Next Practice in Communities for Learning - Local community

Identifying, developing and maximising the skills available within the local community and beyond to enhance student learning  

Across the country, schools are working with businesses, sporting and cultural institutions and universities to enhance teaching and learning. They are harnessing the talent and expertise of creative artists, sports stars, academics and tertiary students, engineers, company directors, chefs and a host of other professionals to lead and enhance learning; they are drawing on the resource of parents, the elderly and those who are retired from all kinds of professions to support learning.

Some partnerships between schools and other agencies or organisations are 'brokered' by an independent body, some occur when schools forge their own outward links with the wider community, businesses, artists and parents. Other types of partnership are led by businesses who run education programmes for schools designed to offer up their expertise and develop skills in young people which will fit them for work in that particular company or industry.

This strand of the project looks at how teachers can work with the local and wider community to draw in new influences and strategies that enhance student learning. It also focuses on programmes and initiatives that are engaging local and wider community members in the re-design and delivery of the school curriculum.

Field trial sites

Ealing
St Paul's Way Community
The Durham Federation

Horizon scanning

This report considers how teachers might work with the local and wider community, both within schools and out of school learning contexts, to draw in new influences and strategies to enhance student learning. It profiles a range of relevant programmes in this country that seek to build new learning relationships between students and beyond-school talent (including Artsmark, Creative Partnerships, Cultural Hubs, Curiosity and Imagination, Musical Futures, 14-19 Partnerships, Arsenal Double Club, School-Science Partnerships, Motivate, Science and Engineering Ambassadors and the Teachers Scientist Network) and considers what more we could do to deepen these partnerships. The report also draws inspiration from outstanding examples of international practice in education, including the Olympic Initiative (a US programme which harnesses the talents of ex-Olympians for use as role models, tutors and mentors in schools); the Intergenerational Initiative (a US programme which develops meaningful partnerships between schools and senior organisations, and encourage lifelong learning and caring connections between generations); and the Wesley College/Fitzroy Crossing Partnership (a deep partnership between a Melbourne city school and a remote aboriginal community in Australia, with aims to foster cross-cultural understanding and community regeneration).

Local Community

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