Promoting community cohesion in your school

Community cohesion is defined in the guidance as:

The community cohesion duty re-introduces all that is valuable about race equality in a broader, practical, more imaginative and more relevant context for us in Northumberland.  We are an LA deemed to be mainly white (one of only 8 LAs in the country) and therefore the majority of our schools face particular challenges with regard to race equality.  With an emphasis on collaborating so that pupils are given opportunities to interact to enhance their understanding of difference, it should be an effective way to incorporate and streamline all equalities into schools’ own improvement plans ie build on existing duties in the Equalities Act 2006 (ethnicity, disability, age, gender, faith, sexual orientation).

According to the guidance, schools are encouraged to consider the different dimensions of their ‘community’ as:

• The school
• The locality and/or partnership
• The national/UK community
• The global community

In addition, it is recognised that schools often create their own communities, for example through networks, specialist schools activities, collaborative projects, development of 14-19 curriculum etc.

Schools can then group their contribution to community cohesion under the following three headings:

1. Teaching, learning and the curriculum: to promote discussion about common values and diversity.

2. Equity and excellence: to ensure equal opportunities for all pupils to succeed at the highest level possible, by removing barriers to access and participation.

3. Engagement and extended services: to provide opportunities to interact and build links with parents, communities and other schools locally, nationally and internationally.