Developing student agency with projects to embed your school in the community
What is Schools in Communities
A programme supporting school leaders to work with students to create authentic social action projects for the benefit of students, their families, and their communities.
This is done by developing relationships and partnerships with neighbouring institutions, such as faith institutions, charities and employers, in order to put schools at the heart of the communities they serve.
Why take part
Creating authentic action projects with community partners will help your school deliver a whole education by:
+ Making learning more relevant and engaging
+ Allowing students to take responsibility for their own learning
+ Supporting learning in various settings
During the COVID-19 crisis the value of the community around a school has never been clearer. This project aims to harness the relationships between schools and communities to best support young people in all aspects of their lives.
What are the expected outcomes?
For students
Improved student agency and real world translatable skills
For teachers
Improved coaching and curriculum design skills
For school leaders
Improved understanding of the issues faced by your students and their families, as well as strengthening your school’s place within the community
Community project examples
Community projects led by schools using this approach have included:
+ Campaigning for better local transport provision
+ Organising more significant interactions between young people and older generations
+ Petitioning for access to more adequate green spaces
You can discover some examples of innovative community based practice in these videos from our 10th Annual Conference.
Explore what participants in our schools in the community webinar, co-hosted with Teach First, tweeted on the day here.