Community comes first

Case study

St John Vianney Roman Catholic Primary School manages a children’s centre, making it accessible and inclusive to a deprived community. Challenging logistical and ethical problems are overcome to meet real need.

Key learning

Different bureaucratic and ethical systems sometimes act against each other. It is important to retain as much flexibility as possible and to remember what the core objective is – not ticking all the boxes and applying all the rules but helping those in need.
New ventures benefit from careful and detailed exploration of what is already working elsewhere.
The school governing body’s responsibility for the children’s centre offers continuity and consistency and contributes to accountability measures and the collection and use of information.
The school’s data and analysis is beginning to show that offering extended services has a positive impact on children’s attainment and personal development. Since the establishment of on-site childcare, children entering the foundation stage have begun to display higher levels of personal, social and communication skills than previous cohorts. There is an observable difference in skills between those who have experienced the childcare facilities and those who have not.

Background

In spite of the challenges of conflicting values, St John Vianney Roman Catholic Primary School responded positively to Hartlepool Local Authority’s proposals for the establishment of a co-located children’s centre. The school is a voluntary-aided, Roman Catholic school serving a severely disadvantaged estate in the former industrial town of Hartlepool on the north-east coast. It has a strong commitment to the local community, coupled with firm adherence to its catholic Christian values.

Key challenges

Moving into unknown territory

This was a venture into new and unfamiliar territory for the school and its leaders.

Managing parallel sets of rules

There were concerns about the adverse impact of bureaucratic demarcations over who owned or was responsible for different aspects of provision and how that might impede the delivery of services.

Gaining trust and retaining core values

There were doubts, including among some members of the governing body, about the appropriateness of offering a catholic school as a resource for the wider community. Would local people accept it as an inclusive facility; how would those involved reconcile elements of their faith, for example in relation to contraception, with the need to provide family planning services as part of the package?

Solutions

Finding out what works

The school’s headteacher and chair of governors used existing contacts to identify sites where co-location was already working. They visited these sites and brought back an understanding that helped them to develop staff and governor expertise as well as engage with planners and policy-makers on a more informed basis.

Reaching a consensus

The diocese and the local authority reached a broad agreement to co-operate. It was agreed that the school governors would be responsible for all staff permanently located on site and that they would be line managed by the headteacher. The children’s centre is governed by a sub-committee of the school’s governing body. The distinctiveness and importance of the children’s centre is accentuated by the appointment of a full time centre manager.

Agreeing priorities

Those involved came to the view that their core Christian principles demanded closer involvement in the community even where there might occasionally be conflicts to resolve. This overarching principle also governed attitudes to bureaucracy. In the end, what matters is helping the individual and meeting their needs, not obeying the rules to the letter and keeping the paperwork tidy.

Next steps

Those involved in this co-location are well aware that some of the challenges they face will be ongoing. Their approach is to give the wellbeing of the child priority at all times.

Further information

For further information contact St John Vianney Roman Catholic Primary School by email at admin.stjohnvianney@school.hartlepool.gov.uk.