Lord John Nash | Founder of Future Academies
This is the blog of Lord John Nash, schools minister from 2013 to 2017 and co-founder of the charity Future. This blog will explore various topics close to Lord Nash’s heart, including breaking the cycle of youth unemployment, how Future Academies is enriching education, campaigns run by the Social Mobility Foundation, the importance of extracurricular activities, how to fix the civil service, and a proposed amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.
Youth Support and Education
In the UK, youth unemployment is rising steeply, and there are various factors behind this, including a difficult-to-access job market and feelings of hopelessness among young job seekers. The charity OnSide, which is supported by Future, is trying to turn this situation around with Youth Zones that give young people a safe space in which to learn new skills, have fun and access opportunities.
Future Academies puts the concept of educational enrichment at the core of its offer alongside a knowledge-rich, rigorous curriculum. The charity believes that enrichment should be a vital element of a well-rounded education, rather than an optional extra. Through a wide range of experiences, Future Academies aims to foster independence, inspire ambition and develop the whole person.
Civil Service Reform
When it comes to fixing the civil service, radical change may be required. A paper published in July 2024 by the Institute for Government set out several tangible actions that are needed, including improving the way the Civil Service’s workforce is managed and ensuring the service values and retains diverse experience and talent.
Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill
In June 2025, Lord Nash proposed an amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which sought to ban access to social media for young people under the age of 16. For Lord John Nash, this would be a vital means of enhancing the wellbeing of the nine million school children currently in the UK.
Social Mobility
The Social Mobility Foundation – a charity also supported by Future – campaigns on structural social mobility issues and is on a mission to amplify the voices of young people from lower socio-economic backgrounds. One of the organisation’s current campaigns centres on the class pay gap, which is about the importance of everyone being fairly rewarded for their work, no matter their background.
For Lord Nash, extracurricular activities and careers support are of particular interest, and this is an area in which Future Academies is especially strong. As well as helping young people develop new skills, explore their interests and meet new people, they also boost CVs and even promote better mental health.