Community Cohesion

Cambridgeshire County Council produced guidance (marked in orange throughout) in response to government requirements in 2008. Here we set out the ways in which BWT addresses this guidance as an example of the impacts we can make.

A cohesive community is one where: “There is a common vision for all communities, an emphasis on articulating what binds communities together rather than what differences divide them, a sense of belonging, of identifying with the neighbourhood and of ‘looking out for each other.”

BWT’s system of parental involvement means that parents and practitioners continuously reflect on the social, emotional, physical and intellectual environment they are collectively able to provide for their children. This exploration touchs on all aspects of life in the community, from the diverse perspectives within the community. Parents and practitioners who have used these methods report that they are able to gain new insights and use these to mutual advantage:

“People have become more inclined to listen. Everyone needs to not just have a voice. Everyone needs to be heard. We talk about collective responsibility a lot. We are concerned sometimes that there will be some imbalances. What we have learned is that we are able to handle this if everybody knows what is happening and we share all of the information.” – Parent Researchers, BWT York

“There is a commitment to equality and social justice.”

Children instinctively explore all facets of fairness and look to adults to help them construct an understanding of fairness. BWT draws adult attention to this process and thereby to enquiry about the models of equality and social justice evident locally. Reflection about the needs of children generally is particularly powerful with parents understanding sometimes for the first time the needs of children with special needs and the ways in which even children with major disabilities can contribute.

”We care about the children who are only going to get an F. ” – Local group participants, Talk Time, Our Seaside Safari July 2006

Plymouth parents working with BWT in a very poor area presented to the Joint Area Review about the needs of children from all social backgrounds for speech therapy.

“The diversity of people’s different backgrounds and circumstances is appreciated, respected and protected, in order to support integration and cohesion in changing communities.”

Big Wide Talk method and tools bring people together because they live in the same place or their children attend the same school. There are no other criteria. This means that the discussions that are an essential part of the method have diverse contributions and it is within this space that people can be enabled to explore difference safely.

“At Seaside Safari we all got on really well. We managed to share the task of being with the children as a group although there were glitches. Perhaps we were able to get on with each other because we knew we only had to make it for four days. If the time had been longer we might have had rows. We noticed that some other groups had rows. Even although we were all working as a group we all did things differently especially bedtime practices.” – Parent researchers, BWT Plymouth

“People have similar life opportunities, irrespective of background.”

Participants in BWT projects and programmes consider the needs of their children in relation to the provision of local services and amenities. This qualitative information is discussed and debated against a background of detailed information about the circumstances of children’s lives locally. Parents and practitioners are thereby enabled to consider needs and strengths beyond commonly held misunderstandings and areas of ignorance. In this framework people begin to think about their own ambitions and to consider what they need to fulfil these in the light of the needs of others.

“Everyone understands their rights and responsibilities and is encouraged to participate at all levels.”

All BWT work includes doing exciting things with children which demands the consciousness of children’s rights those of their parents and the attendant responsibilities. In addition collective responsibility is essential to the achievement of shared ventures such as rock climbing, boating and the provision of self directed experience with interesting spaces and objects.

“Strong and positive relationships are being developed between people from different backgrounds in the workplace, in schools and within neighbourhoods.”

BWT uses a three generational model of best practice that have successfully engaged whole communities in the demonstration of children’s creativity and learning:

“ We had several older members of the community coming to see why their social life was put on hold [for a Big Wide Talk exhibition]. All were impressed and amazed by the gels [on the windows] and asked for them to be kept up. Three teenage girls came in and said, ‘Wow! The gels are really cool. They look good. Can we keep them?’ We showed three young men around who were suspicious about the temporary closure of the youth club. They were impressed and spread the word so that others followed. We showed the Community Centre user representatives round, who were amazed at the transformation. We collected many, many new stories and we began documenting the experience.” – Parent researchers, BWT Avonmouth

See our Case Study: Growing Up in Morecambe

All of these impacts derive from the delivery of Theatres of learning and the running of local groups.