Transforming communities

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Transforming communities; embedding regenerative economic principles into institutions and organisations

Sustainable Environmental Wellbeing Network (SEWN)

Background:

SEWN has developed from research that has identified a need to change current practices operating from public facilities. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) necessitates the adoption of transformative practices: SDG 4, Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all; SDG11, Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable; SDG 12, Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns; SDG 13, Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impact.

Relevant and targeted research:

Primary schools have become targets for business. This has been exacerbated since the introduction of the Physical Education and School Sport (PESS) funding in 2013 but has been on the rise since the 2002 Extended School Initiative (ESI). Schools have been targeted on two fronts: through their Out-Of-School-Hours (OOSH) periods, including before and after school, evenings, weekends and holiday periods; and curriculum Physical Education provision. The

The problem:

The main areas of concern focus around equity and social justice. The question of why schools are being used by companies to generate profit is one that needs careful unpicking. Profit is not the same as surplus, schools might themselves operate a budget surplus but it does not mean that their governors can be paid it. Profit, on the other hand, is a surplus generated by limited companies that can then be declared as a ‘dividend’ (profit) and this entitles each of the shareholders of that company to be paid that dividend. This enables money to flow out of the company operations.

The company generates profit and the shareholders benefit. This is not equitable for many reasons:

· The facilities being used to generate this profit are public and community assets. The community are not benefiting from this profit, only the shareholders are.

· The money being paid to companies by schools to deliver PE is public money, again leading to question why public funds are supporting shareholders of private companies?

· Companies operating OOSH services are exclusive. To attend the service you need to pay the ‘market rate’; they are not open access.

Standards of operation:

There are also questions around the quality assurance of these providers. It is not possible to fully understand their recruitment practices or employment, tax or HSE compliance. This seems at odds with the due diligence applied to school recruitment, procedures, policies and practices. Many providers set up without the necessary understanding of the complexity of the environment that they are proposing to work within and, as we have enabled a cart blanche approach to enabling these providers to operate, they have little understanding of the historic political landscape that has forged such a cavern for this growing need.

An alternative offer:

SEWN will bring together individuals and organisations who wish to see an end to the practice of profits draining from schools. Case studies have demonstrated alternatives that are progressive and inclusive, catering for community while providing research learning that supports schools to evidence their commitment to programmes that enrich the lives of children and the community.

Community Interest Companies (CIC) and indeed School Companies can be set up to support and implement all services currently provided. Each of these mechanisms ensures that all income generated through the provision of community services or PE, remains within the organisation and can be used to create more services, more employment and better outcomes.

SEWN is a process for this change. The problem and the solution have been identified, now we need to bring together universities and schools along with environmental organisations and community bodies to move towards programmes that are equitable, ethical and environmentally sustainable, promoting a circular economy and community wealth.

The vision:

Transformation of the school into a community hub.

SDG4; Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. If the lifelong learning goal is to be supported through our institutions, the school environment might well transform into a place of opportunities for communities to learn with each other and through a supported network. What if the facility became a hive of activity, where school was just one part?

The vision is for the facility to begin at 04:00 in the morning, baking the batch of bread that will then be used for the community breakfast, distributed locally as part of the community enterprise, for example via cargo bikes.

At 07:00 community breakfast is provided; the school produce is used and through the collective purchasing cooperative, wholesale, ethical and organic nutritious food is sourced. It is prepared by some of the community chefs and cooks now employed directly at the community hub. The community become involved within the process of preparation and clearing down.

Before school there are pre teaching, reading, quiet and free play opportunities for all the children. There are parent groups, not just to support parents but provide opportunity for them to socialise over morning tea and coffee.

After school there is an array of enrichment programmes, implemented by professionals who understand developmentally appropriate activities. These operate with the same due diligence and governance as statutory schooling. All opportunities enable children to engage in activities that broaden their experience, developing their agency, capacity to be self-efficacious and nurture a critical consciousness.

Come early evening, families are invited to supper nights, film nights and games nights. The community comes together to support one another.

After pupils have gone home, youth club starts and a variety of activities are once again made available for young people until 21:30.

The facility remains open for community learning programmes until 22:30. Computing, literacy, language and movement programmes all work to ensure that the community is able to engage with learning opportunities that are fit for purpose and meet their needs.

All programmes will need to be able to generate income. Currently the unknown is the amount of surplus that is generated by providers operating in the town. To ensure equity of access a ‘pay what you can afford’ policy can be operated for all sessions, with suggested amounts that simply work to cover employment and development costs.

Ethos and ethics for the transformative proposal:

At the heart of the change is an understanding that this is the year that change needs to happen. There is no more time. Community, Education, Health, Wellbeing are entangled as one process. It is with this purpose that the mission to align all areas, ensuring environmental sustainability, becomes both urgent and paramount.

Next steps:

To develop a service that support organisations, including schools, to understand the process of change that has been applied to them and provide an alternative option for them to support their community to become resilient in the face of the climate crisis.

What might the steps be?

Firstly, a feasibility process will provide scope of all the services that operate within and from the schools: catering, PE and OOSH.

Secondly, we will explore the process by which each service might become in-housed, looking at the political, economic, social, technical, legal and environmental impact of the transition.

Thirdly, the continuing development of the service will be supported by research learning, analysing the impact and ensuring that services continue to be aligned to support the unique community and culture they are part of.

Strategic oversight:

Environmental organisations are key contributors to the development of this approach. The work that is currently being undertaken to address the SDG and the climate crisis will ensure that implementation of community services communicate and instil the necessary environmental values.

The work currently being undertaken by the network is focussed upon explaining the message, need and solution to the local environmental groups asking them to become part of SEWN and support this initiative to develop community hubs.

Universities are also key to support this initiative as they have scope across regions, through their network of schools. Initially, lead academics in Physical Education at both Brighton and Roehampton are part for the founding members of the network and it is hoped that each universities school of education will support the outcomes that the network are working to enable. Universities also have a keen interest in enterprises that will enable employment opportunities for their post-graduates to gain both experience and employment.