* Direct, "permanent" links with specific schools
* One-off assistance to a school, a Borough-led scheme or a joint Livery enterprise
* Help to particular schools, individual pupils, or groups of either, by individuals associated with a Livery Company

The first is a corporate action of support by a Livery Company generally operated on its behalf through an on-going relationship between an individual Liveryman and the Headteacher. The former may become a governor. Such links may involve some financial support and generally develop into a number of individual forms of support by Livery Company members, e.g. mentoring, and/or by the Company through an Education Committee. An example of how this may operate will be found at Case Study 5 (under Activities > Support in Practice (Case Studies)). Many of these relationships are long-term, effectively permanent, arrangements.

By contrast, the second form of assistance relates to one-off financial or in-kind help over a specific project, but perhaps repeated over more than one year. Help may be for buildings, equipment, courses, extra-curricular activity (for example visits) or for any number of the myriad school needs and potential pupil benefits, identified by Headteachers and others.

The third and growing form of support comes through the voluntary help given by individual members of Livery Companies and takes the form, for example, of governorships, seminar and workshop facilitators, pupil mentors, deliverers of talks, providers of leadership courses and offers of work experience in their own business environment. Notable examples of the contributions made by such Livery volunteers are described in Support in Practice > Case Studies, the most recent being in Camden (Primary Enterprise) and in Hackney ('Money Matters').

Livery Schools Link is now actively building up a Central Register of individual Livery men and women willing, in principle, to offer their services in support of schools. From this list, LSL is now able to meet a growing number of requests for volunteers from the organisers of one-day courses, one-off projects spread over a school term, and the like.

Livery Schools Link is not, however, wedded to any particular forms of support. Our mission of enhancing pupil experience can be achieved in many ways; none is precluded and none given preference over another by us the broker. As broker (About Us - Background) we seek to match offers and needs in the manner chosen as most appropriate by those to be involved.