10 ideas

for 21st
century
education
 Contents
ABOUT INNOVATION UNIT
Introduction: Education for today’s future 4
We are the innovation unit for public services. As a not-for-profit social
enterprise we’re committed to using the power of innovation to solve 1. Open up lessons 6
social challenges. We have a strong track record of supporting leaders
2. Think outside the classroom box 8
and organisations delivering public services to see and do things
differently. They come to us with a problem and we empower them to 3. Get personal 10
achieve radically different solutions that offer better outcomes for lower
costs. 4. Tap into students’ digital expertise 12

5. Get real with projects 14

6. Expect (and help) students to be teachers 16

7. Help (and expect) teachers to be students 18

8. Measure what matters 20

9. Work with families, not just children 22

10. Power to the student 24

So what next? 26

Authors: Martha Hampson, Alec Patton and Leonie Shanks

Introduction:

Education for
today’s future
People make a lot of assumptions Schools are also struggling to prepare Education systems have been
about education. Lessons should last for young people for work. Businesses resistant to change because education
about an hour. Mobile phones should have complained that they’re taking is so important – too important, some
be switched off during school. Students on employees who lack crucial basic would argue, to experiment with. There
should learn in classrooms. And, employment skills such as problem is another way to look at this: in a
fundamentally, students come to school solving, team-working and time rapidly changing world, education is too
to learn, and teachers come to school management, and reported that they important to be left behind.
to teach. These assumptions are so need to provide training to school and
common because they match the way college leavers in order to prepare them In response to this, schools are
that most of us were educated. for their jobs. starting to do education differently. Why
restrict lesson times to an hour when
But this version of education was This only covers the problems of half-day sessions allow students to
designed in and for a very different time, today. In the coming decades, the delve really deeply into subject material?
and there’s no reason to assume that it changes we are experiencing now Many young people have smart phones,
will meet the needs of today’s learners. - to politics, economics, technology, so why not allow them to be used as
and climate – will become even more learning aids? Adults learn in the real
In fact, despite the fact that teachers dramatic. In the US, the ten jobs most world, why not let students? And,
are working as hard as they have in demand didn’t exist in 2004 – 21st fundamentally, the best teachers are
ever worked, schools are struggling century education needs to prepare people who love learning, and the best
to engage young people. As children young people for jobs that don’t exist way to make sure that you understand
grow older they become less and yet, using technologies that haven’t even what you are learning is to teach.
less engaged in school – when one been invented, for which competition will
would hope that the reverse would be global. If we are to develop candidates The schools that are taking this
be true. And this is a bigger problem who are capable of holding their own seriously are still in the minority. But
for the most disadvantaged students, on a global stage we simply must get around the world there is a growing
who consistently show lower levels better at equipping them with the skills global movement towards achieving the
of engagement. This contributes to to handle this uncertain future. vision of 21st century education. Here
restrictions on social mobility. In the UK, we present our view of what this vision
for example, if you are an academically looks like in practice.
high-achieving eleven-year old and you
receive free school meals you are unlikely
to be classed as ‘high achieving’ by the
time you turn sixteen.

4 5
Open up M
any educators, finding
rigid timetables to be too
inflexible, have solved
this by getting rid of
Recognising the value of flexible,
personalised learning, educators are
also using technology in exciting ways
to transform traditional ‘lessons’. In

lessons
lessons altogether. Schools such as the US, the Khan Academy, a non-
the Kunskapsskolan schools in Sweden profit educational organisation, uses
and the Lumiar schools in Brazil are online teaching content to offer
instead organised around individual the ‘flipped classroom’ approach,
learning plans or group projects that whereby information is transmitted
vary in length. In these instances, outside of school hours through
the allocation of space, time and online instruction. This frees up
resources is not fixed. Instead, it is classroom time for the in-depth
up to the students to decide on how discussion, interrogation and practical
they will make best use of them in application of the content, maximising
The 45–60 minute lesson has reigned order to meet their learning objectives. opportunities for productive teacher-
supreme in school systems around the Teachers support students throughout student interaction. Research has
globe for a long time, forcing teachers to this process and monitor their shown that this inversion of traditional
progress closely. ‘class time’ and ‘homework’ is highly
execute their lesson plans with military effective, with students who had
precision. Never mind if students haven’t participated in this model scoring an
fully grasped the subject matter before But opening up lessons does not average of 74% on tests, compared
have to be as radical as this. with 41% for students who were more
the bell rings – time, after all, waits for no
traditionally taught.
man. Increasingly, however, schools are It can also simply be about
shifting away from the conception of the extending or shortening the lesson
lesson as a rigid, subject-specific unit of in a manner which allows for a more With the help of technology and
flexible style of teaching. While still radical reimagining of time and
time that takes place within the four walls not the ‘norm’, educators are realising space, then, lessons no longer
of a classroom, instead embracing the idea the benefits of offering longer lessons have to adhere to the ‘one size
that a lesson can be many things. Organic that give students an adequate length fits all’ approach characteristic of
of time to pursue their own lines of the traditional system. Students
or structured. Long or short. Based within
enquiry or to carry out extended stand to gain a lot from more
or beyond school premises. And as the projects. In the UK, the Royal Society personalised lessons and greater
structure of lessons diversifies, so too of Arts’ Opening Minds curriculum control over their own learning,
does the role of the teacher. advocates, among other things, three- but they are not the only ones.
hour lessons that give teachers and The implications for teachers
students the chance to explore cross- are also exciting. They become
curricular topics in depth. Schools freer to take on different roles,
which have embraced this approach including mentor, coach and
have reported higher levels of staff designer of projects that highlight
satisfaction, along with greater levels the real-world relevance of
of maturity and independence among subject material. This creates
students. A similar principle is at work the potential for them to have a
at Cramlington Learning Village, where deeper, more fulfilling engagement
science experiments are conducted with students, and a more creative
in half day blocks to allow students part to play in the design and
to become fully immersed in their delivery of curricula.
research.

6 Image courtesy of High Tech High 7

Think outside
the classroom
C
ramlington Learning Village Instead, they (and their parents)

box
in Northumberland, UK, is organise their own learning – getting
rethinking its classrooms by together in groups, commissioning
conducting science classes in an Open local experts or teachers to cover
Learning Science Plaza divided into specific subjects or help with
In a traditional classroom, students sit in a set of zones set up for discussion, projects, or working entirely on their
rows at individual desks or small tables, research and experimentation. own. PLACE is not just a learning
facing the teacher. There’s a very good Students are free to tackle complex community that extends beyond the
problems, working wherever they school walls, it is one which lives
reason for this: they are designed so decide they need to be, not where outside them.
that teachers can efficiently transmit they’re told to be. The experimental
information to groups of students. This zone is even equipped with webcams
that allow students to monitor their These are just a few of the ways
made sense when teachers were students’
experiments over the weekend. that classrooms are changing,
most accessible information sources. But expanding and even disappearing,
in an age in which wireless internet means Cramlington’s attitude to learning now that we no longer need them
we are literally surrounded by information, space is echoed by Sweden’s to be knowledge-delivery centres.
Kunskapsskolan schools, which treat In classrooms, as with many things,
we no longer need students in rows facing all space within a school as ‘learning the future is flexible.
the teacher. The pursuit of 21st century space’. Thus, there are no corridors
skills – collaborative problem-solving, and, by extension, no classrooms.
Students can book particular areas for
IT, information and economic literacy –
meetings or seminars, or just grab a
require 21st century teaching methods. seat and get some work done.
The role of teachers can no longer be to
impart knowledge but to guide, discuss This way of thinking about
learning space has inspired some
and, of course, measure the progress of of Sweden’s top architects, but it
students so that they know when more can also be implemented in existing
support is needed. Today, innovative school buildings at no added cost
– the point is not the space itself,
schools are designing classrooms for
but how you think about it. In fact,
the pursuit of knowledge, rather than its some learning communities are
conveyance, and even doing away with working without a designated ‘space’
them altogether. whatsoever – like PLACE, a group
of learners who are affiliated with
Biddenham International School in
Bedfordshire, UK.

8 Image courtesy of Ørestad Gymnasium 9

Get personal negotiables’ and a host of elements
that students can personalise for
themselves – in project-based learning

D
igital technology allows it is the students, not the teachers,
teachers to keep track of who are responsible for personalising
students’ progress all the the work.
time without spending hours
on marking – thereby creating At Matthew Moss High School in
unprecedented opportunities for Greater Manchester, UK, students
personalised learning. design their own projects, based on
their own passions, refining their plans
One of the most dramatic examples with help from their teachers and
In England, when we talk about a child of this is School of One, a maths peers – these student-led projects
with ‘special educational needs’, we are programme being piloted in New have included building a catapult,
referring to a child with diagnosed learning York City, USA. Each morning, every designing and making t-shirts ‘from
student is given a bespoke ‘playlist’ scratch’, building a car engine from
difficulties. But the fact is that everybody of classes, which includes lectures, parts, and refereeing a netball match
has ‘special educational needs’: we seminars, small discussion groups, (this last one chosen by a student
approach problems in our own way, grasp computer games and one-on-one with severe learning difficulties).
concepts at our own pace, and respond sessions with staff. Nobody needs
to spend any time producing these Some teachers are taking a
differently to different kinds of feedback. playlists: they are generated by more unstructured approach to this
Good teachers have always taken account computers based on each student’s ‘passion-driven’ learning, for example
of this, but the structure of conventional performance on assessments at the by giving students half an hour of
end of the previous day. This way, ‘independence time’ at the start of
schools limits the extent to which they students pursue personalised curricula, the day to pursue whatever they are
can personalise learning. In most schools while getting the benefits of learning interested in, using all the resources
everyone studies the same thing, at the in groups with their peers. Meanwhile, available to them.
same time, in the same way. What is their teachers (whose marking
load and planning time are radically
personalised, generally, is how much they reduced) are able to devote more time Digital technology, project-
are expected to understand. This has to designing projects and working based learning and passion-
come about because when one teacher with students one-on-one and in small driven learning point the way
groups. This is an extreme instance to completely different ways
is presenting material to a large class and of the potential for computers to help of learning in school, in which
then personally gauging how much of it teachers personalise learning, but it is students do work that matters to
each of them has learned to apply, there is only one of many examples of schools them, underpinned by frequent
not enough time to provide each student taking advantage of new technology. (but unobtrusive) assessment
that ensures that they are learning
with a course of learning tailored uniquely Project-based learning offers the concepts they need to know
to suit them. However, this is beginning even more radical opportunities as they progress, and that every
to change, partly (though not entirely) for personalisation, because it student can attain mastery of
allows students to draw on their these concepts, however long it
because of digital technology. passions, skills, and interests takes them to do so.
in order to create work that is
meaningful to them. This works,
because every project has a few ‘non-

10 Image courtesy of Kunskapsskolan 11

Tap into Own Technology programe. During

students’
class, students text questions and

I
ntroducing technology into learning comments which are displayed on
can be as simple as lowering an interactive whiteboards for the whole
internet firewall to allow students class to see. This encourages debate
to tap into resources on a scale and and gives a platform to students who
depth that no school library could ever lack confidence in verbal discussions or

digital
match. And it isn’t just about gathering worry about asking ‘stupid’ questions.
information: social networking
sites can encourage peer-to- At schools like Ørestad Gymnasium
peer learning and collaborative in Denmark, where technology and
research. For example, at the Science pedagogy are inextricably linked,
Leadership Academy in Philadelphia, teachers devote time to educating

expertise
USA, students run Facebook science students on the use of technology in
groups containing revision material, learning – developing skills such as
videos, links to articles and discussions assessing the credibility of sources and
to which other schools can contribute solving complex problems by utilising
and use for their own learning. the appropriate research tools. The
responsibility for choosing and using
Online chat, instant messaging technologies is in the hands of students,
and email can help to strengthen who present work in whichever format
Imagine you have been given an urgent task to do at the student-teacher relationship, they believe best showcases their
work which requires a bit of research. Unfortunately, while Twitter hashtags allow students learning – including creating project
you only have 60 minutes of scheduled computer to collate observations during science podcasts combining audio, text, images
experiments and field trips. Blogging and video. Smartphones are used to
access today, and it doesn’t begin for another sites provide an immediate audience record lessons and science experiments
four hours. You have a smartphone, but you’re for students’ work that goes far for later editing and review.
not allowed to use it in the building. What do you beyond their traditional audience of
teachers and classmates. At Heathfield
do? It seems obvious that any professional work
Primary School in Nottingham, UK, Using technologies in which
produced in this context would be lacking in scope learners as young as five blog about students are already well versed
and accuracy. Technology has revolutionised our their lessons, compete for a blog of is a powerful way to support
relationship with information in the real world, the week prize and communicate with independent, enquiry-based
students around the world – with learning and peer collaboration,
and we take for granted our ability to access increased literacy levels, particularly increase standards of written
it anywhere, at any time. This is even more among boys, as a result. work and allow for instant and
pronounced for young people who have grown up reflective forms of assessment.
Some schools are allowing It also has huge potential for
with technology as an integral and ever-present
students to use their phones unlocking student engagement.
part of their lives. Today’s students are natural in classrooms, harnessing the By integrating technology into
investigators, researchers and synthesisers of communication and research methods learning experiences, we can better
information. These skills can be put to powerful that they use in their everyday lives integrate school into students’ lives,
and removing the need for expensive which means students are more
use in any classroom: the days of IT as a discrete laptops. Schools in Lewisville, Texas, engaged in their learning inside and
subject, taught at designated times in computer encourage the use of phones as outside of school.
labs, are numbered. learning tools through a Bring Your

12 Image courtesy of Lumiar Institute 13

Get real with
projects A
particularly striking example of host of people they work with on their
this is the Build San Francisco projects; not just for young people, but
Institute, a half-day high school for everybody; not just in school, but
programme for students interested in all the time, and everywhere. Projects
design and architecture. One cohort help students develop into lifelong
of students at the institute worked learners and in this rapidly changing,
on a civic art project to design a set digital age, we need people who are
of tiles to decorate the Port of San good at learning.
Francisco’s new Pier 14. They were
given just 10 weeks to create the tiles, The most effective projects
from concept to final installation. The share three characteristics:
process taught them a range of new students create numerous drafts
skills: they learnt about the kind of before producing a final product,
discipline needed in order to meet real there are frequent opportunities
deadlines, the organisation required to to critique each others’ work, and
get the best out of a team, and the the finished product is exhibited
importance of resilience – their work publicly. These three things –
was initially rejected by the urban redrafting, critique, exhibition – are
Today, a growing number of young people designer who critiqued it, on the basis critical, because they instil an ethos of
are learning by carrying out projects that that their maritime theme was too high-quality work in both students and
require them to carry out research across ‘vague’, and they had to go away and staff.
come up with a better idea. Today, you
subject boundaries, create a professional- can see their final versions embedded
quality product that demands multiple in the walls at Pier 14. When well-designed projects are
drafts, and publicly present their work to developed in this way, with input
Projects like this give students and feedback from a range of
their peers, their parents and the wider an experience of working in teams, sources, they enable students
world. managing their own time, and to gain the very skills – such as
presenting their work to a mixed commitment, problem-solving and
audience – all skills that will be adaptability – that employers are
valuable in the workplace. But they demanding from graduates. They
also do more. They open schools up to also cross the borders between
their communities, because students subjects, between ‘academic’ and
conduct research beyond the school ‘vocational’ learning, and between
walls, and local businesses (like Port the worlds of adults and students.
of San Francisco) start commissioning This is important, because when
projects of their own. They give you’re an adult, the world never
teachers the opportunity to be divides itself up into neat little
designers, creating the conditions for categories – that only ever happens
learning to take place, as well as being when you’re in school.
purveyors of knowledge. And, most
importantly, they send a message to
students that learning is important –
not just to their teachers, but to the

14 Image courtesy of Big Picture Learning 15

Expect (and help) A
fter all, students often have Some innovative schools are
a natural sense of what their giving students a real stake in and
peers find interesting, and influence over the organisation
can thus act as effective tutors. and delivery of their education.
The Student Technology Leadership The Harris Federation of Academies’

students to
Programe, run by Jefferson County Student Commission on Learning in
Public Schools in the US, organises south-east London gave more than
camps where students produce films of one hundred students the opportunity
historical events, which they then show to work in teams with teachers
to their peers. One pair of 10-year-old to investigate the most effective
girls chose to tell the story of Claudette approaches to teaching and learning.

be teachers
Colvin, a 15-year-old black girl who Their research culminated in a set of
became a pioneer of the African- recommendations that the federation
American civil rights movement when has committed to implementing.
she refused to give up her seat at These include proposed new roles
the front of a public bus. By focusing for students that will enable them
on the experience of a young person to do things traditionally restricted
with whom they could all more easily to teachers, such as reviewing
identify, the girls were able to make this and designing key elements of the
piece of history seem more relevant to curriculum.
their classmates. Such an activity has a
clear benefit for the ‘student teachers’
as well: not only must they digest and Of course, creating a more fluid
understand the subject matter, but relationship between ‘teachers’
The job of a teacher is a challenging they must also think about how to and ‘students’ in the kinds of
one, encompassing a diverse range of present it in a way that will be engaging ways outlined here is not easy,
roles and responsibilities. But this does and memorable for others, and this and needs to be built on a strong
encourages them to think more deeply foundation of mutual respect,
not mean that teachers have skills and about the material. understanding and trust. Yet,
qualities that belong exclusively to them: where schools have been daring
students, too, have long been informally Students also have much to enough to share responsibilities
offer as mentors and coaches. with students in an authentic
inspiring, advising, supporting and The Fife Peer Learning Experiment, and meaningful way, results
offering a listening ear to their friends and UK, a long-term project in which have been extremely positive.
classmates. Indeed, schools are beginning primary school students were paired Outcomes show improvements
to recognise the potential of harnessing up to help one another with reading in academic achievement, but
and mathematics in weekly 1 to 2 also wider positive benefits such
and developing these assets in order to hour sessions, was found to have a as an increase in the quality,
help students to work in complementary transformative effect on students’ frequency and flexibility of learning
ways alongside teachers, enabling them attainment, behaviour and levels of relationships – all of which lead
maturity. Results were particularly to deeper engagement and the
to play a more active part in shaping their positive when weaker readers or less creation of school communities
own education and that of their peers. well-behaved students in the older that work together to make
age group acted as the ‘mentors’ of education as good as it can be.
younger students of a similar ability,
significantly boosting their self-esteem
and communication skills. The project
also saw a significant rise in the
numeracy and literacy levels of the
mentors and mentees involved.

16 Image courtesy of Matthew Moss High School 17

Help (and expect)
teachers to T
he most inspiring people are and a jam-packed timetable have
those who lead by example. It conspired to discourage most teachers
follows that the most inspiring from keeping abreast of research
teachers are the ones who are developments. To overcome this,
passionate about learning – who are strategies and structures need to be

be students
as excited as their students to learn put in place to make learning through
the answers to their enquiries, and who research, and learning as researchers,
are constantly gathering new insights integral to teachers’ work. High Tech
and ideas from a range of sources, both High, a group of charter schools in
from within the teaching profession San Diego, USA, has addressed this by
and beyond it. creating its own Graduate School of
Education, as part of which teachers
There are growing numbers of conduct their own research projects,
educators who recognise this fact – using their classrooms as laboratories.
such as the teachers who participate in Many of these teacher-students go on
Eastfeast’s week-long annual ‘Summer to contribute to High Tech High’s own
University’, UK. Here, they learn from Journal of Adult Learning in School.
a team of gardeners and artists about
The challenges of the 21st century place how to create an ‘outdoor classroom’,
demands on young people to be good in which they can explore the physical Teachers are busy people, and it
learners. They need to be resilient learners, environment with their students might be argued that lack of time
through activities such as growing prevents them from really learning,
able to make mistakes and learn from edible food. evaluating and reflecting upon
them. To be independent learners, willing their educational practice. And yet
to take ownership of their learning. And to Teachers have also taken learning in all of the examples described
entirely into their own hands by hosting here, we see evidence of teachers
be flexible learners, ready to use different
‘teachmeets’ – informal conferences collaborating with other teachers
learning strategies to navigate and adapt in which members of the audience are and professionals to expand their
to a rapidly changing world. If students are chosen randomly to give either two- thinking about education. The
to achieve this they must have effective minute or seven-minute presentations desire to learn is strong among
about education-related topics that teachers, but it is important that
‘teachers of learning’, who fully understand they’re excited about. These are being they are given adequate platforms
the process of learning – and the best way organised all over the the UK, and – both at a school and system
for teachers to achieve this is to become hundreds of teachers are attending – level – to pursue it. By being
not because anybody’s telling them to, encouraged and supported to
learners themselves.
but because they are hungry to learn learn, teachers can acquire skills
more about their vocation. and knowledge that enable them
to enrich the curriculum and the
As in a range of other professions and student experience, while also
disciplines, engaging with research leading the way in cultivating
can also serve as a critically important a culture of learning that the
force for innovation and improvement younger generation can emulate.
in education. Unfortunately, a top-down
approach to professional development

18 Image courtesy of Colegio Cardenal de Cracovia 19

 I
Measure
n an age where we have so much What you assess, and how you
information at our fingertips assess, are critical to determining
through the internet, the ability what, and how, young people
to store facts is not as useful as learn. How often you assess is also
it used to be. It isn’t a useless skill, important. The best assessment
but it has become less relevant in our is continuous – good teachers

what matters
digital age. On the other hand, ‘higher are assessing all the time, alert to
order’ skills, like acquiring, analysing and which students grasp a concept,
synthesising information, are extremely which are confused, and which are
valuable – as are ‘wider’ skills such as simply distracted. Applying the same
working well in teams, using initiative, continuous attention to written work
problem-solving and creativity. These is impossible – for humans. But this
are the skills that employers are looking is something that computers can do
for, and these are the skills we need very well. Organisations such as the
for the 21st century. And if we want Khan Academy, which offers free online
our curriculum to teach these skills, our courses in maths and sciences, have
Assessment matters. What we choose assessments need to focus on them. developed programs that can instantly
to assess inevitably determines what is tell you not just what questions a
taught. And how we assess it influences Once we know what to assess, it student is getting right or wrong, but
becomes clearer which assessment what types of questions the student
how we teach it. Therefore, the question methods we need to use. In schools, struggles with most, what concepts
that every educational system must ask is, ‘assessment’ has predominantly come the student does not yet seem to
“Are we assessing what we want students to mean exams – which, for the have grasped, even how much time a
most part, test what students have student is spending on each question.
to be able to do once they finish school?”
memorised and can recall. Does the By giving routine work like this to
If we want students to leave school average exam test for the higher order machines, we can give teachers more
prepared for adulthood, we need to make skills mentioned above? We don’t think time to design the curriculum and give
sure they have experienced and mastered so. Creating lifelong learners who are their students serious face-to-face
equipped with a whole range of skills time.
the skills they will need in a context that involves a mix of types of learning,
accurately reflects the world outside the including learning that is self-directed,
school walls. collaborative, and enquiry-based. The truth is that we don’t always
Measuring a student’s proficiency know how to assess the skills that
when they are learning in these ways young people need to develop, or
requires richer forms of assessment the types of learning that will help
such as learning journals, portfolios, them develop these skills. There
vivas and presentations. Many schools is a good reason that so much
around the world are operating within assessment tests memorisation:
systems that require their students memorisation is very easy to
to participate in national exams - but measure. 21st century skills are
this does not need to prevent them not so easily measured – but they
from taking a flexible approach to are too important to ignore, so
assessment. Schools like Discovery 1 measure them we must.
in New Zealand and Matthew Moss in
the UK have shown that it is possible
to design an enquiry-based curriculum
which covers the material required
for national exams, without sacrificing
the flexibility that allows students
to choose their own paths through
learning.

20 Image courtesy of Institute of Play 21

Work with S
ome schools are engaging
families by inviting them to
regular events where their
offer talking therapies to parents who
need help. Therapists working on site
can identify families in need of support,

families, not
children present their work, such as many of whom are not registered with
the student-run project exhibitions at local health services, before they reach
High Tech High in California. Others crisis point. Similarly, Harlem Children’s
are engaging parents by ensuring they Zone in New York is an interconnected
have a say in how the school is run and programme of schools and social
what is taught, with some going as services which offers schooling and

just children
far as co-creating the curriculum with childcare as well as adult learning and
parents. advice on how to access financial, legal
and medical services to all families in
Discovery 1, a primary school in New the area.
Zealand, goes even further: the
curriculum is designed by the whole Social networking can be invaluable
community, with workshops taught in fostering school communities,
by parents who have knowledge in especially for parents who struggle
specific subjects. Parents are seen to find time to be involved in school
as partners in schooling: families can activities. Facebook is a useful tool
choose to have days of learning at for displaying students’ work, giving
home, in addition to parents providing parents a window into the classroom
support and guidance in school to and acting as a prompt for discussions
It is widely recognised that teachers and learners alike. around classroom topics at home.
involving parents in their The site creates a constant dialogue
children’s education is crucial In addition to involving parents in between parents, teachers and
their children’s education, schools students, keeping parents informed and
– there is a strong association are focusing on whole-family engaged at all times and bridging the
between family involvement learning, including literacy, IT, maths gap between school and home.
and student achievement. and parenting skills. Some of these
courses are aimed solely at parents;
Many schools are recognising others, like those provided by Mayfield Strengthening relationships
the need to work with parents, Primary School in London during the between schools, parents and
in a variety of ways, to help last 30 minutes of the school day, the community enhances student
their students be the best they provide space for parents to learn engagement, behaviour and
alongside their children. Parents also achievement, improves outcomes
can be. And some schools are form vital support networks with one for families and builds social
going much further than this, another, often taking their knowledge capital in communities. Schools
finding holistic and innovative into the wider community. that are embracing this approach
have become shared spaces with
approaches that form bridges Many schools are recognising the resources that the community
between the school and need to work in partnership with has access to and ownership
community. other services that enable parents of – making the school into an
to access information and support, institution with genuine reach and
particularly to improve the life chances impact beyond its walls.
of the most disadvantaged students.
In London, primary schools in Camden
are working with the Tavistock and
Portman NHS Foundation Trust to

22 Image courtesy of Discovery 1 23

Power to
the student A
llowing students to have control intelligence are all fostered by actively
over their education helps engaging in student participation.
them to feel valued, to have Roles in democratic structures give
a stake in their school and to take experience of balancing individual
ownership of their learning. There needs with those of your peers and
is growing evidence that it can also considering the bigger picture when
improve engagement and attainment: making decisions, both of which are
when comparing achievement, beneficial to students entering the
attendance and exclusions across world of work.
‘Student voice’ – that is, giving students the opportunity to similar schools those that promote
have a say in issues that affect them, has come a long way since true student participation fare Getting involved in governance at
the experiments of a few radical schools in the 1970s. Many better. Scandinavian countries have school also helps students to see the
long had a culture of participation at benefits of citizenship, and may help
schools now boast student-led School Councils, for example, the heart of their education systems. young people be more interested
and one might argue that students have more control over their It is often mandatory for students to and active citizens as adults. This is
education than ever before. However, it remains the case that be represented on governing bodies particularly relevant because many
of their schools, for example. Finland, countries are experiencing not
very few students are involved in key strategic decision making
top of the international student- just disengagement in school, but
in their school, and fewer still at a regional or national level. But performance league tables, has disengagement in society as a whole,
increasingly, educators are cottoning on to the potential this students not only making strategic manifested most obviously in declining
has to change both the experiences of students, and the entire decisions at a school level but, via voting turnouts from young people.
consultations with policy makers, also
education system. taking their voice right to the top to
influence national decision making. What we are talking about is
not tokenistic involvement. It’s
In the UK the UNICEF UK Rights not about students having a
Respecting School Award (RRSA) say in minor decisions, such as
initiative, operating in over 600 dress codes or dinner menus.
schools, encourages schools to place Fundamentally, this is about giving
the UN Convention on the Rights of students real power over strategic
the Child at the heart of their ethos decision making at all levels. We
and curriculum. It has demonstrated need to recognise that students
an improvement in child well being, a aren’t just passive recipients in
decrease in bullying, an improvement their education, but potential
in achievement and participation, a partners in learning. If we do this
positive effect on attitudes and a more we will foster school cultures
inclusive, caring school atmosphere. where everyone participates in
education and learning.
Participation in high-level strategising
and decision-making also helps
students to gain the attributes that are
more in demand in the 21st century.
Attributes such as social responsibility,
cross-cultural sensitivity and emotional

24 Image courtesy of School of One 25

So what next?
When people are presented with What we’ve proposed here is no
examples of innovative practice from more than a set of solutions to this
their field, such as the ones we’ve problem.
presented here, they usually react with
some combination of three responses: So what now?
1. These are really inspiring!
2. These all sound great, but they There is no single recipe for
would never happen in my educating young people for the 21st
school/town/country. century. So, whether you’re a teacher,
3. Enough with the innovation! We a parent, a student, a policymaker, or
educate children perfectly well just somebody interested in education,
already. you can get involved with refining
If we have inspired you, we’re ideas like the ones in this publication
pleased – and we’ve got some advice and developing brand-new ones.
about what you can do next. The first thing to do is to find out
If we’ve made you feel dispirited about more about what’s happening
about your own situation, remember now, and get involved with the global
that the examples in this publication conversations that are already taking
can be implemented on many different place about the future of education.
levels. Some, such as giving students You can find out more about all
‘independence time’ (page 11) can take the examples in this publication by
place in a single class without getting Googling them, and you can find a
permission from anyone else, and short guide to blogs and Twitter on
others, such as attending teachmeets the next page.
(page 19) are all about individual Then, start experimenting: try out
teachers taking control of their own some of the ideas in this publication,
professional development. It’s true that or try something you read about on
many other examples require support a blog, and see what happens! Some
from headteachers, or even national experiments will succeed, some will
leaders, in order to take place – but fail, but you (and the young people
that’s no reason not to do what you you’re working with) will learn from all
can, wherever you are. of them.
If you’re not interested in
‘innovation’ in education at all, then
you’re not alone. And although
innovation is clearly of interest to us at
Innovation Unit, fundamentally what
we do is find solutions to challenges
– which is what we are talking about
here. It is generally acknowledged
that a world changing as rapidly as
ours presents us with the challenge
of preparing our young people for an
uncertain future.

26 Image courtesy of High Tech High 27

To find out more about our
work in education visit
www.innovationunit.org/knowledge/
our-ideas/21st-century-education

Or contact Alec Patton

[email protected]
+44 (0)20 7250 8087
About us
We are the Innovation Unit for public services. We have a strong track record
of supporting leaders and organisations delivering public services to see and do
things differently. They come to us with a problem and we empower them to
achieve radically different solutions that offer better outcomes for lower costs.
We are a not-for-profit social enterprise and we work to influence public debate,
re-shape public policy and transform public services.

To find out more about our work please visit our website at:

www.innovationunit.org

Or get in contact with one of our Managing Partners:

John Craig
[email protected]
020 7250 8091

Matthew Horne
[email protected]
020 7250 8084

Innovation Unit
CAN Mezzanine
49-51 East Road
London
N1 6AH
020 7250 8098
[email protected]