To create strong connections to your school’s community hub, you can start with your local community.
Find out about the services in your local community
When you set up a hub you can build on existing relationships with:
- other government and non-government organisations
- community and faith groups
- local services and businesses.
It’s useful to create a map of the services available. You can get your students to help discover and map what’s around. This could be included as part of a curriculum task.
Learn about the needs in your local community
Use these ideas to find out more about what’s happening locally. Consider whose role it will be to coordinate this.
- Hold a focus group – ask specific questions and take notes.
- Have students conduct a survey – keep it short and ask specific questions. This could be included as part of the curriculum.
- Hold an information session – ask for feedback or information.
- Meet with parent groups – ask specific questions and take notes.
- Hold a fundraiser event – ask people for their ideas.
- Tap into staff knowledge about local families or needs—speak with them individually, at a staff meeting or try an email survey.
- Ask your students – they may have great ideas.
- Talk to parents who are not engaged in the school—they may have the greatest needs and best ideas.
- Have families complete community skills and interests template – send home to families at the start of the school year.
Use specialist or community knowledge
- Talk to specific education staff groups. For example, Aboriginal education staff.
- Work with support staff or community centres or groups. This can help you reach people who are culturally and linguistically diverse.
- Meet with local businesses e.g. local radio
‘I’ve learnt that people have great capacity and so many skills so why would we not want to make use of them.’
- School principal
Work with the local community to improve learning opportunities – a video
Contact
Schools as Community Hubs
Phone: 8226 2479
Email: education.sach [at] sa.gov.au