The country's most vulnerable children have overwhelmingly poor educational and life-outcomes, with disastrous consequences for themselves and society. Many of these children are excluded from school.

Children excluded from school are:

• 14 times more likely to have had contact with social services
• 5 times more likely to have been born in poverty
• 5 times more likely to be struggling with special educational needs
• 20 times more likely to experience mental health challenges

The Difference exists to improve the life-outcomes of the most vulnerable children by raising the status and expertise of those who educate them.

In 2017, The Difference founder Kiran Gill published a groundbreaking report with think-tank IPPR that shed light on school exclusions as a social justice issue.

The report showed that England’s most vulnerable children are disproportionately affected by exclusions. All too often, these children miss out on a quality education.

The Difference was founded to change this story - through work in three key areas.

• People - inspiring the best teachers through The Difference Leadership programme
• Practice - sharing best practice across mainstream and alternative provision senior leaders
• Policy - informing local and national policy to improve outcomes for vulnerable children

Big Change was one of The Difference’s early funders, giving leader Kiran Gill the time and space to strategise and build visibility around the need to change the story on school exclusions.

Since being funded by Big Change, The Difference has:

• partnered with over 270 schools
• trained more than 400 school leaders through its flagship programmes - The Difference Leadership Programme and The Inclusive Leadership Course
• impacted over 200,000 students

Their work has been recognised by Sky News, the Economist and The Guardian.

Yasmin is one of the leaders trained by The Difference. She teaches science in an Alternative Provision school. Her students have been excluded from mainstream schools, putting them at real risk of falling out of education altogether. Here's what Yasmin’s students had to say about the difference she has made.

Founder of The Difference, Kiran Gill began her career in inner-city London, as an English teacher in schools serving the most deprived postcodes in the country. After five years on the frontline, Kiran left to work in education policy, searching for solutions to the rising number of vulnerable children who fall through the gaps. Kiran was working at the Social Mobility Commission when she conceived the idea for The Difference. She has led its work full-time since January 2017.

Kiran is driven by her own family experiences. Growing up with two adopted sisters, Kiran witnessed the long-term effects of childhood trauma and the lack of support for young people with complex needs. This insight is what keeps Kiran striving for the most vulnerable children to get the education they deserve.