Community Engagement Guide
This guide can help users maximise the impact of working in partnership with the local community.
This guide can help users maximise the impact of working in partnership with the local community. Community and stakeholder engagement in a youth social action programme involves young people working with other interested individuals or organisations to deliver action and change. The engagement can help increase access to students' learning opportunities, boost student retention, promote optimism among teachers, and improve children's school attendance rates.
This project was sponsored by the Ormiston Trust to promote performing arts within Birmingham, enabling them to access specialist teaching and resources utilising the facilities at Birmingham Ormiston Academy. In 2022/23, BOA's Super Saturday School ran for six weeks, and BOA aimed to improve the programme to be eight weeks in 2023/24. The outreach scheme caters for school children from ages 4 to 16. The children who attend the weekend provision journey from all areas of Birmingham and represent over 40 schools from various backgrounds and cultures.
SuperKind is an award-winning, free platform for schools to bring active citizenship and philanthropy into the classroom.
Earth Cubs is award-winning content about the environment, sustainability and climate change for 3-11 year olds.
Two schools collaborated - Marsden Heights Community College and Park High School Colne – for the students to discuss the issues which were important to them and the wider community. The project took the students on a journey to learn about the school, local, national and international matters. They learnt and expressed how they felt about things and what their peers thought too. They engaged with local councilors, community workers and the general public on current matters. They then worked with a local poet to create a message to go back to the school and the community about their experience.
The Advocacy Academy is an activist youth movement of young leaders fighting for justice and equality. They serve as the political home for grassroots youth organizing and the catalyst for collective action. The power of movement building is not about feeling ‘confident’ or ‘courageous’. Power is the ability to act; this is important when 88% of young people feel that their voices are completely unheard in society. They run immersive programmed to train young leaders who then continue their journey with The Advocacy Academy. Currently, there are 122 alumni.
11 young Traveler peer researchers were trained in basic qualitative research skills and assisted in creating a questionnaire. The peer researchers interviewed 44 x 15 - 25-year-old Travelers in London about the barriers they have faced around education, both in school and at home. They were also asked for their recommendations for improvements to the education system. The research found that the experience of bullying in school is more of a norm than an exception for young Travelers in London.
Young people identify people in their lives who are ‘hidden heroes’ – those people who go the extra mile every day and expect nothing in return, never seeking accolades.
In this video, the young people are face-to-face with their hidden heroes so that they can tell them what makes them extra special. The hidden heroes then respond.
These hidden heroes are all role models in their own right, showing the young people that they too can make a positive difference in the world and enrich others’ lives.
Refers to activities that young people do to make a positive difference to others while developing key skills and attributes and having fun. YSA can take place in various contexts (i.e. at home, schools, youth clubs etc) and can include volunteering, fundraising, campaigning or supporting peers. We believe social action can play an essential role: in young lives, the success of a school, the local community or more.
Our Resource Hub aims to act as a Youth Social Action search engine, offering tailored results to inspire and guide. The hub hosts a wide variety of resources, including our own Youth Social Action Toolkit, case studies, research reports, and helpful resources from other reputable organisations in the sector.
Our Resource Hub aims to act as a Youth Social Action search engine, offering tailored results to inspire and guide. The hub hosts a wide variety of resources, including our own Youth Social Action Toolkit, case studies, research reports, and helpful resources from other reputable organisations in the sector.
To find appropriate resources, use the filter feature to select the relevant options. You can filter by key stage (1-5), YSA theme (e.g. poverty), or a particular skill (e.g. communication). You can also filter by resource owner (Ormiston Trust or external organisation) and resource type, such as lesson plans. If you know what you are looking for, you can use the search bar.
To save or download resources, please sign up for a free account. In your user area, you can organise your saved items for quick and easy access. On the resource results page, you can save or download multiple resource quickly by using the tickbox feature.
Our Youth Social Action Toolkit has been carefully developed by industry professionals with input from young people to guide school leaders, support staff, and young people through a Youth Social Action project. Our curriculum guides clearly outline how YSA can be integrated into the curriculum of schools with limited time.
We don’t gatekeep – by sharing our sector knowledge and resources, we aim to enrich the lives of all young people by fostering skills development, improving agency and wellbeing, and promoting active citizenship.
The first step of the YSA process is to be inspired by an issue you care about! Check out our inspirational case studies on what you could do!
The second step of the YSA process is to explore your options! You‘ll need to research the issue that inspired you to take action to understand how you can help.
Ready to start planning your project? Access our Youth Social Action Toolkit here.
The third step of the YSA process is to plan your project! Lucky for you, we have a Project Planning Template for that.
The fourth step of the YSA process is to carry out your plan! This is when the physical activities involved like fundraising, campaigning, and volunteering kick off.
The fifth and final step of the YSA process is to reflect! Looking back at your plan, did you achieve your aims? What went well and what didn’t go so well? Can you sustain your project? Or did you take steps to ensure further projects aren’t needed?