Beyond our schools
Beyond our schools, into the community
Schools are intricately connected to the communities they serve in the places they are located. Despite being amidst some thriving artistic, sporting and business endeavours so typical of the affluent City and Docklands, our family of schools is serving children and young people from communities facing profound social and economic disadvantage and disparity, with high levels of child poverty. Responding to the distinctive challenges and needs of all the places and communities we serve sits at the heart of all that we do. We are committed not only to serving the children and families in our school community, but supporting everyone in the local community beyond our classrooms and schools. We are working with other local families, schools, community organisations and partners to offer access to services and spaces for adult education, community projects, events and performances.Amazing
Community and family learning
Our rich and tightly-knit local community provides access to exceptional learning opportunities not only for our students and their families, but everyone in the community.
We are working in partnership with other local schools, offering pioneering programmes of community and family learning. Up to 12 classes in everything from English as a second language or computing skills, to decorating bags and carving fruit. Programmes can include visits to historical landmarks and galleries, and outings to concerts or the theatre.
We also provide help, support and training for parents and carers who are looking for work.
Most of our classes are held in our dedicated facilities at the Mulberry and Bigland Green Centre.
Mulberry and Bigland Green Centre
The Mulberry and Bigland Green Centre is a purpose-built community facility run by Mulberry School for Girls and Bigland Green Primary School, and led by The Richard Street Education Trust.
The centre has six classrooms for adult learning, a community hall for larger events and a professional theatre space, as well as hosting the Wapping & Bigland Children’s Centre. We provide space for a wide variety of community education and social and cultural activity – adult education, events, celebrations and community-led projects. As well as productions for the stage, the theatre hosts talks, lectures and conferences and all our spaces are regularly hired by a wide range of partners and local organisations.
Parent forums
We believe children and young people achieve their best when parents, carers and teachers work together in partnership to support their learning. Feedback can make a meaningful contribution to learning and achievement, and we embrace it not only in our daily teaching but also in our relationships with parents, carers and other partners and stakeholders outside the school family.
We are constantly seeking parent and carer feedback to understand what’s working and where we can make improvements – not only for individual students, but for our individual schools and the whole Trust family. We hold regular forums with parents and carers, exploring key themes and areas needing input and ideas from families to help us adjust or improve.
We involve and engage parents and carers in numerous ways, from one to one meetings, year group and whole school gatherings, newsletters and online communication and events from individual schools, partners and our Changemaker Programmes, and directly from the Trust itself.
Our partners
We’re very proud of our work with an extensive network of local, national and global partners from a wide range of education, business, community and culture sectors. These partnerships help us provide those enriching extra-curricular experiences that challenge and inspire our students beyond their classroom and school, helping build the confidence and skills our young people need to succeed and thrive.
They not only help us by providing local services, spaces and opportunities for the community, they enrich the learning available for students through our schools with visits, speakers, work experience, career advice and mentoring.
