10 Years of Right to Succeed: Partnership, Place and the Work Ahead

At Right to Succeed, we believe lasting change happens when communities, schools, services and funders align around a shared purpose and commit to long-term, place-based working.

On Thursday, 12 February 2026, we celebrated ten years of this work at UBS in London. The event brought together trustees, partners, funders and colleagues to reflect on what has been achieved and, importantly, what remains to be done.

A decade built on partnership

Suzanne McCarthy, Chair of Trustees, opened by reflecting on the organisation’s journey from an early concept to a national charity working across multiple regions. Her remarks focused not only on growth, but on the relationships that have sustained that growth.

Graeme Duncan, CEO, followed by recognising the schools, community organisations, local authorities and funders who have made the work possible. Over the past ten years, impact has come not from isolated programmes, but from sustained collaboration from partners choosing to work differently and align their efforts over time.

Sarah Payne, Head of Social Impact and Philanthropy, UK at UBS Optimus Foundation, emphasised the importance of long-term investment and shared ambition in tackling entrenched inequality, reinforcing the principle that meaningful systems change requires both patience and partnership.

What place-based change looks like in practice

The evening also focused on programme impact.

Paul Webb, Strategic Lead – Youth and Participation at Norfolk County Council and RtS Trustee, shared reflections from Central Great Yarmouth. He described how aligning schools, voluntary organisations and statutory services around shared priorities has strengthened coordination and improved outcomes for children and young people. His reflections illustrated how place-based working creates the conditions for coherent local action rather than fragmented delivery.

Professor Jessie Ricketts from Royal Holloway, University of London, then outlined the design and impact of the Blackpool Key Stage 3 Literacy Project, now embedded in more than 50 secondary and primary schools.

Her presentation highlighted the scale of reading need at secondary level and the importance of structured professional development, shared frameworks and diagnostic assessment. Schools have strengthened their use of data, improved decision-making and built internal capacity.

The programme has contributed not only to individual pupil progress, but to system-level shifts in how literacy is understood and addressed.

The evidence reinforces a key lesson from the past decade: sustainable improvement requires infrastructure, alignment and long-term commitment.

Evidence of social and economic value

In May 2024, we published Reading the Future, a commissioned report by Pro Bono Economics examining the impact of our Key Stage 3 literacy programmes in Blackpool and North Birkenhead.

The report estimated that the programmes generated between £1.6 million and £9.2 million in increased lifetime earnings for participating pupils between 2018 and 2023, from a total running cost investment of £0.53 million across both areas.

At a time of fiscal constraint and competing pressures on public spending, this evidence matters. It demonstrates that investing in literacy and in coordinated local partnerships produces measurable social and economic returns.

Strengthening the model for the next phase

Over the past year, we have continued to refine and expand our approach.

A Cradle to Career discovery programme has launched in Speke, Merseyside, and discussions are underway for expansion in the West Midlands. Existing workstreams in Blackpool, Norfolk, Greater Manchester and the Liverpool City Region continue to evolve, shaped by local leadership and sustained collaboration.

Across each area, the emphasis remains consistent: align partners, clarify outcomes, strengthen local capacity and maintain focus over time.

Why this work remains urgent

We marked this anniversary in the context of significant national challenge.

In early 2025, 4.5 million children were living in poverty across the UK, with 31% of children and young people experiencing relative poverty during 2024/25. The ongoing effects of the two-child limit and the wider cost of living crisis continue to shape family life in many of the communities we work alongside.

At the same time, schools and local authorities are operating within constrained resources while managing rising need. Systems are stretched. Inequality persists.

These conditions underscore why place-based, partnership-led approaches are necessary. When services operate in isolation, effort fragments. When organisations align around shared goals and shared accountability, the potential for meaningful change increases.

Looking ahead

Ten years on, we are proud of the partnerships that have been built and the progress that has been made. We are also clear that the work is unfinished.

The past decade has reinforced several core lessons: that place-based approaches can influence systems; that evidence-informed practice strengthens credibility and impact; that long-term collaboration is essential; and that communities must have agency in shaping solutions that affect them.

As we enter our second decade, the focus remains unchanged: working alongside communities, strengthening local capacity and sustaining collective effort so that every child, in every place, has the opportunity to succeed.

We will continue to share more as this next chapter unfolds.

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