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Step Up Network

The grassroots network turned community interest company and social enterprise empowering educators to make the step up they wish to make.

Leading education organisation named in the top 100 social enterprises in the UK.

Step Up Network CIC has been named in NatWest’s SE100 2024 list despite only operating for just over one year.

The newly awarded organisation, which started as a grassroots unregistered network and is now a community interest company (CIC), set out to empower educators to make the step up that they wish to make. Since it’s launch in June 2023, the organisation has organised over seven events, curated much digital content through social media and its website, as well as building links with over 20 organisations. This has been achieved through the work of volunteers and limited funding.

The SE100 Index and Social Business Awards is run by NatWest & Pioneers Post every year to name, celebrate and learn from the UK’s 100 most impressive social enterprises. This year’s SE100 Top 100 includes businesses and trading charities from across the UK delivering a diverse range of goods and services, from jobs and training to books, bread, period products, cycling and clean energy. The list was selected according to a number of different criteria to reflect both business and impact issues – including financial performance, how thoroughly they measured and managed their impact, and their commitment to both climate issues and to taking positive action on equality and diversity. The NatWest SE100 Index was created by Pioneers Post in partnership with NatWest Social & Community Capital, the bank’s independent social investment charity.

Ben Hobbis, founder, chair and executive director of Step Up is delighted with the result, “If you’d have told me 12 months ago that we would have been named amongst the 100 top social enterprises in the UK, I would have thought you were lying!”, he went on to say “I am so pleased with the progress of the organisation and the impact we have had. Our impact report, which is in its final stages of publication, will showcase this. I must thank everyone who has been involved with the network is some capacity as this would not be possible without them.”

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Notes for editors:

The NatWest SE100 2024 List was published on Friday 12^th July 2024, with the awards taking place in London on Tuesday 16^th July 2024 in Bishopsgate, London. You can read the full list here: https://immersives.pioneerspost.com/SE100-2023/index.html