Next Practice in Communities for Learning

"The Innovation Unit ran the project effectively and ensured an extremely innovative group of schools and their partners were selected and supported throughout. I have been proud to take colleagues on visits to the schools with The Innovation Unit consultants and to share the outcomes of the project with a wide range of partners." - Marcus Starling, Extended Services Professional Lead, TDA.   

The Innovation Challenge

Life chances in communities of lower socio-economic status tend to significantly decrease over time. Engaging the community in children's learning can help reverse this trend by using new sources of support for children's learning, both within and beyond the school. Not only does this help widen the expertise and opportunities available to students, it also helps forge links between the school and the community.

Our Approach

We designed and ran a series of events where school representatives were invited and ideas were generated and shared around creating Communities for Learning. Twelve sites were selected to develop their ideas further.

Eight sites were then selected to receive a second phase of intensive consultancy (funded by the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA)) and coaching support to further develop and implement their ideas. This support was crucial to the development of the innovative practices, with consultants playing a key role helping practitioners at sites by holding them accountable for their own aspirations, amid the turbulence of day to day delivery.

The eight sites were:

• Armathwaite School, Cumbria
• Greenfields School and Community Arts College, County Durham
• Halesowen Partnership, West Midlands
• E13 Learning Community, London Borough of Newham
• Eastfeast, East Anglia
• Old Ford Primary School, London Borough of Tower Hamlets
• Peases West, County Durham
• Ralph Allen School, Somerset
• Wade Deacon School, Cheshire

The consultancy team worked with all field trial sites to capture their collective knowledge and learning. Following a co-construction workshop with all sites, this culminated in the Creating Communities for Learning guide for other practitioners.

Outcomes

There were numerous examples across all of the eight field trial sites of how Communities for Learning changed the lives of young people, families, teachers and member of the community. Examples include:

The Bloomer Family, who won the 2008 Family Leaners of the Year. Helen, Sam and Eve Bloomer left school without qualifications and had 18 children and four grandchildren when still in their thirties. Now all have numeracy, literacy and classroom assistant qualifications and have broken the cycle of underachievement. Their children and grandchildren now have a new view of learning and the value of education.

Tom, who previously had trouble controlling his anger, which affected his concentration and learning progress. Tom was encouraged to attend a 'Disolving Barriers to Learning' workshop where, working with a local third sector organisation, systemic methods and tools were used to unpack and seek ways to resolve personal issues. He is now keen to achieve his GCSE's and sees attainment of these as necessary for life improvement.

To find out more, read the Creating Communities for Learning guide and accompanying Case Studies (coming soon).

Tools & processes used

Next Practice Methodology

Project contacts

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