Next Practice in Communities for Learning - Eastfeast

Growing community practitioners

Three schools in Suffolk and Essex will explore the engagement of a community (artists, parents and teachers) in growing food for a feast over a period of a year. They will establish integrated roles for a range of locally sourced community practitioners and providers by testing different learning practices and approaches in the schools.

This integrated approach to curriculum design and delivery will use expertise from the arts community, the local community and the schools workforce to develop Next Practice learning spaces, enabling all to share and co-create new possibilities for learning and teaching. Members of the business community are also sought as partners in the learning process. The field trial develops the work started in 2005 with a year long pilot programme at Aldeburgh Primary School in Suffolk, which was followed in 2006/07 with variations of the pilot at four more schools (two in Suffolk and two in Essex). The Eastfeast field trial will be carried out in partnership with three 'core' schools and up to 14 'associate' schools. Eastfeast will consider how to use the key learning from the earlier project to develop new approaches to the curriculum for Key Stages 1 and 2. These approaches incorporate an exploration of how new roles and spaces for learning can enhance outcomes for young people. It draws heavily on new approaches to working with artists and other creative practitioners, eg gardeners, members of the local community and school staff. Action research and CPD play an important support and challenge role.

Coverage of the project appeared in The Guardian on 13 October 2007

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

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