Social enterprise to boost learning launched in Barnsley

Paul Powell set up iCAN as an educational company dedicated to supporting young people and their families through workshops, projects, summer schools and enterprise award schemes for primary and secondary schools.

It specialises in delivering tailored support for children who may be struggling with the transition from primary school to secondary school.

iCAN, which set-up six months ago, was helped to get going by SmartStart, which is provided by Barnsley Business and Innovation Centre, in partnership with Barnsley Council for business support.

Paul, who has over 20 years’ experience in teaching and most recently worked at Horizon Community College, said: “We recognise that no two children are the same. We are particularly focusing on working alongside primary schools to ensure a smooth transition into secondary school.”

Everything iCAN does is based upon a working philosophy for supporting children through four stages of development; to - inspire, create, achieve and nurture. At each level, iCAN projects challenge the child to develop different key skills.