Working together for community cohesion

Case study

Guildford Grove Primary School has used the opening of its new children’s centre as an opportunity to build community cohesion in an area with a history of conflict and antagonism.

Key learning

Creating a single hub offers a meeting space for local people. The hub has become a focal point that builds community where there was very little before.
The existence of a single governing body for both institutions means that there is continuity of leadership and accountability that contributes positively and directly to the collection and use of information.
The number of young people on child protection plans has reduced from 16 to 1 and the number identified as being in need has reduced from 38 to 10 because of the high level of social care involvement. Behaviour is improved and exclusions are reduced.
The success of this project in engaging with hard to reach families raises the question of what we mean by ‘hard to reach’. Who is it that puts up barriers to communication – families or schools?

Background

Building better community relationships was an absolute priority for Guildford Grove. The school replaced two previous, failed schools and is located in an area of considerable poverty in a community whose history is marked by bitter internal hostilities and divisions. This was an area of low aspirations in which many of the children the school serves are vulnerable.

Guildford Grove is a community primary school, catering for 360 pupils aged from 3-11. It is co-located with a children’s centre, the Spinney, which opened in 2009. A single governing body is responsible for both the school and the Spinney and the centre’s manager reports to the school’s headteacher.

Key challenges

Bringing together a divided community

The history of this area is one of division and antagonism between different sections of the local population. This was reflected in the make-up of the two schools that preceded Guildford Grove.

Low expectations

The area served by the school is one of low expectations.

Solutions

Seamless approach

The headteacher and governors have adopted a seamless approach to provision, ensuring that the continuity and unity of provision is visible even in the layout and wall displays of the school and the centre. One consequence of this is that transition becomes less traumatic as the new environment of school doesn’t feel so different to that of the children’s centre.

Coherent management

The school’s governing body also provides governance for the children’s centre and the headteacher is line manager for the head of the children’s centre who is, in turn, a member of the unified senior leadership team. Working together, the school and the children’s centre apply consistent policies on bullying and behaviour that enable children to become more confident and feel safer.

Long-term approach

The seamless approach enables staff to stay in touch with children and their families throughout their time in the centre or at school. Staff who work across the age range served by these two organisations collaborate to share information, advice and guidance about children and families. They work in partnership to ensure that children and families get the services they need, for example with the assistance of a strong special educational needs (SEN) and inclusion team, and of a speech and language therapist.

Next steps

The team plans to develop more refined means of measuring the impact of its work. It is designing an Every Child Matters (ECM) tool to measure impact across the five ECM outcomes.

Further information

For further information contact Guildford Grove Primary school by email at info@guildfordgrove.surrey.sch.uk.