Report: “Heart of the Community”
by James Townsend
Executive Director
The Reach Foundation
The release of the South-West Social Mobility Commission’s report on The Reach Foundation’s Cradle-to-Career Partnership comes at a pivotal moment for education in England.
In a recent article for Tes, Star Academies CEO, Sir Hamid Patel eloquently argued why the social role of schools has never been more important.
“[...] schools offer the promise of joy and a comforting feeling of belonging for all of the young people and families they serve and who serve within them. At their best, they can be ports to seek refuge from the wider storm and reassuring lighthouses that help all of us to navigate perils.”
His reflections resonate deeply with the findings of this report: schools and trusts are not only educational institutions but also anchors of their communities, driving transformational change for children and families.
This report, co-authored by Dr Anne-Marie Sim and Professor Lee Elliot Major, underscores the potential of the C2C approach to tackle entrenched inequities and improve outcomes for those most underserved by the status quo. It is a call to action for education leaders nationwide to reimagine their role as civic leaders and community builders.
Most encouragingly, this report highlights concrete action points to support this abstract ambition, offering practical roadmaps for realising these visions. There is, of course, lots still to learn about bringing a cradle-to-career model to life for all children. But thanks to the pioneering work of these school and trust leaders, we are deepening our understanding all of the time.
Highlights
The report identifies eight foundational steps for developing cradle-to-career models, as referenced in Lee Elliot Major’s Schools Week op-ed. These include, amongst others, building trust through deep listening, leveraging cross-sector partnerships, and adopting a long-term approach to community and school improvement.
These principles are not abstract ideals; they have been drawn from and are grounded in the real-world successes of the four case studies highlighted in the report. Researchers observed 15 common practices across these schools that underpin their success. These include a commitment to relational leadership, using local assets to drive change and minimise costs, and aligning school and community priorities to achieve collective impact.
Spotlights
The report’s four case studies bring to life the profound impact a cradle-to-career approach can have:
Cranbrook Education Campus
East Devon
Cranbrook is a young town in all senses of the word: it’s a brand-new town in East Devon and, with over 30% of the population under 18, it has the youngest population of any town in the UK too. There, senior leaders have repurposed underused space within the school to establish the EX5-Alive Hub.
The results (so far)? An estimated £200,000 in savings in emergency support costs, GP visits reduced by 50%, and 19 families supported through the Attendance Project, with 11 avoiding emergency referrals. Parents now see the Hub as a welcoming space to connect and thrive.
King’s Oak Academy
South Gloucestershire
Through initiatives like a local Family Hub and a three-phase school structure, King’s Oak is not only improving academic transitions but also rebuilding intergenerational trust in the school. Leaders have listened deeply to students, families and wider community members, developed a new Communications Framework to ensure inclusive, consistent communication, and are in the process of co-locating a wide range of services at the school with a particular emphasis on mental health support, parenting classes, and improving employability within the community.
Holyrood Academy
Somerset
Holyrood Academy’s story exemplifies the power of collaboration, with initiatives like the Community Leaders Breakfast bringing together local stakeholders to address systemic challenges such as food poverty and early years provision. Recognising the school’s visibility, prominence and civic influence in Chard, Holyrood Academy’s convening work has created a sustainable ecosystem of expanded support where school, community and local authority priorities align.
Chiltern Primary School
Hull
Thrive’s relational approach to parental support is transforming the lives of families in Hull. With programmes like ‘Chat and Choose,’ Thrive is breaking down barriers and creating a culture of trust and engagement that has boosted attendance to 96.4% while strengthening community capacity.
Insights
Driving change from within
In each case, the outcomes are clear: improved attendance, stronger relationships, and better opportunities for all children and young people—especially those who have been underserved in recent years.
A key insight from the report is that this work is not an added extra. Strengthening community capacity is not a luxury reserved for schools already “in good shape.” Instead, for each, the approach is central to their continual improvement. The schools and trusts profiled in the report view their community work as essential—not just to their mission, but to their ability to drive better outcomes for all pupils. Instead of ‘distracting’ the school from its objectives, the reorientation is expanding the school’s capacity to improve outcomes.
As trust leaders, we must challenge ourselves to see beyond our school gates. The work profiled in this report shows what’s possible when schools embrace their civic role and work hand-in-hand with their communities to drive change. By addressing the barriers our pupils face outside the classroom, we unlock the potential for success within it.
This report underscores that the greatest transformations often come not from scaling widely but from scaling deeply—investing in relationships, trust and sustained community engagement. This challenges the narrative that leaders can only 'control the controllables.' Instead, it calls on us to recognise our agency in shaping the systems around us, proving that true leadership transcends limits and inspires collective action.
Our invitation
The four stories highlighted in this report represent a small sample of the 40 clusters we are working with presently to explore the regenerative potential of schools and trusts in their communities.
Our Cradle-to-Career Partnership is a growing movement of schools and trusts committed to realising this vision. If the challenges and successes outlined in this report resonate with you, we invite you to join our network of ‘locally rooted and nationally connected’ leaders; designing, developing and delivering practical support to embed the C2C approach in their own contexts. Applications to join our 2025/26 leadership cohort are now open.
Together, we can build an education system that works for all children and young people—one that strengthens schools and communities alike. To learn more, contact us for an exploratory conversation.
