SHINE backs brighter futures for pupils

New education funding is set to improve literacy and support young people as they move into secondary school across Sunderland and Houghton-le-Spring.

More than £630,000 has been awarded by the SHINE Sunderland fund to support two large-scale initiatives focused on raising attainment and easing progression into secondary education. 

The investment will support a city-wide literacy programme led by the Northern Education Trust (NET) alongside a new primary-to-secondary transition project at Kepier Academy.

Accounting for the largest share of funding, £450,000 will be directed towards a curriculum-aligned reading intervention delivered by NET, designed to ensure every student, regardless of background, can access high-quality reading support.

Delivered through a growing network of literacy hubs, the programme will launch in three NET academies – Farringdon, Hetton and Red House – before expanding in phases to reach nine Sunderland schools over the next five years.

Targeted at students in the first three years of secondary education whose reading levels are below expected standards, the intervention integrates reading support directly with classroom learning rather than isolating it from the curriculum. 

Small-group sessions will provide daily, structured reading practice designed to build fluency, vocabulary and confidence.

Alongside this, Kepier Academy, in Houghton-le-Spring, has been awarded £181,284 to launch a primary-to-secondary transition project working with around 900 pupils from seven partner primary schools. 

The initiative places oracy and performing arts at its core, using drama, music and storytelling to help pupils build communication skills, confidence and emotional readiness ahead of secondary school.

Colin Devlin, headteacher at Kepier, added: “It’s a very rare opportunity that schools would get that level of investment with very few strings attached.

“This funding means that significantly disadvantaged learners across the city will be getting an advantage.”

Shaun Van-Lindon, assistant headteacher at Kepier, added: “It turns our dream of what we could offer learners into reality – something we simply couldn’t achieve without this support.” 

Both projects form part of SHINE’s wider commitment to invest £11 million over ten years into Sunderland’s education system, with a focus on improving long-term outcomes and life chances for young people across the region.

Fiona Spellman, chief executive of SHINE, added: “We’re proud to be supporting NET in this ambitious and innovative project.

“Their curriculum-aligned approach to reading intervention has already proven its impact, and we’re excited to see how this investment will help children in Sunderland develop the literacy skills that open doors to future success.”

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