Higher educational standards and instilling an entrepreneurial instinct in students can lead to benefits for all
The regeneration of a community can take many forms but, in my experience, the most effective way is for it to be people-led, rather than expecting infrastructure alone to lead the way.
Over the past six years my foundation has worked closely with communities across the country through our sponsorship of academy schools. We now have five academies – Darwen near Blackburn, Portland in Dorset, north Kensington in London, and two in Brighton – along with two university technical colleges at Salford and Newhaven and a studio school in Darwen. We see our academies and colleges as community assets, leading regeneration in areas where there has been underinvestment and often a climate of low aspiration which has existed for many generations.
These centres offer a real opportunity to link a place of learning to the longer-term regeneration of the area, with benefits for all who live there, whatever their age.
My concern is that government does not encourage this thinking. In view of the investment made in our schools programme over recent years, this is a massive lost opportunity, particularly at a time of austerity with cuts to so many local and central government services.
It is vital for higher educational standards, particularly in numeracy and literacy, to lead community change. In Darwen, where we opened our academy four years ago, GCSE results of five A*-C (including maths and English) have increased from 23% to approaching 60%. We also have a vibrant sixth form where previously this did not exist. Last year 50 students went on to university, in many cases the first in their families to do so, and this year we have seen two of our students being offered a place at Oxford and Cambridge universities. All this has had an enormously positive effect on the community.
A key element of this success has been introducing a focus on entrepreneurship as a driving force in all our academies, to bring about more positive attitudes towards learning and teaching.
We don't expect every student to start a business, but we do want to develop entrepreneurial instincts in our students and believe that the attributes of an entrepreneur can encourage the mindset that there is no need to go on accepting the status quo, which for many families in these communities is a life on benefits.
The attributes cover teamworking, determination, problem-solving, passion, creativity and risk-taking and are core life skills that will improve employment opportunities.
Within all our academies and colleges we have designed incubator offices or "pods" where young people can start businesses – and these pods are also available to the community to rent at subsidised rates. Since we started in 2010, 22 businesses have been set up by young people and a further 21 set up by older people. The business support teachers at the academy incorporate business and entrepreneurship in their lessons as well as offering one-to-one support to young people and delivering workshops to the wider community. Over 3,000 local people have been involved in some form of entrepreneurial activities.
We also offer adult education. Portslade academy, for instance, includes an adult learning centre, where approximately 2,000 people a year attend courses on a wide range of subjects designed not only to increase learning but to improve employability chances.
We also encourage community use of our sporting facilities – almost 20,000 local residents visit the Portslade sports centre every year. Through partnership with leading regional sports organisations, including county cricket club, league football and netball clubs, we give the community access to excellent facilities and top coaches.
What surprises me is that more use has not been made of the enormous public investment that rightly has been made in our education system. Academies are a central part of this initiative so effectively led by the Department for Education. But what we do also relates to other departments, such as the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills and the Department for Communities and Local Government.
Given that one in four of 16- to 25-year-olds in the country are not in education, employment or training, our model also crosses into the world of the Department for Work and Pensions, encouraging people to start businesses rather than expecting roles to be created for them.
I suggest that now is the time to apply more entrepreneurial, innovative thinking to community problems rather than it being driven by narrow, short-term political desires.
The building blocks are there, the investment has been made and the social returns could be enormous.
Sir Rod Aldridge is founder of the Aldridge Foundation
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