Co-op Academies Trust, the Co-op Foundation and Envision created a tailormade version of the Community Apprentice Programme, challenging school councils to galvanise others within their academy to tackle a social problem of their choosing.
Supported by Envision, young people in schools across Birmingham took action against the city’s most pressing health issues.
As part of their work developing the school council, students at Ormiston NEW Academy are training as student mentors and developing leadership skills. Students are training to gain ASDAN qualifications in mentoring, using the skills gained to support younger students in the school as well as at local primaries.
Students from seven different schools took part in a project delivered by Football Beyond Borders (FBB), using the story of Raheem Sterling to introduce young people to assets, platforms, community, inequality and change.
Students at Ormiston Sir Stanley Matthews Academy (OSSMA) have created a community Healthy Hub, using gardening to learn about mental health coping strategies while growing food to form part of a healthy lifestyle.
A team of students from Hendon School planned, gained funding for and led a conference at Middlesex University that explored mental health with presentations from mental health experts. The team divided themselves into teams covering communications, logistics, workshops and budget and also conducted an evaluation of the event.
Students at George Salter Academy have been growing vegetables in a school garden to sell in a pop-up shop for the local community, after visiting local soup kitchens and finding out about their work.
The Smart School Council programme is a whole-school, inclusive approach to running a school council. Using digital tools, all students are directly involved in making decisions within their class and school, building awareness of the importance of active citizenship.
Sports Leader Qualifications (SLQs) provide students with opportunities to develop leadership and life skills, aiming to boost confidence, aid attainment and develop employability skills through a range of subject mediums.
A group of students at Woodbrook Vale School successfully applied for a grant to purchase new recycling bins to go across their school grounds. All rubbish from the school was previously sorted offsite, however students felt that taking ownership for recycling would help to tackle the litter problem in their school.