Behold, community cohesion in action.
Brookburn Community Primary School
1st December 2009
Community Cohesion: Progress Report
1. Since 2007, schools have had a duty to promote community cohesion. A `cohesive community’ can be described as one in which:
- there is a common vision and sense of belonging for all communities
- the diversity of people’s backgrounds and circumstances is appreciated and valued
- similar life opportunities are available to all
- strong and positive relationships exist and continue to be developed in the workplace, in schools and in the wider community.
2. Brookburn promotes cohesion in many ways. The completion of the new build and development of the school’s vision is an opportunity to review what we do and how this can be developed. We are therefore now auditing our work and matching the results to the new Ofsted criteria for the effectiveness with which a school promotes community cohesion.
3. We are examining how we already promote cohesion and what else we should do in the following areas:
Within school:
- citizenship and how pupils participate
- the curriculum
- local, national and global links
- impact measures – linked to pupil boice
Looking outwards from school
- Understanding our community and its needs
- Links with other schools
- Links with our local community and its activities (including users of our school).
4. The appendix is the first draft of a statement of the Manchester context for our work. This shows we need to:
- Enable our pupils to understand the city and the differing circumstances of children within it, and to make links with others elsewhere in the city
- Encourage pupils to value the city’s diversity and understand its cultural, linguistic and faith richness
- Ensure that pupils are fully equipped to participate in local and city activities and decision-making.
Beyond this we need to look at how we are developing our pupils as national global citizens, and to find ways of enabling our school to contribute more to the community. We also know from direct consultations that we need to engage older adults in the work of our school.
5. The next steps are:
- by January : to consult on the audit findings and priorities – with the school council; teachers; parent support officers; a parents’ focus group; ward councillors; governors; other community interests (to be identified)
- by February: to develop an action plan for the approval of the senior leadership team and the governing body.
Appendix : context
The City
1. In 2007, Manchester’s population was 458,100. It is projected to grow steadily to 520,500 by 2015. The proportions of children under 15 and adults aged over 65 have decreased since the last census, but the numbers of children under 5 and people over 85 are growing. There is a net flow of both internal and international migrants into the city.
2. Manchester’s long-standing ethnic diversity is increasing. Black and minority ethnic groups are now 23% of the population, There have been increases in the number of residents from EU accession states, sub-saharan Africa, Asian Indian and Chinese groups.
3. No firm information is available on levels of disability in the population as a whole, but an estimated 3-5% of children in the city are disabled and in 2008, 15,150 children were recorded as having a special educational need. The vast majority of these children are in mainstream schools.
4. Manchester has a higher unemployment rate than the national and sub-regional averages, and a number of wards which are amongst the poorest in England, with high proportions of residents on benefit. Transient residents concentrate in some wards. Pupil attendance and achievement varies sharply between wards.
Chorlton Ward
5. Brookburn is situated in the Chorlton ward. Its estimated population in 2007 was 12,874 and this is expected to grow by up to 9% between 2007 and 2011. Using the City Council’s typologies, the ward’s population overwhelmingly falls into the categories of `wealthy achievers’, `urban prosperity’ and `comfortably off’. Pockets of the ward are less well off and classified as `transit’, meaning that they are likely attract first time buyers and young people on low incomes. including students; these areas are outside our normal catchment area.
6. In some ways, Chorlton’s demographic profile is different from that of much of the city. The proportion of children under 15 is about 15%, less than the Manchester average. Between 10 and 20% of the population are from black and minority ethnic groups – a relatively low proportion compared to many wards. Just under 30% of children in the ward have a first language other than English. However, the proportion of people aged 65 and over is about 11%, equalling the city average. Numbers of JSA claimants and people on long-term benefits are low.
7. In educational attainment, Chorlton is amongst the highest performing wards at KS 2 and KS4 and in attendance in both primary and secondary phases. Very few young people are not in education, employment or training. Rates of persistent absence are very low.
8. On all the health, satisfaction and quality of life indicators, Chorlton is a high-scoring ward. 83% of residents say they are in good health, 96% that they are satisfied with where they live and 85% that they are satisfied with their lives generally. Chorlton has the lowest level of reported anti-social behaviour incidents in the city. 57% of residents feel that they `belong’ to their neighbourhood and the City council’s typology suggests that this apparently low proportion may reflect the upward mobility of the `urban prosperity’ group. A high proportion of residents (89%) see Chorlton as a place where people from different backgrounds get on well – a key indicator of community cohesion. Chorlton is also a fairly engaged community, with 23% of residents undertaking volunteering at least once a month, and 32% saying that they can influence decisions affecting the community (both figures put Chorlton in the second highest quintile of Manchester wards).
Sources:
Manchester Partnership: State of the Wards Report 2008/2009
Manchester Partnership: State of the City: Communities of Interest, July 2009