Community Focused Schools

1
Community Focused Schools

• It takes a whole village to educate a child.
• Healthy Schools Co-ordinators Meeting
• 15th, February 2006

2
Community Focused Schools

• A community focused school is a school that
  recognises that it cannot work alone in helping
  children and young people to achieve their
  potential, and therefore decides to work in
  partnership with other agencies that have an
  interest in outcomes for young people, and with
  the local community. In doing so, it aims to meet
  not only the schools objectives but also to
  share in helping to meet the wider needs of
  children, young people, families and the wider
  community.
• DFeS draft 2004

3
WAG Core Aims for children at heart of
C.F.Schools

• Flying Start in Life
• Educational Opportunities for all
• Health
• Play, leisure, sporting and cultural
  activities.
• Respected and listened to.
• Safe at home and in the community.
• Not disadvantaged by poverty.

4
The Territory of Community Focused Schools

• A Community focused school works at three
  levels extended activities, an extended school
  into the community, and part of a local strategy
  for meeting need.
• Community focused schools work across the domains
  of learning, social, health needs.
• Community focused schools work for three groups
  pupils, families, communities.
• Economic domain not to be disadvantaged by
  poverty and increasing employability.

5
Characteristics of a community focused school

• Views working with its community as a vital
  element in raising the standards of pupils
  achievement.
• Builds partnerships with other organisations that
  are in the community and contribute to meeting
  the wider needs of young people, families and
  communities.
• Works towards creating communities of lifelong
  learners.
• Helps strengthen its community through providing
  opportunities for lifelong learning, personal
  development, and the pursuit of sporting,
  cultural and artistic opportunities
• Serves the families of pupils as well as the
  local businesses, voluntary groups and
  individuals who work or live in the schools
  community.

6
Areas of Activity

• Health Services- Meet and Eat
• Parental involvement- Families Matter
• Out of school hours learning- fishing club
• School in the Community
• Community in the School- Job Centre
• Links with Business- mentoring, sponsorship
• Childcare- creche provision
• Family Learning-Family Learning Days
• Lifelong Learning- Silver Surfers
• Citizenship- volunteering

7
Key Objectives

• To raise standards of achievement for pupils and
  improve life chances of children and young
  people.
• To meet the wider needs of children, young people
  and adults in the community through a range of
  services and programmes
• To establish strong partnerships to that will
  lead to the development of the community focused
  dimension of schools
• To promote services working together to meet the
  needs of the community

8
contd

• To consult with children, young people and adults
  in order to achieve a provision that will reflect
  the identified needs of all learners.
• To monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the
  provision
• To create a climate for learning that is
  inclusive and appropriate to the needs of all
  learners
• To create inclusive communities by working with
  others

9
Benefits for children, young people, schools

• Higher achievement
• Increased motivation, self esteem, sense of
  belonging and emotional well- being.
• Improvements in health
• Meeting the needs of vulnerable, at risk and in
  need children, and Looked After Children.
• Easier access to specialist support services.
• With health and social services working closer
  with schools, school staff can refer more easily
  childrens non-educational needs to specialists.
  This enables teachers and other school staff to
  focus on their main school roles.
• Parenting courses involving parents/carers and
  young people.

10
Benefits for families and communities

• Access to childcare, parenting support,
  improvements in social skills and behaviour
  within families, greater involvement in
  childrens learning and better relationships with
  schools, access to specialist support for
  families, adult and family learning, better
  access to essential services like health,
  improved availability to sport, arts and cultural
  facilities, more career development opportunities
  and improved community safety.

11
Health Services

• Walking for Health
• TIME4U
• Families Matter Programme
  
• Meet and Eat Club
• Sharks Project
• Community Health Needs Assessment

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Role of Community Focused School Co-ordinator

• To raise pupil achievement and work with a
  management board to develop a strategy for the
  development of CFSs
• To work within and with schools, local groups and
  organisations to assess and plan local community
  learning needs
• To develop partnerships with a range of local
  community organisations that will lead to
  developing the community focused dimension of
  schools and meeting the needs of learners
• To monitor and evaluate the programme
• Develop innovative programmes that will add value
  to the work of schools and the community