Our Academies & Communities

The Aldridge Foundation uses entrepreneurship as a catalyst for young people to create lasting social change for them and their communities.

The cornerstones of the Foundation's work are the two Academies it sponsors.  Darwen Aldridge Community Academy, in Lancashire opened in 2008 (delayed by planning process after our initial application was approved in 2004) and Brighton Aldridge Community Academy near Brighton which is due to open in September 2010.  Rod Aldridge has been a Sponsor in the Academy system since 2003. 

A Change In Attitude

Our challenge is to obtain maximum benefit for all through a step change in a community's attitude to educational provision.  The hope is that a new approach, modern facilities and a strong leadership team can raise aspirations and attainment in areas where there may be resistance to change.  Both Academies deliver the specialisms of Entrepreneurship and Sport and will have at their heart dynamic Entrepreneurial Centres for community use. 

The Current Situation

All schools are individual but most of those designated for Academy status, share similar characteristics of local community deprivation.

In Darwen, the statistics are

-         8.6% NEET (not in education, employment or training)

-         31% SEN (special educational needs)

-         29% Free School Meals

-         31% 5A*-C including Maths and English

-         15% Households are lone parents

In Brighton , the situation is more extreme

-         10.9% NEET

-         48% SEN

-         38% Free school meals

-         18% 5 A-C* GCSEs including Maths and English

-         18% Households are lone parents

These figures, combined with a perception of low quality education can reinforce negative attitudes towards an area.  This tends to follow a pattern with schools receiving low numbers of first choice applications leading to a significant drift of the more able students at age 11 to schools outside. It is likely therefore that communities such as Darwen and Brighton will experience low post 16 participation.  Unfortunately this situation can deter regeneration and inward investment.  But if this is the case the converse must also be true – positive perceptions of education in an area will attract investment.  Our Academies will reintroduce a post 16 offer and will integrate activity with the business community for the benefit of students and to help boost the local economy.

It is important therefore, that we address a situation which may have led parents to accept low standards of aspiration, attainment and educational provision for the majority young people.  It is probable that many of the stakeholders in a school are naïve about the wider implications of this acceptance.

How can aspirations be raised?

Current discussion around Academies and communities coincides with the December 2008 Cabinet Office Social Exclusion Task Force report on "Aspiration and Attainment Amongst Young People in Deprived Communities".  The report suggests there is evidence that

"a locally-tailored behavioural change approach could mobilise the community to do their best for young people and provide a model for constructive local partnership working."

It is arguable that Academies can be the vehicles to drive this necessary transformational change.  Engaging from the bottom up with local people to solve local problems provides individuals with the awareness that they can be part of the solution.  This empowerment is key to encouraging integration.

It has to be said that neither community was outwardly enthusiastic about the change to Academy status.  Indeed there was a belief from some that the predecessor schools were "doing a good job".  However our experience has been that once the improvements and benefits are seen to motivate the students, the scepticism starts to dissolve. Darwen Aldridge Community Academy opened in September 2008 and has already built community aspirations through a programme of :

• Addressing pre-disposing factors for the most fragile students at the earliest stage possible - otherwise they may not to engage successfully with new approaches - partnerships with feeder primaries is essential.
• Developing stronger links between education and regeneration policy.  Inviting all members of the community in to the Academy and sharing facilities where appropriate.
• Being proactive in finding common ground where the local authority and Academy can work together.  This results in improved participation in community activities and issues which  can help raise local aspirations.
• Inter-agency collaboration to ensure better local partnerships and services.
• Employing outreach staff, additional to the traditional teaching staff, and providing them with the relevant infrastructure to reach out to the community effectively.
• Providing a balance of out of hour's school activities can help alleviate the burden for disadvantaged families.
• Interacting with local schools and developing links with future students in the primary system is beneficial to all and helps alleviate possible criticism over elitism.
• Maintaining open communication and dialogue with stakeholders is vital to gaining the confidence of the local area.

The Academy in Brighton is not due to open until September 2010 but we are already working to develop partnerships with the community. Examples of this are:

-          A Partnership Board which meets monthly has been established with local schools, colleges, two universities, Brighton and Hove Albion Football club and Sussex County Cricket Club, and is Chaired by Rod Aldridge.

-         The new post sixteen offer will collaborate provision with local partners and agencies.

-         We are co-funders with the local authority on a project with Participle to examine relationships between home and school.  This will consider some radical approaches to how structures might be changed in the future for more effectively targeted delivery of services.

-         Lessons will be learned from, and practice shared with the Darwen experience.

However it can be difficult for a community to accept that attainment levels at the local school are not realising the potential of students. No parent welcomes criticism that they may not be doing the best for their child.  Encouraging the community to accept that there are going to be changes and the will to allow parents to participate in those changes is what will dictate the level of transformation. 

In our Academies we are not selective and work towards the target of zero exclusions. We adopt the admission policy of the local authority . Stimulating positive teacher-student relationships is important for raising teachers' expectations for student performance and in their own teaching ability.  Our aim is for the Academies to work in partnership with other schools and serve as an engine for curriculum development in the area.  We recognise young people as individuals with a valuable contribution to make to the social, cultural and welfare needs of a community.  This requires an exceptional Principal and leadership team in the school to drive the vision and ethos and improve standards.

New Buildings

The new Academy buildings will also make a substantial impact.  Both Academies will provide state of the art, iconic buildings to the community.  In Brighton the new buildings will be on the same site as the current school whilst in Darwen the Academy will move to a town centre location in September 2010.  Although very different, the design of  both buildings will result a dramatic change to the architecture of landscape.  They will be a visual beacon of change – for which the staff and students will become ambassadors.

In order for a community not to feel isolated from a school, it is important to move away from the notion that a school is a closed environment in which to occupy students 9am to 4pm.  To change this perception an open door policy and the opportunity to see the Academy in operation is important.  In Darwen the Principal has been proactive is hosting events, not only for families, but for a variety of local groups.  These have ranged from a charity evening to promote women entrepreneurs, hosting local business group forums to an afternoon student concert for local elderly sheltered housing residents.

Increased attainment clearly stems from improved teaching and learning standards, specifically tailored new buildings and facilities help to achieve this by providing new and different opportunities. It is also the mechanism for extending community participation in Academy activity for interaction with the specialisms of sport and entrepreneurship.  To further promote the Academies as  community assets the exceptional sports, catering and technological facilities will be made available to outside users.

Entrepreneurship

The chosen lead specialism for both academies is Entrepreneurship.  In Darwen, this is delivered by the Vice Principal for Entrepreneurship who comes from a non teaching background and is responsible for embedding the specialism into the ethos of the Academy.   This has encouraged a change in mindset, the ability to understand opportunities and to overcome the fear of failure. Both Academies will have at the heart of their buildings specifically designed Entrepreneurship Centres.  In Darwen the project has attracted LEGI funding for an Entrepreneurship Bridge to be built in the new Academy building, with the school being designated as the Enterprise Haven for the area.

This physical "home" for entrepreneurship contributes to making the specialism accessible and tangible for the whole community.  Incubation pods will be available with administrative assistance for business start-ups with advice, guidance and support provided for entrepreneurs.

Links are being developed with local businesses and industry to establish mutually beneficial relationships between the work place and the future workforce.  It is planned that the Entrepreneurship Centres can become the local focal points for volunteering, community and social enterprise activity.  They can provide a structure for students and the wider community to learn vocational skills, life skills and engage in personal development programmes.  Former students can remain linked with the Academy through the Centres thus inspiring younger students to succeed.

Added Value

The Aldridge Foundation believes it can provide additional resource and value to the educational offer at both Academies. Through engagement with our other projects the Academies able to build connections with a wider variety of local and national partners.

As part of our commitment to the sports specialism the Foundation has funded the development of  Essentially Dance a new Latin and Ballroom teaching resource for schools.  The project has been piloted in a number of primary and secondary schools in both Brighton and Darwen.  Students have enjoyed participation in a product developed with Darren Bennett and Lilia Kopylova from the popular BBC TV programme "Strictly Come Dancing".

We recognise that information, advice and guidance provision in schools needs improvement and is currently least effective with the most disadvantaged students – the very group that requires this assistance the most.  The Foundation is at the development stage of Aspire 2 B, a package designed to look at a new ways of informing students from Year Seven upwards about educational and vocational choices and motivating students towards achieving their desired goals.

The Foundation will provide avenues for students to broaden horizons through outside speaker programmes and an increased number and variety of exchange programmes.

The freedom to introduce new Governance structures will provide an additional layer to the traditional system with influential and sector leading individuals offering high level advice and challenge to the Sponsor, Principal and Senior Leadership team.

The Future

Individuals and communities need to be involved in their future development and improvements will only be sustained if driven by grass roots activity.  We recognise that there is a huge task ahead for both Academies.  Many young people being failed by current system and yet there is a massive potential to be released. With a new approach we can help equip young people and communities to determine a positive future.

The Aldridge Foundation places great emphasis on evaluation and is partnering with government officials from Communities and Local Government to develop relationships with the Academies and Communities and will evaluate the effectiveness of this model.  We will consider more radical models for a future in which the structure of local funding could rapidly change, with a community running itself through a special purpose vehicle run by users.  Perhaps in years to come that vehicle will be a school.