Community Cohesion – Updated 25th February

Hot off the presses, ‘Guidance on the Duty to Promote Community Cohesion’ has been released to assist schools to reflect on their role and contribution to community cohesion. This may be of limited use to anyone operating outside of the senior leadership team but I think it is important to keep in mind that as we develop curriculums that are suited to 21st century students we are not just designing activities around a certain number of lessons held between 9am and 4pm, 5 days a week. With the extended schools agenda, schools now have an obligation and opportunity to act as an integral part of the wider local community. As a school develops its curriculum provision via its subjects it is important to keep in mind elements of personalisation that embrace a common sense of identity whilst supporting individual and group diversity. This publication will help schools to reflect on enrichment and life outside school by nurturing close relationships with local communities, and other schools at local, regional and indeed national level.

**UPDATE 25th February 2008**

The following report, related to this publication and the wider implications it represents, appeared on BBC News website just now. C lick here:

First Post

This site has been set up as a means of collaborating, communicating ideas and sharing information about impending changes to the national curriculum. To use a popular phrase, the changes will be truly “root and branch” and require a rethink in terms of philosophy, pedagogy and the way in which teachers and pupils interact. This overhaul is taking place in front of an already evolving backdrop which will also need to be considered if the curriculum changes are to be successfully embedded. The challenges represented by Extended schools, Building Schools for the Future, the advent of diploma based learning, functional skills and the initiatives outlined in the recent Children’s Plan will all need to be mapped and an holistic approach adopted for schools to reduce the likelihood of faltering, failure or…. farce?!