Citizenship Foundation: educating for effective citizenship

Raising standards through community involvement and raising self-esteem

Target age:  KS1 - KS2

When Norma Redfearn took over the Headship of West Walker Primary School in 1986 she found an atmosphere of hopelessness born out of the chronic unemployment in the area:

"My feeling when I came here was that there were parents who had nothing to look forward to in their lives. I wanted to raise the standards of children's learning but it seemed to me that the community didn't value the learning process. Education hadn't benefited them, and their attitude to the school was very negative. Children would say to me, 'what's the point of learning when there's no jobs, me ma says'. I realised that I had to work with the parents if I was to change the attitudes of the children so that they could begin to learn."

75% of the pupils were on free school meals and 20% did not attend school. Mrs Redfearn worked with both parents and children to restore pride and dignity, building on existing talent and in partnership with outside agencies. School-based projects were created e.g. literacy and numeracy (before the national initiatives), a breakfast club, business partnership schemes to develop good timekeeping, honouring homework deadlines etc. She arranged mentoring schemes with workers in local industries and involved architects in joint discussions with parents and children to make a playpark.

For adults, a community wing was set up in a disused part of the school, now known as the West Walker Community Association. From there, multi-agency services offer advice, information and advocacy. There are adult education courses, a crèche, a cafe, computer room, a group for socially isolated women which concentrates on assertiveness skills and confidence building, a group for parents of children with special needs and a full-time social services family support worker:

"We're talking about a local community where people wouldn't cross the main road. It's important that things are offered here, in their own neighbourhood...I'm determined to give these children a sense of success so that they can go out feeling good when they start secondary school."

In 1997 Mrs Redfearn won the prize for Public Management Leadership awarded by the Office for Public Management (the first headteacher to do so) and the following year, was chosen by the think tank Demos as an example of civic entrepreneurship.

Inevitably, confidence and SATS levels have soared at the school.