Above: Moat Community College, family science challenge

Moat Community College in Leicester, with a school population that is 95% minority ethnic (mainly Muslim), has placed itself at the centre of its community.

Local people are allowed to picnic on the school lawn in the summer and to use the all-weather sports pitch at weekends.

There are adult education classes in the school during the day, where mothers without English have the opportunity to learn.

The school is also trying to work with what the head teacher calls ‘complementary’, not ‘supplementary’ schools:

A survey of students revealed many boys attend madrasa schools at the local mosque; more than three quarters of Year 10 boys said they go.

The head teacher's aim is to connect the learning in the madrasa with the mainstream, looking at the quality of the teaching and seeing how the work done there can help with RE GCSE and with gaining GCSEs in community languages.

Additional information:
Many schools have developed partnerships with local ‘supplementary schools’, which
provide a cultural education for a community alongside helping pupils with academic
studies.

For further information about supplementary schools, please contact the National Resource Centre for Supplementary Education : http://www.supplementaryeducation.org.uk.