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Why develop Learning Communities?
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Evidence shows that extended activities can have a positive effect on attainment, behaviour and attendance. According to the 'Narrowing the Gap' document, schools that engaged the entire community in learning had a 'direct impact on pupils' attainment and raised their aspirations and determination to progress from school to further education, training or employment'
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Benefits for Children and Young People
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Ability to access quickly and easily a range of services through teams made up of professionals from different agencies.
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Participation in consultation and decision making processes will strengthen the relationship between children, young people and the school / community.
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Availability of 'doorstep' sports, arts, youth provision, childcare etc. will improve health and well being, promote community cohesion and enable families to obtain a balance between work and home.
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Enrichment activities such as study support, breakfast clubs and pupil support services will enhance the learning experience.
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Improved expectations and attainment will develop lifelong learners.
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Increased opportunities to develop relationships with their peers, adults and the wider community will expand social networks and improve community spirit.
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Improved access to information, expertise, guidance and resources will support children and young people to achieve their full potential.
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Benefits for Schools
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Schools will benefit from increased levels of attainment, and from less disruption in class as pupil behaviour improves.
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Both schools and the community can gain considerably from encouraging school/community links and the wider use of school premises. Support from parents and local community organisations can be crucial in combating social exclusion and in improving pupils' attainment, motivation and expectations.
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Enrichment activities such as study support, homework, breakfast clubs and pupil support services can greatly assist learning and achievement, as well as contributing a wider dimension to school experience for children and staff.
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Targeted programmes also help many schools tackle children's wider needs/issues, such as family, health and social problems.
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With health and social services professionals working closely with schools, school staff can more easily refer pupils' non-educational needs to specialists. This enables teachers and other staff to focus on their main school roles.
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Benefits for Parents/Families/Carers
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Schools that provide family learning enable parents and children to spend time together, with supervision, on activities like homework clubs and study days. Evaluation shows that in projects that deliver adult learning, parents reported a positive effect on their perception of themselves as learners and their ability to support their child. Parents also benefit from the improved behaviour and social skills of their child.
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Providing a range of activities and services enables schools to develop closer relationships with pupils' families. Working parents, in particular, value the opportunities for involvement in the school community provided by extended opening hours. Schools that offer pre-school activities and childcare provision have also found them useful in attracting parents and prospective pupils to the school.
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Family learning programmes often provide the first step for parents towards adult education or basic skills training. It also has a very positive impact on the performance of pupils.
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Where schools support families with additional services by working closely with the local healthcare and social services, many note earlier resolution of family problems and less need for crisis management.
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Benefits for the Wider Community
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There is evidence to show that Community Focused Schools can promote greater community cohesion and create a greater sense of community pride. This helps to break down the barriers between members of the community and pupils and build better relationships with schools. Community Focused Schools also improve local availability of sports, arts and other opportunities, activities and facilities.
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Helping to support local individuals and families can have positive results for local communities and can help contribute towards regeneration agendas.
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School sites, supported by other local provision i.e. Voluntary and Community groups, are well suited to provide activities and services to their communities. Many schools are centrally located and can, therefore, offer a safe and secure environment for 'door step' activities and opportunities. However, care must be taken not to over emphasise the concentration of services within schools as this could detrimentally affect community based services.
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Having a base for essential community services such as healthcare and social services can improve their reach, whilst access to activities such as adult and community learning or sports helps communities to achieve improvements in basic skills, health and other key indicators.
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Schools in the most disadvantaged communities play a vital role in regeneration by providing access to core services that are often not available locally and which are essential for helping address health inequalities, poverty and social exclusion.
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Involving young people and children from the local community in out-of-school hours childcare and study support programmes can lower the number of unsupervised children, which can support crime reduction and tackle disaffection.
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Benefits for Providers of Services (statutory and voluntary)
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Professionals from different agencies will work together to achieve agreed goals. This will result in a greater understanding of each others' role and work, sharing of best practice and increasingly integrated information management systems.
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Partnership working will make maximum use of resources, facilities, funding and avoid duplication. This will provide an opportunity to ensure both parity of provision and avoid duplication.
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