Next Practice in Communities for Learning - The Durham Federation

Community trainers

The Federation's new learning programme will be delivered by community trainers from outside the school, to students employed part-time in local businesses.

Durham Federation is a recent federation of two secondary schools, with one headteacher and one governing body. This field trial has grown from Fyndoune College's extensive experience of running apprenticeship programmes as part of the commitment to regenerating a local ex-mining community. It encompasses a new learning programme based on three days of taught curriculum and two days working as employees with a local business. In the first year the project is to engage thirty Year 10 students from two schools serving two communities. The trial supports Year 10 students by employing them part-time in local businesses and providing them with the education and skills to succeed in the world of work. The businesses are underwritten by a major local employer who will contribute to the training and quality assurance programme. Teachers are the ‘managers of learning' co-ordinating and working closely with community and business partners as they deliver the entire non-core curriculum as 'community trainers'. Both the Local Authority and the North East Chamber of Commerce are supporting the project.

See a map showing the locations of all the Next Practice in Communities for Learning field trial sites.

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