Above: Valentines High School website

Valentines High School is a very successful multiethnic school in Redbridge, East London.

The school has built close links with its local community by setting up a Community Forum, which meets formally twice a term.

A local Imam, on a paid contract with the school, manages the forum.

Local community mentors, paid sessionally, come from a range of cultures and ethnicities: Tamil, Somali, black African, Turkish, Polish, white British and Urdu, Gujerati and Bengali speakers.

They mentor pupils and provide a point of contact for parents.

Wide-ranging issues have been discussed through the Forum, leading to deeper understanding of how local communities can work with the school.