schools – The Community Planning Toolkit

How reliably the bins are emptied; the maintenance of local roads; how older people are cared for; and whether there is a place at a good school for your children - the way local services work can be major factor in making better places to live. By working with public service providers, communities can improve the way they work locally...

In more detail

Your local council provides a wide range of services which can include, for example:

children's social services
public and environmental health
waste collection and management including recycling
highways repairs
social care for older people
planning and economic development
planning and licensing
community centres, park and leisure facilities
libraries and adult education classes
museums and art galleries
democratic services - making sure you get a vote at elections.

As the local education authority,the council still has responsibility for community schools (but not for private schools, academies or 'free schools'). Some other local services, in some places, are delivered by independent trusts etc.

Some local authorities have retained council housing. Others have been through LSVT (Large Scale Voluntary Transfer) of housing stock which is now managed by housing associations. Housing associations are independent non-profit social landlords who now provide housing in many city neighbourhoods.

Other significant public service providers in your neighbourhood are: the police; bodies that are part of the National Health Service and local health centres and GP practices; the fire and rescue service; and schools and further education colleges.

The video below is of Mark Rogers, the Chief Executive of Birmingham City Council being interviewed by Nick Booth talking about The 21st Century Public Servant and the way public service is changing:

Improving Services

All of these service providers have ways of engaging with the communities they serve. This is because they want to provide services that meet the varying needs of different communities and neighbourhoods. By engaging with public services individually and collectively (because the way they work together - or fail to work together- can also be a big issue), your neighbourhood community can improve services and neighbourhood wellbeing.

Running Services

In some places, communities have become involved in the delivery of public services paid for by the council. The Localism Act gives community groups a right to challenge the council if you believe you could run services in your area better yourself.

Key Facts:

Local councils, the police, health service, social landlords, schools and other public service providers play an important role in determining community wellbeing. Engaging with service providers to improve individual services and how well they join up in the streets and households of your neighbourhood, can be a practical way of improving the area.

Page Links from here

The 21st Century Public Servant is a report by Catherine Needham and Catherine Mangan at Birmingham University which looks at how public service and what it means to provide public services is changing. There is a website about the project.

In this toolkit, see:

Local Council Services

Commissioning Public Services

Neighbourhood Management

Neighbourhood Policing

Social Housing

Influencing Health Services

Involving Schools

Local Transport Planning

Planning Authorities

Councillors

Social Value

OR you can use the navigation menu above right to look at other parts of the toolkit.

BIRMINGHAM COMMUNITY PLANNING TOOLKIT DEFINITION SHEET This sheet may be reproduced in paper or electromic or any other form but please mention it was made by Chamberlain Forum Limited for Birmingham City Council supported by Department for Communities and Local Government.

created: 2016-05-22 14:26:58

by: admin

status: f published

Local schools can define a neighbourhood and attract people to a place - perhaps more than any other public service. Can schools, however, be involved in making better places to live through community planning?

In more detail

‘The schools’ – is one of the most common answers if you ask people what attracts them about a neighbourhood. The contribution a good community makes to a school is perhaps not so well acknowledged, but having the support and involvement of the community – including parents and families – is an important ingredient in the success of a school. If you are planning a better neighbourhood, local schools are natural supporters and useful partners. The video below is tips for making school-community links from the US:

How Schools Add Social Value

Ways in which schools play a part in making better neighbourhoods include:

social capital – schools act as the centres around which social networks form
community cohesion – different communities are frequently brought together by a shared interest in a local school
involving young people – schools are not the only way, but a very important way, of involving local young people in community planning and work to improve the neighbourhood
community assets – school buildings and land are assets necessarily with restricted use but can still be used for community meetings and events .

Schools are also important to involve in neighbourhood plans in terms of transport issues. Many schools, for example, encourage safe routes to school and other initiatives aimed at cutting car use.

Types of School

The most common types of school are:

Community schools – funded and owned by the local council and staff are employed by it. Community schools are run by a board of governors typically including representatives of the council, the staff and parents.
Voluntary aided and foundation schools – are funded by the council but the land and buildings may be owned by a trust. These schools include many faith schools. The school is run by a board of governors which may include representatives of the faith community or the trust. Foundation schools must still follow the national curriculum but have more freedom to run things in their own way; they employ their own staff and may receive funds from other sources as well as the council.
Academies – are run by a governing body, independent from the local council - they can follow a different curriculum; may own the land and buildings themselves and are funded directly from Whitehall, not the council. The governing body can include business sponsors, faith representatives and others. Academies can set their own selection criteria. They do not have to employ qualified teachers. The governing body is appointed by the academy trust which runs the school.
‘Free schools’ – are a type of academy set up by businesses, charities, universities, religious groups, educational groups, teachers or parents. They run independently of the state and do not have to follow the national curriculum. They can set the pay and conditions of staff and can make changes to the length of the school day etc. They cannot select on the basis of ability (unlike grammar schools, below). The governing body is a board appointed by the organisation which set them up.
Grammar schools – can be run by the council, a foundation body or a trust. They select all or most of their pupils based on academic ability and there is often an exam to get in.

The video below is from Canada - Education Minister George Abbott describes how and why his state government in British Columbia wants to encourage links between schools and communities:

Engaging with Schools

Ways of engaging schools include through: contact via the governing body and/or headteacher; engaging with individual teachers including those with responsibility for citizenship education or community links; engaging through associations associated with the school; and engaging through national campaigns aimed at making links between schools and communities. These include, for example, Eco Schools; Sustrans’ Safe Routes to School; and Living Streets’ Walk to School Walk.

Key Facts:

Schools and communities can have a mutually beneficial relationship. Schools add value to neighbourhoods in a number of ways including by creating social links and networks. Sometimes a school can subtract value too - with disputes about antisocial behaviour and parking and congestion during pick-up and drop-off times, for example. A good school adds to the finanical value of local housing. Understanding the school structure is important - not all schools are the same these days. You can find ways in to engaging with schools through governing bodies, the headteacher, the staff and through national campaigns like Walk to School Week.

Page Links from here

In the toolkit, see

Local Authorities

Local Democracy

Local Public Services

OR you can use the navigation menu above right to look at other parts of the toolkit.

created: 2016-05-22 10:19:28

by: admin

status: f published