Our History
How MEaP came to pass
MEaP has come a long way, from a passionate discussion to a lifelong commitment,, changing the lives of 1000s of underrepresented young people and adults.
The 2013 founding conference
The Making Education a Priority (MEaP) initiative stems from a foundational community conference hosted in 2013 that directly inspired and laid the groundwork for the organisation.
Core themes included discussions centered on culture, identity, community, and governance. Contributions focused on defining practical pathways to social justice within local education. During workshops, participants explored alternative education models, including free schools, co-operative schools, studio schools, supplementary schools, and arts-led special schools. Sessions treated alternative education as a form of protest, showing what critical pedagogy looks like in real-world community settings.
History timeline 2013-2016 Supplementary Schools
2013, the founding of the MEaP consortium of Supplementary Schools
Following the foundational conference, Making Education a Priority (MEaP) was officially founded in 2013 as a registered consortium of African and African Caribbean-led educational organisations. MEaP launched as a formalised partnership to address BME (Black and Minority Ethnic) social exclusion through targeted supplementary schooling. The original consortium brought together established grassroots providers across Greater Manchester, including Highway Hope and Grace Incorporation Faith Trust (G.I.F.T.) Academy and later on Nurturing Foundations.
Collective supplementary provision: Twilight Academy
This era is also known as the face-to-face era, as initial tuition began physically on-site at Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU). The MEaP consortium launched their collective supplementary provision, named Twilight Academy, running evening sessions from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm (hence the name Twilight).
Elevating the standard of Community Led-Teaching
Between 2013 and 2016, MEaP focused on building infrastructure and elevating the standard of community-led teaching through MEaP’s teacher training. In collaboration with MMU, they co-developed a specialised Postgraduate Certificate (PG Cert) in Teaching and Learning tailored specifically for supplementary school teachers to build a formal “Black-led pedagogy”.
Read more about this on:
History timeline: 2016-2019
2016: First Symposium
On 2 April 2016, MEaP hosted its first formal academic symposium in partnership with MMU. This event publicly bridged the gap between community activism and university research, deeply analysing the systemic role of supplementary education in BAME communities. Around this time, MEaP established its research and advocacy branch, MaCTRI (Manchester Community Central Research Team Initiative), to handle academic publications and policy influence.
2019: Higher Accreditation Distinction
In June 2019, MEaP achieved a major landmark by MEaP becoming the first supplementary school network in Greater Manchester to receive the Manchester City Council’s Higher Level Accreditation Award, validating their quality standards.
History: 2020-2023 Evolving Supplementary Provision
2020: The Online Transition
With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, MEaP permanently adapted its Twilight Academy model into a fully blended, online learning platform. This expanded their reach all year round for GCSE and A-Level preparation while reserving face-to-face setups for seasonal and holiday intensives. This provision allowed MEaP to offer
2022: Scaling to the Manchester Supplementary Schools Partnership (MSSP)
On 27 September 2022, MEaP scaled its original framework by launching the Manchester Supplementary Schools Partnership (MSSP). Supported by groups like Young Manchester and the NRCSE, this expanded the network from the core founders to 16 participating supplementary schools across the city to share resources and best practices.
2023: Global Academic Expansion & Pilot Programmes
MEaP’s research and policy arm, MaCTRI, expanded outside of the UK into international research by forging a strategic academic partnership with the University of Namibia and later on with two universities in Brasil.
Twilight Academy introduced focused specialised learning through pilot programmes, including a specialised English as an Additional Language (EAL) curriculum.
In October, the MSSP network partnered with Cookson First Aid to upskill nearly 40 supplementary school leaders across Manchester.
- https://meap.org.uk/impact/
- https://twilightacademy.org.uk/about/
- https://meap.org.uk/meap-10-years-in-the-making/
- https://twilightacademy.org.uk/year-end-round-up-2023/
- https://meap.org.uk/category/twilight-academy/twilight-academy-projects/
- Manchester Supplementary Schools Partnership Launch
- https://meap.org.uk/news-events/
History timeline: 2024-Now
Crisis Response & Employability Focus
While MEaP always included some form of employability teaching, from 2024, there is a clearer and bigger focus on socio-economic interventions, including 2026 greater young people initiatives in response to the government recognition and help. In response to local challenges, MEaP introduced dedicated employability and digital skills training courses—such as TECHWELL—to support young people and community adults navigating the cost-of-living crisis and the rise of AI.
MEaP established a formal work experience pipeline offering placement and university internship and volunteering opportunities specifically for Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) students (which started a couple or so years before but was reinforced from 2024) and later on The University of Manchester (through e.g.. the Manchester Enterprise Challenge). The placements also extended to non university
Twilight Academy Upgrades: In August 2025, the organisation launched a dedicated, standalone digital portal for the MEaP Twilight Academy to manage its ongoing blended learning curriculum at https://twilightacademy.org.uk/.
2025-2026: Strategic reorganisation
Early 2026, MEaP completed a strategic overhaul and launched its new Strategic MEaP Website, acknowledging its educational focus areas from only supplementary education to 5 core strategic pillars (Employabillity, Supplementary Education, Complementary/Alternative Education, Research & Advocacy, Community Reach & Support). The website also integrated visual data tracking for its Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) ensuring its impact is transparent for both its community and its partner, existing and potential.
2026: “It Takes a Village” summit and shared action roadmap
Also in April, the core partners convened for a series of high-level alignment meetings. This culminated in a Shared Action Plan running through December 2026, unifying the consortium’s funding strategies and data-collection templates.Employability & Recognition: In July, MEaP teamed up with the Breakout Charity to host the Future Focus 3-Day Youth Event for 16-24 year olds. Later in the year, they opened nominations for the Manchester Supplementary School Achievement Awards, celebrating grassroots staff and volunteers across the city.
https://meap.org.uk/category/twilight-academy/twilight-academy-projects/
It Takes a village, MeaP partnership strengthening summit
2026: MaCTRI becomes its own organisation
Once MEaP’s research branch, MaCTRI has now become it own CIO, with Dr Ornette D. Clennon remaining the head of the institute. The institute also offers higher education degrees.