:
“As we navigate the journey of ageing everyone’s experiences matter. I believe in giving value and a listening ear to each person, especially when decisions that affect us are being made. I’m excited that we’ll soon have a new Ageing Well Forum, the first in over ten years! This forum will help us all pay attention to what matters most to older people and in turn, take collective action. Together we can make Bath and North East Somerset a great place to grow old!”
David Hobdey, CEO at St Johns Foundation said:
“For the first time in history, adults aged 60 and over are now the fastest-growing group in our population. This has shifted the needs of our society, and individual’s lifestyle expectations. We are thrilled to be part of such an exciting project and are confident that the secured funding will lay the foundation for a great start to the Ageing Well Programme. We look forward to seeing the impact this has on the community.”
Director of 3SG, Becky Brooks said:
“This initiative is a testament to the power of collaboration, and we are so grateful to have so many like-minded organisations coming together with us. An Age Friendly Community means older people are not left behind or forgotten and people can stay living in their homes, be part of activities they enjoy and contribute to their communities for as long as possible. These collective efforts are not just for now, they are paving the way for us all on our journey into later life.”
Councillor Alison Born, Bath & North East Somerset Council cabinet member for Adult Services said
“An Age-friendly Community is a place that supports people to age well and live a good later life- somewhere where people can live in their own homes, stay active and contribute to their communities for as long as possible. So I am delighted that Bath and North East Somerset is now joining this growing movement, and to see so many local organisations committed to making our area a better place to age in. It’s important that all council services- whether that’s our parks, our libraries, or our local transport schemes – help shape more Age-friendly communities.”
As well as the various groups being put in place, next steps for the project include training Community Researchers and creating a ‘State of Ageing’ report which will be fed back to the Network, Local Authority and other decision-makers for discussion and action. The programme will provide an opportunity for many groups to work together to make the area a World Health Organisation recognised Age-Friendly Community.
