5.3. Partnerships - employers and businesses

Manchester Communication Academy (MCA) works to improve outcomes for children, families and the community. This secondary academy opened in 2010 to serve one of the most disadvantaged inner-city neighbourhoods in England. From the outset, the academy’s sponsor, a large employer in the city, wanted the school to help to contribute to a vibrant and sustainable neighbourhood, and committed to addressing the many inter-related economic, social and physical challenges which characterise the neighbourhood. This mission has directly shaped the academy programme, which places equal importance on ‘teaching and learning’ and ‘social investment’. The school’s social investment department is a highly distinctive feature of its overall strategy for addressing the impacts of disadvantage on young people’s education and wider life chances.

The Preventing School Failure (PSF) project aimed to address the lack of inclusion and fairness in the education system. It aimed to examine the evidence to suggest that inclusive education policies have the potential to prevent school failure – both in relation to individuals and the overall system. 

The school’s approach to teaching and learning is based on attaining educational excellence and achievement for all students. The school developed a stimulating curriculum which seeks to provide its students with an understanding of the learning processes in which they are involved (meta-cognition) – and to build their self-belief. The provision of specialist teaching in certain subject areas (science, music, art, physical education) is a key element in this process, as is the development of maths teaching throughout the school (for 6th graders). The teaching of philosophy to all students is also a vital element in developing students’ thinking skills, resilience and self-confidence. Curriculum innovation is undertaken on the initiative of the school, working in co-operation with its Federation partners at Whitmore Park Primary School. All staff, the governing body, students and parents are regularly consulted and made part of the process of curriculum development, and the school is strongly engaged with community partners in developing broader learning activities.

The Supporting Inclusive School Leadership (SISL) project investigated how to promote inclusive school-level leadership and provided supportive tools. The project considered that leadership for inclusive education aimed at achieving full participation in meaningful learning opportunities, high achievement and well-being for all learners, including those most vulnerable to exclusion.

The ‘Talk of the Town’ (ToTT) intervention was developed by The Communication Trust and ICAN – two UK-based speech, language and communication NGOs. ToTT was piloted across a small federation of schools (secondary and primary) in Manchester in an area of social deprivation in 2011- 2012 to address developmental delays in children’s speech language and communication (SLC). It is an integrated, community-led and systematic approach to supporting SLC in children and young people. The importance of detection and support of learners with learning difficulties before the problem is translated into school absenteeism is essential. Research has pointed to the need to identify at-risk learners and rapidly intervene at the appropriate level, in this case a targeted approach being the most applicable. ToTT follows a systematic process to embed strategies and achieve measurable positive outcomes.

It was piloted with four key aims:

1. Early identification of children and young people with SLC needs

2. Joint working between parents and practitioners across health and education

3. Positive outcomes for children and young people with improved SLC skills

4. A sustainable approach, so that policy and practice continues to support positive outcomes.