EUKN - European Urban Knowledge Network - Education Action Zone

Education Action Zone - Nottingham, United Kingdom

Introduction

How do you raise educational standards and improve co-operation between schools - the case of Nottingham, United Kingdom

Description

The central aim of the Bulwell Education Action Zone is to significantly and progressively raise educational standards so that young people become high achievers, effective learners and major contributors to the regeneration of the community. This aim is to be achieved through a developing partnership between schools, the community, business and providers of further and higher education.

Approach

The Bulwell Education Action Zone serves an area in the north-east of Nottingham. With the decline of industries, particularly coal mining, in the 1960s, 70s and 80s unemployment rose. The Council developed new housing projects and moved families from the Nottingham inner-city areas to Bulwell. The area has high levels of social disadvantage and has one of the highest levels of street crime in the whole Nottingham area. The zone includes eight primary schools and two secondary schools. Low achievement has historically been a feature of the majority of zone schools, particularly the secondary schools.

The following programme areas are identified in order to achieve the overall aim:

Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment.
Improve standards of literacy and numeracy.
Improve standards of information technology.
Maximise inclusion and minimise exclusion.
Develop effective partnerships with parents, carers and the local community to raise standards.

Results

The Bulwell Education Action Zone has been successful in establishing a positive climate: primary schools work well together and this has assisted the drive to improve attainment in primary schools.
The secondary schools have been preoccupied with their own particular difficulties and their involvement in the zone's development has been more limited.
Partnerships with business are a significant strength. Business partners have made a strong contribution and are providing sustainable support to schools, while providing positive role models for young people in an area of high unemployment.

In order to improve planning an Education Action Zone should:

develop a streamlined action plan, based on a reduced number of programmes, to raise attainment and promote inclusion;
within that plan, analyse the needs of the secondary schools and target resources carefully in order to raise attainment rapidly;
link initiatives to promote inclusion more closely to those to do with raising standards.

Contact info

Bulwell EAZ
Phone: +44 1159646119
nccis@lea.nottinghamcity.gov.uk

Project start date

16/06/2004

Links

Education Action Zones Nottingham Schools

Bulwell EAZ Action Plan (PDF, Eng , 525 KB)

Bulwell EAZ Action Plan - further details (PDF, Eng , 130 KB)

Document type

case

Themes

Urban Policy > Social inclusion & integration

Keywords

Education