Next Practice in Communities for Learning - What are Communities for Learning?

'Communities for Learning' is the third project in the Next Practice Programme. In it, The Innovation Unit and our partners, the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA), are looking beyond workforce remodelling and identifying Next Practice ideas which consider new sources of support for children's learning - within and beyond the school.

The field trials we have chosen to support aim to investigate how a remodelled workforce can further improve the quality of children's learning. In addition, they will explore the implications of these new ways of working for the professional role and responsibilities of teachers.

At this early stage, the role of the teacher looks set to develop in a number of ways; many field trials conceive teachers as choreographers or facilitators of learning, rather than providers of knowledge.

In practice this could mean:

• Teachers will be experts in skills and competencies for learning. They will orchestrate the systematic and progressive development of pupils' skills in negotiation, conflict resolution, collaborative working, and coaching and mentoring. They will make formal and informal assessments of pupils' learning needs, and provide opportunities for transference and application of learning in different contexts.
  
  
• Teachers will be lead educators, but often third party deliverers. By focusing on creating equal partnerships between the classroom and the community, they will access currently untapped learning resources within the community, and facilitate intergenerational teaching and learning.
  
  
• Teachers will lead disciplined innovation across sectors, learning about, and providing guidance to, other professionals and agencies. Working with cultural partners, they will facilitate and co-lead programmes which create safe environments where discussions can be open. This may lead to the creation of new skilled support staff roles, eg advanced practitioners or Higher Level Teaching Assistants (HLTAs) for family support.

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