Dana Strong, Group Chief Executive
We want to use our technology, creativity and skills to help people of all ages and backgrounds succeed.
for societal impact
In 2023 we invested
of this was invested directly into our communities
At Sky, we Believe in Better. We’re mobilising our products, platform and people to level the playing field for disadvantaged groups and create new opportunities for people to shine. We’re championing digital equity, advancing inclusivity and respecting human rights in our business, our communities and the wider world.
Helping People Fulfil Their Potential
SOCIAL IMPACT UPDATE 2023
DIGITAL
EQUITY
RAISING
ASPIRATIONS
ADVANCING
INCLUSIVITY
CREATING
INCLUSIVITY
RESPECTING HUMAN RIGHTS
SUPPORTING
OUR COMMUNITIES
Sky is a proud signatory of the Care Leaver Covenant. With 80,000 care leavers in the UK and a third (26,000) becoming homeless within three years of leaving the system, we work closely with social impact agency Spectra to deliver initiatives specifically targeted to help care experienced young people between the ages of 18-25 to live independently.
In 2023, Sky Up provided 150 care experienced young people with technology, connectivity and events that focus on life skills. Thanks to the Sky Up programme, 62% of care leavers surveyed had more ideas about what they wanted to do in the future and 76% felt they had boosted their employability skills. Technology and connectivity provided by Sky helped 48% of care leavers surveyed to do online training and 38% to get a job or apprenticeship.
Unlocking opportunities for care experienced young people
"Sky have demonstrated a concrete and enduring commitment to supporting care leavers – one of the most vulnerable and underserved youth groups in the UK."
Spectra
In March 2023, Sky Up established a Hub at the London LGBTQ+ Centre, providing free broadband and tech to around 200 users.
Among other essential services, Hub users have had access to LGBT Hero’s online voter registration scheme. New voter ID requirements have created problems for the LGBTQ+ community who are more likely to have changed their name or appearance, or not to be able to access original documents because they are estranged from their family.
Tackling inequality with free broadband
We’re making sure that their current ID matches what we're putting on the electoral roll, [if not, we] sign them up for a Voter Authority Certificate. We rely massively on free Wi-Fi services."
London LGBTQ+ Centre
Learn more about our Hubs for under 25s
Learn more about our Hubs for over 65s
HEAR FROM OUR BENEFICIARIES
Attending the Sky Up Hub in partnership with Cardiff Youth Service gave me access to a job opportunity at Sky I would not have had the knowledge of, or confidence to apply to."
Owen, Sky Up Hub beneficiary and now Sky employee
don’t have broadband
at home
feel more confident using the internet
have learned new skills and are
keen to learn more
feel more connected to
friends and family
OUR IMPACT ON BENEFICIARIES
ITALY
CAF Milan
La Strada
x
UK & IRELAND
Limerick Youth Service
x
Hideaway 77 Youth Café
The Furry Youth Café
x
ARK at Egwood CIC
x
London (North)
Sebby's Corner
Young Brent Foundation
London (East)
Badu
Gratitude
Mile End Community Project
Teviot Centre
London (South)
Lambeth Council Resident Engagement
Mentivity
The Sloth Club
London (West)
Acacia Community Centre
Age UK Westminster
London LGBTQ+ Centre
Solidarity Sports
Southall Community Alliance
The Bridgelink Centre
The Pepper Pot Centre
WEST Youth Zone
x
Swansea MAD
x
Youth Cymru
x
Butetown Community Association
Cardiff Youth Services (4 Hubs)
Senghenydd Youth Drop In
Tredegar Scouts
x
Go Woman Alliance
Holbrooks Community Care
Joining Communities Together
Shree Mandhata Samaj Coventry Community Centre
x
Age UK Stockport
Bury Digital Inclusion
Community Computers
Creative Living Centre
Healthy Me Healthy Communities
Mustard Tree
Rochdale Circle
Salford Foundation (The Shed)
The Brick
Topping Fold
x
Age UK Leeds
Burmantofts (BSA) Leeds
LS-TEN
Braithwell and Micklebring
x
Age UK Gateshead
Sunderland Connect
x
Spark Livingston
x
Active Communities
Golden Generation Glasgow (3 Hubs)
Jewish Care Scotland
x
WHERE WE'RE HELPING
Almost 3,000 users benefited from digital support
More than 7,000 devices used free Sky Broadband
Opened 55 new Hubs - taking
our total to 70
SKY UP IN 2023
Sky Up Hubs
ACCESS: GETTING EVERYONE ONLINE
Hear from Brandon and Derin about where their Sky Up Academy Studios experience took them.
Derin Adetosoye
Formula E presenter
x
Brandon Okeke
VR Engineer
x
of students reported that the experience improved their media literacy skills
said it improved their teamworking skills
of teachers said the experience was effective in developing students’ confidence
said it is effective at raising student aspirations
2023
In 11 years, we have reached almost 300,000 young people through our immersive studio experiences, including more than 26,000 in 2023 alone. In 2024, we’re excited to be opening brand-new programmes in Ireland and at Sky Studios Elstree.
Sky Up Academy Studios
Sky Up Academy Studios inspires young people with a new sense of what they can do, and who they can be. Our expert team support students to create their very own news reports and short story trailers in our state-of-the-art studios and immersive experiences across the UK and Europe, teaching them the skills they need to thrive in a digital world.
But don’t just take our word for it...
2023'S RECORD BREAKING AUDIENCES
"The MBA was truly a life-changing experience…We were taught by industry-leading academics, helping me to develop my understanding of the football industry and the course also provided me with very useful networks that I’ve been able to take advantage of. I have applied the knowledge obtained on the course in my current role at Grant Thornton, especially to our sports clients as I am now able to better understand their needs."
Yusuf Molade, MBA Graduate
OUR 2023 HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE
In partnership with Kick It Out, we continued to fund four Football Industries MBA scholarships at the University of Liverpool Management School to support a more diverse talent pipeline.
Through our partnership with Sir Lewis Hamilton’s charitable foundation, Mission 44, we supported the launch of Coram’s School Exclusions Hub, the UK’s largest online resource covering aspects of school exclusions. The hub gives professionals, charities and community organisations the vital information they need to understand and challenge the exclusion process.
Championing women’s sport
Hear more about the Football Industries MBA.
more hours watched by viewers for the Women’s Ashes Series vs 2019
Record Peak Pay TV audience for the Women’s Super League (WSL)
Record Peak Pay TV audience for the Solheim Cup
increase in viewers of the Women’s Final at the 2023 US Open vs 2015
Our activity in 2023 included:
Self-ID: 77% of our people in the UK and Ireland have disclosed disability-related personal information, 8.8% of which have told us they have a disability, neurodivergence or other condition. We’re working to ensure that the terminology we use resonates and accurately represents our employees’ experiences.
Ambition: We’re reforming and streamlining our approach to workplace adjustments to deliver a better process for our people. We’re also creating a development programme targeted at employees with disabilities.
Training: We upskilled all our recruiters on disability confidence and in 2024, our first round of digital learning modules will be launched. We’re also developing modules on neurodiversity and increasing awareness and capability amongst managers.
ERG: We’re providing our Disability Community with specialist third-party strategic development support. And our Disability and Neurodiversity Communities are getting their own executive sponsors separate to the Body and Mind employee resource group (ERG) they sit within.
Digital accessibility: We're developing frameworks and controls to ensure digital accessibility is built in from start to finish, for example, integrating tests for accessibility within our testing pipelines.
Our commitment to the Valuable 500
In 2022, we said we would regularly update our progress on five key initiatives as part of our ongoing partnership with the Valuable 500, a global business collective of 500 CEOs and their companies, all working towards greater disability inclusion.
Accelerate Your Career
Kick-started at the end of 2022, our new progression programme for underrepresented employees, Accelerate Your Career, saw more than 500 employees taking part across two phases in 2023.
By boosting confidence and providing opportunities for reskilling and upskilling, we’ve seen a clear increase in progression rates for those on the programme compared with employees not on the programme. We’ve also seen a higher percentage of employees that have been through the programme moving into new roles. And we know attendees would recommend the programme to others, having given it a net promoter score (NPS) of 86.
"The programme helped me open up to new ideas and have different ways of thinking. There were some clear tactical actions I picked up to help me widen and broaden my mindset. "
Sky employee
Our latest Gender Pay Gap Report is also available on our Reports and Policies page. Across the rest of the Sky Group, the regulations around collection and disclosure of diversity data are different but our commitment to diversity is the same.
2023
Ethnic Minority Employees
2023
Women at Senior Level
Representation targets
ACCESS: GETTING EVERYONE ONLINE
We continuously evolve our approach to promoting respect for human rights, put in place measures to prevent and remedy any problems and collaborate for sustained change.
In 2023 we:
Implemented new risk assessment and governance processes
Trained our internal teams and suppliers on prevention and mitigation of human rights risks
Carried out over 130 Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) audits
Commissioned third-party worker surveys with partners to support improvements
Undertook over 50 factory visits incorporating formal audits and follow ups
Ran human rights reviews on our productions across different genres
Participated in the development of new research and tools that you can read about in the TV Industry Human Rights Forum Impact Report
Completed our collaborative project to protect labour rights during the construction of Sky Studios Elstree and shared our learnings
Watch Miriam Walker-Khan, D&I Reporter, Sky Sports News speak at the Sporting Chance Forum as part of our role as a founding Advisory Council Member of the Centre for Sport and Human Rights.
Derin Adetosoye
Formula E presenter
x
For more information about our impact work, including the initiatives mentioned in this update, please see the Comcast Impact Report and our Sky Impact website.
"Being able to match a learner with the same volunteer throughout the five weeks is important because it's about building up the trust and that rapport between them. "
Age Action
"I loved the opportunity to volunteer and help others develop much needed skills in this day and age. I got on really well with the person I tutored and felt so fulfilled by the end of our sessions."
Sky volunteer
Enabling inclusive sport in Berlin
In 2023, the Special Olympics World Games took place in Berlin. Sky broadcast more than 30 hours of coverage and had 50 volunteers from multiple Sky offices support the event. Sky Deutschland has a long-standing partnership with the Special Olympics, one of the world’s largest inclusive sporting events with almost 7,000 athletes from 170 countries competing in 24 sports.
Enhancing digital skills in Dublin
Alongside long-standing charity partner Age Action, Sky supported the Getting Started programme. The programme provides free, one-to-one, volunteer-led training in digital literacy. After completing initial training, 21 Sky volunteers were paired up with the same learner for five consecutive weekly digital sessions held at Sky’s offices in central Dublin. As a result of the training, learners felt more confident to use their digital devices and go online.
Planting trees in Milan
50 Sky Italia volunteers planted 700 trees at the local Parco Porto di Mare, bringing the total planted over the past three years to 2,700. To celebrate, the team hosted Alessandro Gassmann, a famous Italian actor and environmental activist.
Hear more from some of our partners and volunteers about their experience with Sky Cares.
It’s not only our communities that benefit from these programmes but our people too. 93% of employees who took part said volunteering had a positive impact on their sense of achievement, purpose, happiness and wellbeing. 75% felt their self-confidence had improved and 94% said they felt more connected to others.
2023 volunteering
Across Europe, all Sky employees can give back to our local communities for up to two days a year on company time through our volunteering programme, Sky Cares. Employees can also apply for match funding from Sky and payroll giving to support their chosen charities. Sky Cares works with over 70 charity partnerships, focusing on three key areas that align with our plans to inspire positive change for the planet, enhance digital skills through Sky Up, and lift loneliness in the way only our incredible customer service teams can. We’re proud to have committed to volunteer 250,000 hours by 2025. To date, we have volunteered around 216,000 hours, 86% of the way towards our target.
Learn more about our Hubs for under 25s
x
Learn more about our Hubs for over 65s
x
x
"Everyone in my school loved the week. All the staff were pleasantly surprised with how detailed, informative and easy to follow the resources were to use."
Owen, Sky Up Hub beneficiary and now Sky employee
""
Teacher
In June 2023, we ran our second annual Access All Arts week, a nationwide arts initiative for primary schools developed in partnership with teachers and arts organisations. Our free, ready to teach resources cover ten different artforms – everything from poetry and storytelling to singing and drama – and are available all year round.
97% of teachers who took part said the week had a positive impact on their pupils, helping build their confidence and develop skills as well as improving arts literacy. 88% of teachers said the week had given their school more support and resources to draw upon for teaching the arts.
schools across the UK and Ireland registered to take part
children took part across the week
teachers registered
Access All Arts week
The Edit
Every year, we reach even more young people thanks to The Edit, our digital storytelling challenge delivered in partnership with Adobe. Since its launch in 2020, we have reached almost 137,000 students across the UK, Ireland and Italy.
In Italy, The Edit has received an official declaration of support from the Minister of Sport and Youth and the Minister of Education.
Watch how we bring The Edit to life.
81% of students said the experience helped them come up with new ideas, think more creatively and find solutions to problems
Over 80% of students and teachers surveyed agreed that The Edit helped with communication and collaboration skills
In 2023, almost 44,000 students from around 600 schools took part in The Edit; 50% of schools were from underserved communities
of students said the visit helped improve their confidence and over 80% felt that it improved their understanding of careers in the media industry
of teachers reported the sessions were effective in improving collaboration, communication and digital literacy skills, as well as raising student’s aspirations
Sky Up Academy Studios On Tour
In 2023, we delivered the penultimate year of our On Tour programme, the same immersive experience as our studios, transported across the UK and Ireland in specialised electric vehicles kitted out with broadcast equipment. Last year, we engaged almost 32,000 students across more than 30 different schools.
DIGITAL
EQUITY
RAISING
ASPIRATIONS
ADVANCING
INCLUSIVITY
CREATING
INCLUSIVITY
RESPECTING HUMAN RIGHTS
SUPPORTING
OUR COMMUNITIES
Click on each of our programmes to find out more
Peter McVerry Trust
x
The Edge Hub
x
Ability Net
x
Letterkenny Youth & Family Service
x
Young Adult respite Service C.I.C.
Onward - Bosco Court
Open 360
x
Onward - Merlin Court
Onward - Spinningfields
x
CoAction West Cork
x
Three13
x
Buckinghamshire Community Space
x
DIGITAL
EQUITY
RAISING
ASPIRATIONS
ADVANCING
INCLUSIVITY
CREATING
INCLUSIVITY
RESPECTING HUMAN RIGHTS
SUPPORTING
OUR COMMUNITIES
Our Sky Up Hubs programme helps to bridge the digital divide in our most underserved communities across the UK, Ireland and Italy. The programme focuses on under 25s and over 65s who are most at risk of digital exclusion, providing access to reliable internet connections, tech equipment, volunteer support and bespoke events.
At Sky, we’re committed to promoting racial equality and driving inclusion, helping promote opportunities to succeed for people at risk of exclusion.
As the UK’s leading investor in women’s sports rights, we’re immensely proud to be consistently driving growth for women’s sport. We showed more hours of women’s sport in 2023 than all other broadcasters put together and are committed to growing audiences across Sky’s platforms, meeting the new fans where they are to elevate women’s sport across our portfolio.
Hear from our students and teachers.
CSA Settebagni APS
x
By 2025, we have a goal that 20% of our people in the UK and Ireland will be from Black, Asian or other ethnic minority backgrounds with 5% of that figure coming from black communities. We’re making progress and are on track to meet our commitment. We also have a goal of reaching 50% gender split. Black representation at all levels increased from 4.7% in January 2023 to 4.9% in December 2023; ethnic minority representation increased from 18.8% to 20.5%; female representation overall decreased from 37.1% to 36.8% but increased among senior leadership from 37.6% to 37.8%.
"It exceeded our expectations massively, I felt like everybody who was involved in it went away with more confidence than when they started."
Teacher
Owen, Sky Up Hub beneficiary and now Sky employee
DIGITAL
EQUITY
RAISING
ASPIRATIONS
ADVANCING
INCLUSIVITY
CREATING
INCLUSIVITY
RESPECTING HUMAN RIGHTS
SUPPORTING
OUR COMMUNITIES
Dana Strong, Group Chief Executive
We want to use our technology, creativity and skills to help people of all ages and backgrounds succeed.
for societal impact
In 2023 we invested
of this was invested directly into our communities
At Sky, we Believe in Better. We’re mobilising our products, platform and people to level the playing field for disadvantaged groups and create new opportunities for people to shine. We’re championing digital equity, advancing inclusivity and respecting human rights in our business, our communities and the wider world.
Helping People Fulfil Their Potential
SOCIAL IMPACT UPDATE 2023
We continuously evolve our approach to promoting respect for human rights, put in place measures to prevent and remedy any problems and collaborate for sustained change.
In 2023 we:
Implemented new risk assessment and governance processes
Trained our internal teams and suppliers on prevention and mitigation of human rights risks
Carried out over 130 Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) audits
Commissioned third-party worker surveys with partners to support improvements
Undertook over 50 factory visits incorporating formal audits and follow ups
Ran human rights reviews on our productions across different genres
Participated in the development of new research and tools that you can read about in the TV Industry Human Rights Forum Impact Report
Completed our collaborative project to protect labour rights during the construction of Sky Studios Elstree and shared our learnings
Watch Miriam Walker-Khan, D&I Reporter, Sky Sports News speak at the Sporting Chance Forum as part of our role as a founding Advisory Council Member of the Centre for Sport and Human Rights.
Derin Adetosoye
Formula E presenter
x
DIGITAL
EQUITY
RAISING
ASPIRATIONS
ADVANCING
INCLUSIVITY
CREATING
INCLUSIVITY
RESPECTING HUMAN RIGHTS
SUPPORTING
OUR COMMUNITIES
more hours watched by viewers for the Women’s Ashes Series vs 2019
Record Peak Pay TV audience for the Women’s Super League (WSL)
Record Peak Pay TV audience for the Solheim Cup
increase in viewers of the Women’s Final at the 2023 US Open vs 2015
2023'S RECORD BREAKING AUDIENCES
Championing women’s sport
As the UK’s leading investor in women’s sports rights, we’re immensely proud to be consistently driving growth for women’s sport. We showed more hours of women’s sport in 2023 than all other broadcasters put together and are committed to growing audiences across Sky’s platforms, meeting the new fans where they are to elevate women’s sport across our portfolio.
Hear more about the Football Industries MBA.
"The MBA was truly a life-changing experience…We were taught by industry-leading academics, helping me to develop my understanding of the football industry and the course also provided me with very useful networks that I’ve been able to take advantage of. I have applied the knowledge obtained on the course in my current role at Grant Thornton, especially to our sports clients as I am now able to better understand their needs."
Yusuf Molade, MBA Graduate
OUR 2023 HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE
In partnership with Kick It Out, we continued to fund four Football Industries MBA scholarships at the University of Liverpool Management School to support a more diverse talent pipeline.
Through our partnership with Sir Lewis Hamilton’s charitable foundation, Mission 44, we supported the launch of Coram’s School Exclusions Hub, the UK’s largest online resource covering aspects of school exclusions. The hub gives professionals, charities and community organisations the vital information they need to understand and challenge the exclusion process.
At Sky, we’re committed to promoting racial equality and driving inclusion, helping promote opportunities to succeed for people at risk of exclusion.
Our activity in 2023 included:
Self-ID: 77% of our people in the UK and Ireland have disclosed disability-related personal information, 8.8% of which have told us they have a disability, neurodivergence or other condition. We’re working to ensure that the terminology we use resonates and accurately represents our employees’ experiences.
Ambition: We’re reforming and streamlining our approach to workplace adjustments to deliver a better process for our people. We’re also creating a development programme targeted at employees with disabilities.
Training: We upskilled all our recruiters on disability confidence and in 2024, our first round of digital learning modules will be launched. We’re also developing modules on neurodiversity and increasing awareness and capability amongst managers.
ERG: We’re providing our Disability Community with specialist third-party strategic development support. And our Disability and Neurodiversity Communities are getting their own executive sponsors separate to the Body and Mind employee resource group (ERG) they sit within.
Digital accessibility: We're developing frameworks and controls to ensure digital accessibility is built in from start to finish, for example, integrating tests for accessibility within our testing pipelines.
Our commitment to the Valuable 500
In 2022, we said we would regularly update our progress on five key initiatives as part of our ongoing partnership with the Valuable 500, a global business collective of 500 CEOs and their companies, all working towards greater disability inclusion.
Accelerate Your Career
Kick-started at the end of 2022, our new progression programme for underrepresented employees, Accelerate Your Career, saw more than 500 employees taking part across two phases in 2023.
By boosting confidence and providing opportunities for reskilling and upskilling, we’ve seen a clear increase in progression rates for those on the programme compared with employees not on the programme. We’ve also seen a higher percentage of employees that have been through the programme moving into new roles. And we know attendees would recommend the programme to others, having given it a net promoter score (NPS) of 86.
"The programme helped me open up to new ideas and have different ways of thinking. There were some clear tactical actions I picked up to help me widen and broaden my mindset. "
Sky employee
Our latest Gender Pay Gap Report is also available on our Reports and Policies page. Across the rest of the Sky Group, the regulations around collection and disclosure of diversity data are different but our commitment to diversity is the same.
2023
Ethnic Minority Employees
2023
Women at Senior Level
Representation targets
By 2025, we have a goal that 20% of our people in the UK and Ireland will be from Black, Asian or other ethnic minority backgrounds with 5% of that figure coming from black communities. We’re making progress and are on track to meet our commitment. We also have a goal of reaching 50% gender split. Black representation at all levels increased from 4.7% in January 2023 to 4.9% in December 2023; ethnic minority representation increased from 18.8% to 20.5%; female representation overall decreased from 37.1% to 36.8% but increased among senior leadership from 37.6% to 37.8%.
ACCESS: GETTING EVERYONE ONLINE
For more information about our impact work, including the initiatives mentioned in this update, please see the Comcast Impact Report and our Sky Impact website.
"Being able to match a learner with the same volunteer throughout the five weeks is important because it's about building up the trust and that rapport between them. "
Age Action
"I loved the opportunity to volunteer and help others develop much needed skills in this day and age. I got on really well with the person I tutored and felt so fulfilled by the end of our sessions."
Sky volunteer
Enabling inclusive sport in Berlin
In 2023, the Special Olympics World Games took place in Berlin. Sky broadcast more than 30 hours of coverage and had 50 volunteers from multiple Sky offices support the event. Sky Deutschland has a long-standing partnership with the Special Olympics, one of the world’s largest inclusive sporting events with almost 7,000 athletes from 170 countries competing in 24 sports.
Enhancing digital skills in Dublin
Alongside long-standing charity partner Age Action, Sky supported the Getting Started programme. The programme provides free, one-to-one, volunteer-led training in digital literacy. After completing initial training, 21 Sky volunteers were paired up with the same learner for five consecutive weekly digital sessions held at Sky’s offices in central Dublin. As a result of the training, learners felt more confident to use their digital devices and go online.
Planting trees in Milan
50 Sky Italia volunteers planted 700 trees at the local Parco Porto di Mare, bringing the total planted over the past three years to 2,700. To celebrate, the team hosted Alessandro Gassmann, a famous Italian actor and environmental activist.
Hear more from some of our partners and volunteers about their experience with Sky Cares.
It’s not only our communities that benefit from these programmes but our people too. 93% of employees who took part said volunteering had a positive impact on their sense of achievement, purpose, happiness and wellbeing. 75% felt their self-confidence had improved and 94% said they felt more connected to others.
2023 volunteering
Across Europe, all Sky employees can give back to our local communities for up to two days a year on company time through our volunteering programme, Sky Cares. Employees can also apply for match funding from Sky and payroll giving to support their chosen charities. Sky Cares works with over 70 charity partnerships, focusing on three key areas that align with our plans to inspire positive change for the planet, enhance digital skills through Sky Up, and lift loneliness in the way only our incredible customer service teams can. We’re proud to have committed to volunteer 250,000 hours by 2025. To date, we have volunteered around 216,000 hours, 86% of the way towards our target.
Sky is a proud signatory of the Care Leaver Covenant. With 80,000 care leavers in the UK and a third (26,000) becoming homeless within three years of leaving the system, we work closely with social impact agency Spectra to deliver initiatives specifically targeted to help care experienced young people between the ages of 18-25 to live independently.
In 2023, Sky Up provided 150 care experienced young people with technology, connectivity and events that focus on life skills. Thanks to the Sky Up programme, 62% of care leavers surveyed had more ideas about what they wanted to do in the future and 76% felt they had boosted their employability skills. Technology and connectivity provided by Sky helped 48% of care leavers surveyed to do online training and 38% to get a job or apprenticeship.
Unlocking opportunities for care experienced young people
"Sky have demonstrated a concrete and enduring commitment to supporting care leavers – one of the most vulnerable and underserved youth groups in the UK."
Spectra
In March 2023, Sky Up established a Hub at the London LGBTQ+ Centre, providing free broadband and tech to around 200 users.
Among other essential services, Hub users have had access to LGBT Hero’s online voter registration scheme. New voter ID requirements have created problems for the LGBTQ+ community who are more likely to have changed their name or appearance, or not to be able to access original documents because they are estranged from their family.
Tackling inequality with free broadband
We’re making sure that their current ID matches what we're putting on the electoral roll, [if not, we] sign them up for a Voter Authority Certificate. We rely massively on free Wi-Fi services."
London LGBTQ+ Centre
Learn more about our Hubs for under 25s
Learn more about our Hubs for over 65s
HEAR FROM OUR BENEFICIARIES
Learn more about our Hubs for under 25s
x
Learn more about our Hubs for over 65s
x
Attending the Sky Up Hub in partnership with Cardiff Youth Service gave me access to a job opportunity at Sky I would not have had the knowledge of, or confidence to apply to."
Owen, Sky Up Hub beneficiary and now Sky employee
don’t have broadband
at home
feel more confident using the internet
have learned new skills and are
keen to learn more
feel more connected to
friends and family
OUR IMPACT ON BENEFICIARIES
ITALY
CAF Milan
La Strada
x
CSA Settebagni APS
x
UK & IRELAND
Buckinghamshire Community Space
x
Three13
x
CoAction West Cork
x
Onward - Merlin Court
Onward - Spinningfields
x
Young Adult respite Service C.I.C.
Onward - Bosco Court
Open 360
x
Letterkenny Youth & Family Service
x
Ability Net
x
The Edge Hub
x
Peter McVerry Trust
x
Limerick Youth Service
x
Hideaway 77 Youth Café
The Furry Youth Café
x
ARK at Egwood CIC
x
London (North)
Sebby's Corner
Young Brent Foundation
London (East)
Badu
Gratitude
Mile End Community Project
Teviot Centre
London (South)
Lambeth Council Resident Engagement
Mentivity
The Sloth Club
London (West)
Acacia Community Centre
Age UK Westminster
London LGBTQ+ Centre
Solidarity Sports
Southall Community Alliance
The Bridgelink Centre
The Pepper Pot Centre
WEST Youth Zone
x
Swansea MAD
x
Youth Cymru
x
Butetown Community Association
Cardiff Youth Services (4 Hubs)
Senghenydd Youth Drop In
Tredegar Scouts
x
Go Woman Alliance
Holbrooks Community Care
Joining Communities Together
Shree Mandhata Samaj Coventry Community Centre
x
Age UK Stockport
Bury Digital Inclusion
Community Computers
Creative Living Centre
Healthy Me Healthy Communities
Mustard Tree
Rochdale Circle
Salford Foundation (The Shed)
The Brick
Topping Fold
x
Age UK Leeds
Burmantofts (BSA) Leeds
LS-TEN
Braithwell and Micklebring
x
Age UK Gateshead
Sunderland Connect
x
Spark Livingston
x
Active Communities
Golden Generation Glasgow (3 Hubs)
Jewish Care Scotland
x
WHERE WE'RE HELPING
Almost 3,000 users benefited from digital support
More than 7,000 devices used free Sky Broadband
Opened 55 new Hubs - taking
our total to 70
SKY UP IN 2023
Sky Up Hubs
Our Sky Up Hubs programme helps to bridge the digital divide in our most underserved communities across the UK, Ireland and Italy. The programme focuses on under 25s and over 65s who are most at risk of digital exclusion, providing access to reliable internet connections, tech equipment, volunteer support and bespoke events.
"Everyone in my school loved the week. All the staff were pleasantly surprised with how detailed, informative and easy to follow the resources were to use."
Owen, Sky Up Hub beneficiary and now Sky employee
""
Teacher
In June 2023, we ran our second annual Access All Arts week, a nationwide arts initiative for primary schools developed in partnership with teachers and arts organisations. Our free, ready to teach resources cover ten different artforms – everything from poetry and storytelling to singing and drama – and are available all year round.
97% of teachers who took part said the week had a positive impact on their pupils, helping build their confidence and develop skills as well as improving arts literacy. 88% of teachers said the week had given their school more support and resources to draw upon for teaching the arts.
schools across the UK and Ireland registered to take part
children took part across the week
teachers registered
Access All Arts week
The Edit
Every year, we reach even more young people thanks to The Edit, our digital storytelling challenge delivered in partnership with Adobe. Since its launch in 2020, we have reached almost 137,000 students across the UK, Ireland and Italy.
In Italy, The Edit has received an official declaration of support from the Minister of Sport and Youth and the Minister of Education.
Watch how we bring The Edit to life.
81% of students said the experience helped them come up with new ideas, think more creatively and find solutions to problems
Over 80% of students and teachers surveyed agreed that The Edit helped with communication and collaboration skills
In 2023, almost 44,000 students from around 600 schools took part in The Edit; 50% of schools were from underserved communities
"It exceeded our expectations massively, I felt like everybody who was involved in it went away with more confidence than when they started."
Teacher
Owen, Sky Up Hub beneficiary and now Sky employee
of students said the visit helped improve their confidence and over 80% felt that it improved their understanding of careers in the media industry
of teachers reported the sessions were effective in improving collaboration, communication and digital literacy skills, as well as raising student’s aspirations
Sky Up Academy Studios On Tour
In 2023, we delivered the penultimate year of our On Tour programme, the same immersive experience as our studios, transported across the UK and Ireland in specialised electric vehicles kitted out with broadcast equipment. Last year, we engaged almost 32,000 students across more than 30 different schools.
Hear from Brandon and Derin about where their Sky Up Academy Studios experience took them.
Click on each of our programmes to find out more
Derin Adetosoye
Formula E presenter
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Brandon Okeke
VR Engineer
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of students reported that the experience improved their media literacy skills
said it improved their teamworking skills
of teachers said the experience was effective in developing students’ confidence
said it is effective at raising student aspirations
2023
In 11 years, we have reached almost 300,000 young people through our immersive studio experiences, including more than 26,000 in 2023 alone. In 2024, we’re excited to be opening brand-new programmes in Ireland and at Sky Studios Elstree.
up 0.2%
DIGITAL
EQUITY
RAISING
ASPIRATIONS
ADVANCING
INCLUSIVITY
CREATING
INCLUSIVITY
RESPECTING HUMAN RIGHTS
SUPPORTING
OUR COMMUNITIES
Sky Up Academy Studios
Sky Up Academy Studios inspires young people with a new sense of what they can do, and who they can be. Our expert team support students to create their very own news reports and short story trailers in our state-of-the-art studios and immersive experiences across the UK and Europe, teaching them the skills they need to thrive in a digital world.
But don’t just take our word for it...
Hear from our students and teachers.
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DIGITAL
EQUITY
RAISING
ASPIRATIONS
ADVANCING
INCLUSIVITY
CREATING
INCLUSIVITY
RESPECTING HUMAN RIGHTS
SUPPORTING
OUR COMMUNITIES
DIGITAL
EQUITY
RAISING
ASPIRATIONS
ADVANCING
INCLUSIVITY
CREATING
INCLUSIVITY
RESPECTING HUMAN RIGHTS
SUPPORTING
OUR COMMUNITIES
up 0.2%
DIGITAL
EQUITY
RAISING
ASPIRATIONS
ADVANCING
INCLUSIVITY
CREATING
INCLUSIVITY
RESPECTING HUMAN RIGHTS
SUPPORTING
OUR COMMUNITIES
DIGITAL
EQUITY
RAISING
ASPIRATIONS
ADVANCING
INCLUSIVITY
CREATING
INCLUSIVITY
RESPECTING HUMAN RIGHTS
SUPPORTING
OUR COMMUNITIES
DIGITAL
EQUITY
RAISING
ASPIRATIONS
ADVANCING
INCLUSIVITY
CREATING
INCLUSIVITY
RESPECTING HUMAN RIGHTS
SUPPORTING
OUR COMMUNITIES