The Schools Linking Network was established in 2007 with the support of the Department for Children, Schools and Families and Pears Foundation to work with schools, local authorities and non-governmental organisations across England.
Prior to the establishment of the Schools Linking Network (SLN), successful linking projects had been operating in Bradford since 2001 and in Tower Hamlets, London since 2006.
The ‘School Linking Project’ first initiated by Angie Kotler in The City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council in 2001 rapidly grew into a district wide programme and received national recognition.
By 2007, Angie had been asked by the Department for Education (then the Department for Education and Schools) and Pears Foundation to start SLN.
SLN was established to help young people and communities engage with issues of identity, diversity, equality and community, and to develop intercultural dialogue and active citizenship. Through the network, CPD and additional support would be provided to 40 more local authorities and up to 3,000 schools across England.
Angie was appointed as Chief Executive of SLN and has, ever since, dedicated her time to raising the profile of the organisation, which today is in a very strong position.
In September 2011, Angie made the decision to step down as Chief Executive in order to focus more closely on research into the teaching and learning of young people.
A new Director of SLN has been appointed. Dave Norman, who officially started in his new role in February 2012, will continue to develop the work of SLN in partnership with colleagues around the country.
Key Reports
The establishment of SLN followed two reports to government, recommending that school linking should be widely disseminated across the country. The first report by Sir Keith Ajegbo was a review of the Diversity and Citizenship in the Curriculum, and the second one was from the Commission for Integration and Cohesion.
These two reports looked at community cohesion and integration from different perspectives. The first report looked at community cohesion from within the curriculum, and the second report studied it from the point of view of overall community engagement.
Curriculum Review Diversity and Citizenship produced by Sir Keith Ajegbo in January 2007.
Our Shared Future, Commission on Integration and Cohesion, produced by DCLG
The reports found that the model of school linking already established in Bradford met both criteria of working within the curriculum and bringing communities together. The SLN model supports schools, local authorities and non-governmental organisations to assess local cohesion and achievement issues around the country and to design appropriate and successful linking work within the national curriculum, to address these issues.
In the changing educational context, the SLN model is continuing to support schools to address key areas of social, moral, spiritual and cultural development. This is a crucial element in the overall judgment on schools’ effectiveness as outlined in the new Ofsted framework.
School leaders and local authority colleagues are working with us to provide clear guidance for schools on how best to meet this demand.
SLN’s work also helps schools to meet the requirements of the Equalities Act.
