How education, community, and inclusion intertwine to tackle poverty and homelessness

When the Secretary of State for Education addressed the National Society’s Annual Conference on the 22nd January 2026, she referred to the Church of England's education endeavour that pre‑dates state involvement in education.

It was the National Society, more than two centuries ago, that first insisted education should be universal; a right shared by all children, not the possession of a privileged few. What began as a bold act of moral conviction became a nationwide movement, and its imprint still shapes the lives of millions. Bridget Phillipson’s reflection on that history was not simply commemorative; it was a call to rediscover the courage and clarity of purpose that once placed faith communities at the forefront of social transformation.

Her speech described a generation growing up amid profound instability. Children today face a relentless digital landscape in which information is unlimited but guidance is scarce; a cost‑of‑living crisis that tightens around families; and social pressures that erode confidence and belonging. Many young people feel overwhelmed, isolated, or disengaged, and their struggles often spill into the classroom long before they find their way into formal support services. Against that backdrop, the Secretary of State's vision of schools as “calm and hopeful anchors” is not a rhetorical flourish, it is a recognition that stability, connection, and purpose are now educational essentials.

Faith‑based schools understand this instinctively. Their ethos is built on the formation of the whole person, uniting academic ambition with moral development, pastoral care, and community life. The Secretary of State's framing of an education system that combines rigour with inclusion, breadth with depth, and learning inside and outside the classroom, mirrors what Church schools have long delivered. Yet her speech also acknowledged that the challenges children face cannot be resolved through education alone. Persistent absence, poverty, food insecurity, housing uncertainty, and digital exclusion are not peripheral concerns; they shape a child’s ability to learn, participate, and thrive. Addressing these issues requires an integrated approach in which the school is central but never solitary.

That is where the wider role of faith organisations becomes indispensable. Faith groups of all sorts, and especially the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church, retain an extraordinary network of parishes, schools, community groups, volunteers, and physical spaces. In many neighbourhoods, especially those under economic strain, the church, mosque, temple, church hall or the school is one of the last remaining civic assets open to all, and often the most trusted. These places can become hubs of support where families receive advice early; before a debt problem becomes a crisis, before insecure housing tips into homelessness, before a young person slips into isolation. Faith communities can create pathways that combine learning, pastoral support, social connection, and practical help, echoing the Secretary of State’s ambition to “renew childhood” through coherent, community‑anchored systems.

Digital and cultural inclusion form another essential thread. Her observation that young people are “more online but less connected” captures a central dilemma of contemporary childhood. Without access to devices, data, and skills, and without culturally literate, trustworthy spaces in which to seek guidance children risk being left behind in a society increasingly mediated through screens. Faith‑based settings offer culturally diverse, values‑grounded environments in which digital confidence and critical literacy can be nurtured safely. They also provide opportunities for children to encounter difference with respect, broadening horizons even as the online world narrows them.

Phillipson’s wider policy framing, aligning the forthcoming schools white paper with strategies on child poverty, children’s social care, early years, and post‑16 reform signals an understanding that educational success cannot be divorced from the broader conditions of childhood. Strengthening attendance, raising attainment, improving wellbeing, and rebuilding trust in education will all depend on creating environments in which children feel safe, supported, and connected. The school may be the anchor, but it is the community that keeps the vessel steady.

Against this backdrop, the work undertaken by many of the organisations Stone King supports acquires renewed significance. Across the country, schools, dioceses, and faith‑aligned charities are striving to widen access to high‑quality education, strengthen community cohesion, mitigate the effects of poverty, and to prevent homelessness by offering early, dignified support. Others are investing in digital and cultural inclusion initiatives that help families navigate modern life with confidence. Increasingly, these efforts are joined‑up, reflecting the very coherence the Secretary of State advocated in her speech.

Stone King’s role sits quietly but purposefully alongside this work. We support clients seeking to widen access to learning, build stronger and more resilient communities, and address the structural challenges that drive poverty and homelessness. We assist organisations exploring how land and buildings can be repurposed for community benefit; advise on governance and collaboration that enables effective early‑help provision; and help clients embed digital and cultural inclusion safely within their services. Our work ensures that the values guiding these organisations are matched by legally sound, future‑proof structures capable of delivering long‑term societal impact.

By helping clients translate vision into strategy, and strategy into sustainable action, Stone King contributes to the creation of communities in which children feel they belong, families can access help early, and the opportunities unlocked by education are open to all.

In that sense, the values that shaped the origins of universal education continue to animate the work being done today: fairness, dignity, connection, and the flourishing of every child. Standing alongside organisations committed to these aims, we are proud to help strengthen the conditions of childhood for the class of 2040 and beyond, ensuring that hope, stability, and opportunity remain within every child’s reach.

You can read the Secretary of State for Education, Bridget Phillipson’s full speech on the UK Government website.