Working With the Wider Community

See how schools across the UKSSN network are teaming up with their local communities to bring learning to life, boost sustainability and make a lasting difference where it matters most

Schools that anchor themselves in their communities unlock resources, expertise and opportunities that extend far beyond what their budgets and timetables alone can deliver. Community collaboration is not a soft add-on; it is a strategic enabler that broadens curriculum experience, strengthens family support and accelerates schools’ sustainability ambitions. This article draws upon two case studies – one from a primary school working with a local wildlife trust and one from a multi-academy trust using Climate Fresk to engage governors and community leaders – it shows how complementary approaches to partnership can achieve practical, scalable, and deeply rooted impact.

Chigwell Primary Academy

Chigwell Primary Academy wanted to grow its outdoor learning offer but faced the common constraints of staff turnover and site works. Rather than shrinking the ambition, the leadership team sought external expertise and capacity. They partnered with Essex Wildlife Trust education centre, a 15-minute walk from the school and offered curriculum-linked, affordable outdoor learning delivered by specialist Wilder Learning Officers.

The partnership began with whole-school visits to workshops at the centre. As staff confidence grew, teachers planned and led curriculum activities using the centre’s specialist facilities and expertise. The relationship evolved into an extended-provision model: Chigwell Meadows After School Nature Club, available exclusively to the school’s pupils, offering weekly forest-school style sessions. The Wildlife Trust collected children from school, ran activities at the centre, and returned children to parents at 5pm.

The model delivered multiple wins: children accessed outdoor learning experiences that the school could not realistically offer on its own; families gained affordable childcare and enrichment; the Wildlife Trust secured a steady commitment from the school to use its services; and the school built sustainable capacity without hiring additional specialist staff.

HEART Academies Trust

HEART Academies Trust took a different but complementary route to community engagement by focusing on governance and strategic vision. The trust hosted a Climate Fresk event to bring together school governors, parent governors and community leaders for a participative workshop led by Climate Clarity. Climate Fresk uses interactive activities and visual storytelling to demystify climate science and guide groups to identify actionable steps across four focus areas: Adaptation and Mitigation, Biodiversity, Climate Education and Curriculum, and Decarbonisation.

Governors were invited to reflect on the trust’s long-term ambitions, pace of progress, and short-, medium- and long-term actions they wished to see. The session surfaced practical, locally relevant ideas – shaded outdoor learning areas, sustainable drainage, green roofs, climate-friendly catering and net-zero building ambitions – which the trust has used to refine a 10-year environmental vision. The workshop model deepened governors’ climate literacy built shared ownership of the trust’s Climate Action Plan and positioned governors as active connectors between schools and the communities they represent.

Operational and Strategic

Both case studies illustrate the complementary dimensions of community engagement necessary for sustained change. Chigwell’s partnership demonstrates how operational gaps in curriculum provision and childcare can be met through trusted local partnerships that deliver immediate, tangible benefits to children and families. HEART’s Climate Fresk demonstrates how strategic, governance-level engagement builds the mandate, vision and accountability needed to convert good practice into system change.

Together these examples map a practical pathway for schools and trusts seeking to embed sustainability and community collaboration. Start by meeting operational needs through partnerships that increase capacity and enrich the curriculum. Parallel to that, invest in governance-level engagement that raises climate literacy, shapes strategic priorities and unlocks long-term investment and policy alignment. When operational delivery and strategic vision are aligned, momentum becomes easier to sustain and scale.

How Can this be Replicated in Your School or Trust?

• Prioritise proximity and relevance when seeking partners; adjacent or local organisations reduce logistical barriers and strengthen community ties.
• Sequence engagement: use early wins from practical partnerships to build confidence and secure long-term commitment.
• Design for reciprocity: ensure partnerships offer value to all parties, whether it’s steady income for a charity partner, affordable provision for families, or increased skills for staff and governors.
• Make participation inclusive: engage parents, governors, community leaders, staff and pupils so initiatives reflect lived local needs and amplify community ownership.
• Translate ideas into a plan with clear short-, medium- and long-term actions that map to resources, accountability and measurable outcomes.

Community partnership is a strategic route to extend curriculum, provide affordable provision, and access specialist expertise which can help your school deliver on their Climate Action Plan.