Morley College
Community Hub
“Morley College has always been guided by democratic principles, by
a strong commitment to equality and its belief that learning together
brings important personal, economic and social benefits for individuals
and communities. The College has always worked with partners and
collaboration is an intrinsic value”
Contents:
Page
1. Context for the report
1.1 Wider Strategic Context
3
3
2. Morley, a short history
4
3. Morley College today: a centre for adult learning and
community engagement
6
3.1 Learning from history and continuing to integrate community
engagement into the College’s strategic aims
6
3.2 Morley College as a Community Hub: collaboration and
partnership
7
4. Partnerships and collaboration activities across the college
A
9
Partnerships and Collaboration with Lambeth Borough Council
to support the strategic goals of the local authority to widen and
engage with priority groups to develop skills and support
progression
9
An example of ‘speculative’ partnership: it developed by
chance and many do! Developments like this depend on
being open minded, creative and taking risks
12
C
Partnerships to support Enterprise and Local Regeneration
14
D
An example of a project which focused on the power of music
to build social capital and establish a sustainable legacy
through innovative collaboration and partnership
15
B
5. Conversations, interviews and feedback provides some reflections
about what we have been developing at Morley
18
Appendix 1:
Audit of partnerships and collaboration activities across the college
19
2
1
Context for the report
The report is the outcome of a grant, administered through HOLEX, from the SFA Shared
Services and Collaboration Fund. The report outlines the central role of collaboration and
partnership in adult learning at Morley College and its place as a centre for community
engagement, development and learning.
The timing of this report is particularly timely for Morley following the recent reorganisation of Community Learning into a separate department within the College’s
curriculum management structure. This repositioning of the department supports the
strategic role of community learning and the embedding of community learning within all
College activities.
I hope that the report is of interest to the sector and I know that it has been useful in
helping to consolidate our thinking and set new challenges about the role of collaboration
and partnerships in the development of the College.
1.1
Wider strategic context
The report comes at a time when Government is placing increasing emphasis on the need
to assess the value of adult learning and the impact it makes on people’s lives.
Since the publication of ‘Skills for Sustainable Growth’ (November 2010), BIS has been
reviewing its investment in Community Learning and significant policy proposals were
outlined in ‘New Challenges, New Chances: Further Education and Skills System Reform
Plan’ (BIS 2011). In August 2012, 15 Community Learning Trusts (CLTs) were selected to
test the new objectives and underpinning principles for the reformed delivery of
Community Learning and these reforms will be rolled out across England from August
2013.
To support implementation of the reforms the Skills Funding Agency states that
‘Community Learning is not just motivating and life-changing for the people who take part,
it also contributes to the cohesion and social and economic well-being of local
communities. These reforms now give you further opportunities to play a fuller part in
supporting the wider localism agenda, through a reinvigorated approach to partnership
working with key stakeholders, including your Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and
other training organisations in your area’
To support reforms, providers will need to have a strategy that demonstrates how, in their
areas, they have identified and will deliver a relevant balance of the Community Learning
objectives
3
2
Morley College: a short history
It is worth reflecting on Morley College’s history which charts the resolve and vision of
philanthropists, directors, benefactors and the enthusiasm, pleasure and thirst for
knowledge, skills and new learning of students for some 125 years. Morley College has
always been guided by democratic principles, by a strong commitment to equality and by
its belief that learning together brings important personal and social benefits for
individuals and communities. The College has always worked with partners and
collaboration is an intrinsic value. For generations of students the College has always
been ‘us’ rather than ’they’ Offspring of the Vic, Denis Richards.
Morley College dates back to the early 1880s, when the social reformer Emma Cons
decided to improve the moral and material standards of the Waterloo district in London.
She and her supporters took a lease on the Old Vic Theatre and transformed it into a
‘cheap and decent place of amusement’ run ‘on strict temperance lines’. From 1882
‘penny lectures’ were organised where distinguished figures from science addressed
audiences of working people on a diverse range of subjects from ‘Why is the Sea Salt?’ to
‘The Head-Hunters of Borneo’. The lectures were a huge success, stimulating new
thinking about the issues of the day, developing into evening classes which, in 1889,
inspired the establishment of Morley Memorial College for Working Men and Women. The
name of the College not only recognised the generous support from Samuel Morley, an
eminent textile manufacturer, temperance worker and Member of Parliament but also
proclaimed the College’s commitment to gender and class equality.
By December 1890, 1,290 students had been enrolled on what were just a few subjects
but included science, mechanical drawing, reading, writing, arithmetic, French and
astronomy! The college grew and by 1924 it had moved to its present site. In October
1940, bombs destroyed the whole of the main building with a loss of 57 lives. The new
wing survived, and in 1958 Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, declared the rebuilt
college open.
Further development of the site followed as the college sought to banish its position, often
perceived in the post-19 sector as part of a Cinderella service, and raise the importance
and profile of adult education. Arts Council support led to an arts centre, which opened in
1969, with new art studios and a gallery. Fund raising provided a new extension, opened
in 1973 by Her Majesty the Queen. According to one authority at the time, the new
building meant that Morley College made the finest provision for adult education in the
world. In 1976, the Henry Moore Sculpture Studio was opened to commemorate a
generous gift from the sculptor.
Alongside the development of the estate during these years, the College’s Principal at the
time, returned to the original mission of the College. He believed that adult education was
a force for good and had an important role in building social and community cohesion.
Thus, alongside his strong support for the role of culture and the creative arts within the
landscape of British liberal education, he was amongst the pioneers for an inclusive
education for all. He was influenced by Gavron’s ‘The Captive Wife’ and in the late 1960’s
set-up child-care provision, to enable women to attend courses at Morley. The Russell
Report 1973 influenced the development of the College, inspiring a new range of courses
designed to reach out into the local community and provide first steps back into learning
for some of the most disadvantaged communities in Lambeth and Southwark. These also
included the first Access courses to Higher Education, known at the time as Fresh Start.
The Nancy Seear building opened in 1983: this building housed Morley’s new skills for
life, access to higher education and community learning programmes. Reflecting the
4
College’s commitment to its founding values, this development opened up new
opportunities for students who had little experience of formal learning and for whom adult
learning provided an essential route back into education and employment.
Morley College has throughout its history believed that its success and reputation lay with
its teachers, the setting of high expectations and the quality of the learning experience.
Many artists, writers and musicians have been connected to the college, including Virginia
Woolf, David Hockney, Bridget Riley and Ralph Vaughan Williams. Gustav Holst was the
first director of music, whilst Michael Tippet was amongst his successors. Today teachers
are adult educators with exceptional levels of professional expertise as well as respected
practitioners in their fields including artists, musicians, writers, actors and health
professionals.
Following the Further and Higher Education Act of 1992, Morley College became a
Specialist Designated Institution (SDI). It is a company limited by guarantee and a
registered charity. Under the provision of the Learning and Skills Act (2000), college
funding is now largely through the Skills Funding Agency (SFA), alongside other contracts
and course fee income.
5
3
Morley College today: a centre for adult learning and community
engagement
Today Morley College is a medium sized College, an SDI and sits within the adult and
community learning sector. Its staff include some 125 full-time/fractional staff and some
360 part-time teachers. It is located in purpose built buildings in central London in both
Lambeth and Southwark, leases a Community Learning centre on the borders of
Southwark and Lewisham and operates across both Lambeth and Southwark in over 60
different venues.
In 2011-12 over 13,000 adult students attended courses at Morley travelling across
London as well as from outside the capital. However Morley is strongly located within its
local environment and some 45% of all learners come from Lambeth and Southwark. Both
Lambeth and Southwark are amongst the most deprived and exceptionally socially
diverse boroughs in England. Over 140 languages are spoken in the area, and at the
College, levels of unemployment are high and above London and national rates and child
poverty is a key issue in Southwark whilst some 16% of people of working age are
disabled in Lambeth.
Personal, social, economic and cultural interests are reflected in the diverse programme
offered at the College with over 2,500 courses a year. Courses include art and design,
music, health, dance, drama, languages, humanities, English for Speakers of Other
Languages (ESOL), English maths and Access to Higher Education. Programme range
from entry to advanced level and from short course of less than five weeks to
programmes of two years’ duration. Many programmes are non-accredited although the
College also offers accredited programme from entry level to level 3.
The College’s Strategic Plan 2012-15, firmly identifies the College’s vision, mission and
strategic objectives and underpins the College’s commitment to social and educational
inclusion. The plan sets out the vision of Morley as
‘an ambitious, innovative learning community with a central role in the educational,
cultural, social and economic life of Lambeth and Southwark as well as in its wider role in
London and as a key player in national debates about the important value of adult
learning in the 21st century’.
3.1
Learning from history and continuing to integrate community
engagement into the College’s strategic aims
The Morley Renaissance, starting in April 2008, provides a new chapter in the
development of Morley College. As outlined in the section on the history of the College,
Morley started as part of a movement of social reform which sought to tackle
discrimination and inequality including lack of education, and the poor health and housing
of the age. These challenges continue today and within the local communities that the
College serves. The revival of Morley’s heritage and key role within its local communities
seeks to ensure that the College is an accountable, prime player in the provision of
community learning which impacts on the social, economic and personal well-being of
individuals, families and communities.
Morley College believes that the strength of its model, which in the parlance of today,
establishes Morley College as a Community Hub, comes from the central placement of
this vision of Morley ‘as a key forum for community engagement and adult learning’ within
the College’s strategic plan. This clearly recognises the added public value of the learning
and capacity building work that the Colleges undertakes. It recognises the importance of
the need to make a strong contribution to the localism agenda and social renewal through
6
adult learning provision, community capacity development and through developing
progression routes across the boroughs that the College serves.
Morley College serves many communities including communities of interest, communities
of identity, employers and a range of other stakeholders. Many of these communities are
located in Lambeth and Southwark and one of the key drivers within our strategic plan is
to widen opportunities for individuals and communities enabling them to overcome
disadvantage and barriers to learning. The College is committed to a strategic role to help
shape, determine and deliver a range of learning opportunities for its communities through
productive partnerships.
Our Community Strategy has 6 objectives:






3.2
Develop and maintain strong strategic and local partnerships to engage ‘hard to
reach’ and disadvantaged learners
To raise aspirations
Contribute to the effectiveness, sustainability and resilience of community
organisations
Involve students and community organisations as active members of Morley and
extend the College’s democratic traditions for educational and social purpose
Plan and provide flexible routes and pathways to further learning and employment
in partnership with local providers and community organisations, employers and
other stakeholders, through a curriculum that is responsive to community needs
and interests
Develop a robust financial strategy for community development and learning that
secures additional funding that will support the optimisation of SFA funding and all
College resources
Morley College as a Community Hub: collaboration and partnership
Morley College, a Community Hub, is a model based the College’s aspirations to support
a range of community organisations and individuals to devise and deliver programmes of
learning and capacity building, based on their interests and needs. The model aims to
incentivise individuals in the community to become more active and engaged in their
communities. Collaboration and the formation of partnerships with organisations
representing the interests of different communities is a key component of the model and
essential in releasing knowledge, skills and energy for the benefit of our diverse
communities.
Collaboration and partnership work is not new and the College, as do other publicly
funded providers of adult and community learning, has a strong tradition of this way of
working which at its best, establishes relationships of mutual trust, spreads risks and
provides a catalyst for action. There are many factors which lead to the success and
failure of these collaborations and often, a failure is as much a success as a success can
result in the end of further collaboration! Continuing the relationships between
organisations is often not related to the quality of work but to a range of other external
factors including financial considerations.
7
In our experience at Morley, successes are influenced by a number of factors including

strong strategic leadership from the ‘top’ of the organisation

partnership is core to vision and values

ambition, motivation and commitment

shared values

trust

delegation of responsibility, authority and accountability

expertise of staff and their credibility

space and freedom to be creative

judicious financial management

good project management

the freedom to take risks

tolerating the need to pilot with low numbers

allocation of resources to reflect commitment to partnership

competing/different mission values etc
However some failures are inevitable and partnerships may not have been as successful
as they could have been for a number of reasons:

unrealistic timeframe and expectations of project within resources available

uncertainty when the ‘end’ of a project has been reached

the existing skills levels of some of the partners

absence of clarity amongst partners of their own distinct roles, responsibilities and
accountabilities to wider group

the notion of ‘partnership’ can lead to levels of confusion of ‘who is in charge’ and
as a result timely decision making not achieved

perceptions of ‘a College’

some of the requirements and needs of quality frameworks e.g. Ofsted can limit
creativity and potential outputs of partnership

competing/different mission values etc
8
4
Partnerships and collaboration activities across the college
Morley College collaborates and enjoys partnerships with an extensive range of external
organisations including local authorities, voluntary and community organisations, schools,
third sector agencies, community based organisations working with vulnerable and
excluded individuals and groups, employers and FE Colleges and a range of
organisations dedicated to bringing together diverse communities through power of
creativity to build social capital.
The College has also developed a forum for partner organisations across Lambeth and
Southwark to promote more efficient, lean and effective working relationships to support
better targeting of increasingly scarce resources.
The report now provides some examples of the partnerships and different
collaborative activities which support engagement with our communities. Four
case studies offer a description of different types of collaboration and partnership;
the final listing of partnerships offers an insight into the range of models of
collaboration and partnerships currently undertaken by the College.
A
Partnerships and Collaboration with Lambeth Borough Council to support
the strategic goals of the local authority to widen participation and engage
with priority groups to develop skills and support progression
Morley College holds a substantial contract with Lambeth Borough Council for the
provision of adult community learning with some of the most disadvantaged and hard to
reach communities in Lambeth. The work that the College undertakes in relation to this
contract is aligned to our Community Learning strategy and its success is the result of a
strong ‘client’ centred model of negotiation.
The Community Learning department works very closely with a range of local residents
and groups to inform the curriculum development. All our community partners and
learners are consulted about the most suitable programmes to meet the local needs,
which result in a mixture of new courses and continuation ones. For example:

Music production for Indigo Youth aims to engage with a group of Angell Town
young men in order to formalise their current informal music studio- based
experience and inspire them to engage in further education.
 Capacity building courses for small organisations aim to build on the previous
year’s programme delivered for very small voluntary groups (such as Tigrayan
Women’s Group) with an aim of increasing their participatory role in the Stockwell
area. Following the consultation with newly-launched Stockwell Community
Centre, there is a range of digital skills and enterprise courses proposed for this
setting.
Some examples of new or redeveloped courses all based on collaboration and
partnerships with other organisations:

Digital skills : a wide programme of courses to support digital inclusion of groups
with limited access to the digital equipment or learning opportunities has been
9
developed. A collection of laptops, tablets and i-pads has been purchased for use
in community centres, children’s centre and day centres to run courses of different
formats and aims, dependent on learners’ interests. The format of classes ranges
from computer clubs (e.g. in Waterloo Action Centre) to more structured
classroom-based introduction to social media (in children’s centres) for parents
wanting to keep up with their children. A range of the usage options has been
considered from storing the equipment in community venues to giving it on loan to
digital skills learners to extend their independent studies outside of class.

Financial skills: in order to bring closer the need to improve financial literacy of
groups of local residents and their lack of interest in engaging in the current
programmes, the department has developed a new range of financial skills
courses based on evaluation of previous initiatives. These courses address not
only budgeting skills but also ‘emotional financial literacy’, i.e. the attitudes and
values that influence people’s relationship with money, the factors that could
prevent financial problems becoming unmanageable and equip people to navigate
consumer culture. This development is informed by staff development delivered by
Quaker Social Action, which is currently running a Community Learning Innovation
Funded project Made of Money, with the same principles. This development may
bring about the change of titles of some of the proposed financial skills courses.
Promotion of Progression requires collaboration and the trust of partners
The Community Learning department at Morley works in partnership with other college
departments, community partners and education providers in the borough to promote
learner progression. The internal MIS system makes it possible to analyse progression
trends by subject areas, tutors, learners’ E&D profile, community venues etc. Many
community learners progress into Essential Skills courses with a smaller percentage of
learners progressing to Health and Humanities courses, Music, Arts and Design.
Learners also progress to provision offered by other preferred providers, to other training
and into employment. These relationships are built over time and referral onto other
providers is built on trust that learners are moving onto appropriate and high quality
provision, training or employment.
The College is also expanding its current Stepping Stones scheme to enable community
learners to enrol on any college course, which does not require tutor approval, for £20 a
term - in the term following their community course.
The College has a series of measures that support the culture of progression, such as



scheduling the time and support for community-based tutors to bring and
introduce learners to the college;
issuing student cards to community-based learners and encouraging their
use of college library and other resources;
celebration of learners’ achievements (five community learners and groups
have been awarded in the recent Adult Learners’ Week ceremony)
The College offers a Summer School programme of courses in order to encourage
community learners to begin experiencing college life by doing short courses or exploring
10
new subject areas that may promote their interests and aspirations (e.g. Introduction to
Shakespeare for ESOL and English Students)
The College is developing a system of tracking the actual learner progressions in
partnership with community partners so that data and case studies are regularly fed back
and shared with current learners and employers. Links and incentives for local employers
in exchange for their support (e.g. work placement, mock interviews, visits to classes) are
also in development for the current year.
Some reasons behind the success of Morley’s work across Lambeth









Good relationships with local authority adult learning manager and staff, based on
shared values and commitment to the role of adult learning in reaching priority
groups
Identification of potential barriers to learner participation and consideration of
various approaches to overcome these is vital in building partnerships
Shared values of partners
Sharing a variety of communication and marketing channels which provide
constructive exchange of information with the priority groups
Learner involvement in shaping the design and delivery patterns of courses.
Courses are provided which are the result of direct consultation with learners e.g
this year…from cupcake decorating to business; learning support work at schools;
through volunteering to jobs
Good support for teachers including staff development, peer mentoring
Effective Information, advice and guidance
The job roles in the Community Learning department at Morley take into account a
need for a strategic approach to developing partnerships and systems for support
and management of learner progression, as well as the engagement with
employers
Management arrangements which identifies issues before they become problems
Barriers to Success



New staff who don’t share the values expressed in the original partnership
Funding for partner organisations
Different skills levels amongst partners
11
B
An example of a ‘speculative’ partnership: it developed by chance and
many do! Developments like this depend on being open minded,
creative and taking risks
Project Phakama
‘In 2012, Marina bumped into Duncan a ceramics tutor on the tube and had a brief
discussion about the new NEETs project at Morley. She discovered that Duncan, who has
a separate organisation called Clayground Collective in partnership with Julia Rowntree,
was currently working in partnership with Project Phakama, a youth arts organisation
based in Mile End. Ideas were generated and as a result, the College provided some
funding for Earth Exchange, part of Phakama’s international summer festival Velela: this
formed part of a group of new courses designed for NEETs at Morley. Clayground worked
with five volunteers from the local area, training them in the practical skills needed to work
with ceramics. By the end of the project, they were each given the opportunity to enrol on
a ceramic course at Morley College, including one bursary from Clayground/ Phakama for
the course.
A strong partnership was built throughout the project: the enthusiasm and skills
of the two external groups was key to its success as was the nature of the Morley
NEETs initiative. The College was keen to explore creativity as a vehicle for
motivating NEETs and was willing to take some financial risks. Communication
was good, skills were shared and trust between the organisations was developed.
Earlier this year, Morley and Phakama met again to explore further partnerships and a
new initiative. Funding remained a barrier to working together on any substantial
project so a joint bid for a south of Southwark Festival was submitted. Although this
was unsuccessful, it consolidated the desire for finding funding to work together on a
larger project. The Phakama team have extensive experience of writing funding bids as all
their funding comes through this process and they were able to support Morley’s
partnership co-ordinator with this aspect as she had little experience in this area.
Phakama then received a small EU grant £6k for a project with young people about
sustainability and discussion followed to see how together with Morley, the project could
be expanded to include different age groups, and host the project at Morley. Awards for a
lottery funding stream seemed the most user-friendly grant to bid for. An application for
10k was put into Awards for All.
Morley’s leadership team remained supportive of the project, even agreeing to
underwrite the project until the outcome of the bid was known; this allowed for
planning to go ahead. The bid was successful and has resulted in a stimulating
creative initiative which is also being used to launch the College’s Sustainability
work’. Carole Equalities, Partnerships and Enterprise Co-ordinator Morley College
So this is what it led to………Trashcatchers Ball: a celebration of recycling mixing
party and performance
12
http://belowtheriver.co.uk/pinboard-9-july-shopping-in-the-sunshine-affordable-fine-dining-and-afree-show-featuring-rubbish-as-art/
Lambeth North: Artists celebrate innovative recycling
Did you know we were shoddy recyclers? Nope, we thought we were pretty good too but
apparently* Lambeth and Southwark are way behind both the capital and the whole
country. Lambeth recycles just 27 per cent of its waste, limping along in 28th place among
the boroughs, and Southwark, which recycles 25 per cent, still lags way behind the rest of
the country, which manages to divert 41.2 per cent of its waste away from landfill. Tut tut.
From Project Phakama’s 2008 show at the LIFT Festival
And this is the backdrop for Morley College’s colourful and creative The Trashcatchers
Ball – an artistic celebration of recycling taking place on 21 July, which aims to highlight
the issue of sustainability. The event is the finale for one of the college’s Summer School
13
art courses: students have been grappling with the issues around waste and
consumerism and, in a series of workshops, they’ve been creatively turning discarded
materials into sculptures and costumes. The Trashcatchers Ball is a free showcase of
these creations. And it’s not a ball at all, but a dance and installation stage show put
together by artists and 20 participants under the guidance of the acclaimed youth arts
initiative, Project Phakama UK, who first staged their own well-received Trashcatchers
Ball in 2008 at Stratford’s Lift Festival.
The Trashcatchers Ball will take place at Morley College on Sunday, 21 July 2013 at
5.30pm. To go along, simply register before next Thursday – 18 July – by
emailing carole.powell@morleycollege.ac.uk
C
Partnerships to support Enterprise and Local Regeneration
The College is also actively involved with local employers though the Waterloo Business
Improvement district and through the development of its Enterprise curriculum, which is
part of a national partnership to support the development of enterprise skills for SMEs.
The Adult Enterprise Partnership (www.adultenterprise.com) started as an AOC/SFA
funded shared services curriculum project in 2011/12 with 9 FE, voluntary and private
sector partners. Morley College is one of the partners and got engaged with the initiative,
recognising the importance of developing a entrepreneurship curriculum for its part-time
learners, many who had aspirations to start their own small business based on the high
quality products they created during their studies at Morley. The project co-created an online entrepreneurship curriculum with branded marketing materials hosted centrally for
sharing across the learning and skills sector. The outcomes of the project have been
recognised by the sector and within one year 34 colleges and adult learning services
across England had joined the Adult Enterprise partnership. This is a successful
partnership model based on shared aspirations and goals linked to provision of a relevant
and responsive enterprise curriculum.
14
An example of a project which focused on the power of music to build
social capital and establish a sustainable legacy through innovative
collaboration and partnership
D
‘What a triumph in Music and Community endeavour’
‘Inspiring to sing with so many people – beautiful music and we are making it’.
‘In an era of government cuts and high unemployment it's great to do something which we can all
come together regardless of class and income’
‘Great sense of community. Inspiring spirit of such a great big group getting together and getting
the music finally together!’
‘I’ve never sung with such a large choir before’.
‘An exhilarating and joyous experience. A wonderful and unique opportunity to join voices with so
many people’.
‘Wonderful project that completely demonstrates how music brings people together in celebration
of life’.
‘I feel taller and straighter and full of the strength of the music’.
A Choir of Our Time is a project bringing together choirs in community settings across two
neighbouring London boroughs, Lambeth and Southwark with the BBC Singers, the
Southbank centre, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, young musicians representing a
range of partners across London and the College. The project culminated in a
performance at the Royal Festival Hall of Sir Michael Tippett’s A Child of our Time, a
piece of music specifically composed to celebrate humankind and the strength of
communities. The project has focused on the power of music to build social capital and to
establish a sustainable legacy through innovative collaboration and partnership.





The project arose from the collaborative work of the Community Learning and
Music departments at the College.
It was inspired by the College’s Community Learning model, which with strong
strategic support, focuses on widening participation, partnerships to develop
responsiveness and relevant programmes of learning, learner involvement in
shaping content and delivery, high quality teaching and learning, and progression
pathways.
It reflects the College’s commitment to Equality and Diversity which is core to the
mission, values and strategic aims of the College.
It arose from the belief that engagement in culture and creativity makes a
significant difference to people’s lives. The project has, for a relatively small
amount of funding through the Community Learning Innovation Fund, generated
significant public value and a creative legacy for the communities of Lambeth and
Southwark.
It provided exceptional value for money, leveraging the expertise and resources of
the College to reach out to disadvantaged communities across two boroughs,
attracting over 400 learners with provision of a unique opportunity to work with the
College and other partners.
15





It widened participation and generated connections between people through
shared experience of music and performance whilst building new organisational
and social partnerships.
It raised the aspirations of community choirs in South London, to enhance
community cohesion, well-being and raise awareness of the rich diversity of the
communities involved.
It harnessed the creativity of local communities and provided an ambitious
programme of study designed to bring together professional musicians with local
people and create a stunning performance and unique learning experience.
It created a legacy for the communities of Lambeth and Southwark which will
generate further opportunities for adults to learn together.
It created a legacy for on-going partnerships with a range of organisations
dedicated to using music for the well-being of their communities.
Some of the characteristics of the project which contributed to its success:



Wide range of approaches to inform and engage local communities and
individuals. Publicity material was designed to ensure that images and words were
inclusive and did not create barriers to participation.
A website was developed to facilitate communication across the different
partnerships involving hundreds of singers and musicians. It provides a forum for
learning materials which support individual learning.
Potential barriers to participation were minimized through careful choice of venues
for choir practice embedded in local communities with childcare support to enable
parents and carers to participate.
But of equal importance is the exemplary teaching and learning and the excellence of the
learning experience. Our experience during this project reinforces our view that in order to
develop and maintain sustainable and effective partnerships, the quality of the
programmes and the aspirations it inspires is critical
 Expertise and enthusiasm of College tutors and partners in the project
 Open workshops with BBC Singers for participants and others
 The successful delivery of a complex repertoire: teaching this to people, some who
have not been involved in singing/music before
 Arrangements of components of the work by College staff (rights gained from
Schott) which increased access to this repertoire for people who had little or no
background in music
 The liaison between tutors, rehearsing simultaneously in different parts of the
boroughs, before coming together as one large voice for the performance
 Innovative on-line teaching materials to supplement rehearsals on A Choir of Our
Time website (www.achoirofourtime.org.uk)
o Specially recorded audio tracks on the website to support distance
learning
o Two study guides to support learning
o Blog for comments on progress of rehearsals
o All music available on-line
o Links to YouTube for different performances of the repertoire
 Students, new to music, learning geography of music scores
 Skills gained in annotating music
 Students gained an understanding of some of the basic principles of vocal
production, delivery of text, expression and communication.
16
 Discipline of engaging with rehearsal schedules
 Language skills including specialist vocabulary to support music learning
 Short films of rehearsals, available on website, to keep each choir informed of
progress continuously uploaded
 Music Director for the programme visited all the choirs over the duration of the
project to co-ordinate consistency of musical delivery
 Sharing of rehearsal notes between different choirs
 Performance skills
The project contributed to the regeneration of community choirs with several of the choirs
reporting increased retention and attendance at rehearsals relating to this project, as well
as increased confidence in pursuing new repertoire. The performance benefitted
communities as it was formed part of the Southbank Centre’s Festival of Neighbourhood,
‘a celebration of the people and places around the Southbank’.
The model demonstrates how the creation of successful partnerships widens
participation; through the engagement with music new learners have been introduced to
adult and community learning, some for the first time. Their engagement with the choir
generated awareness, interest and progression to the wide range of other learning they
could access in community venues, FE and at the College
The initiative has demonstrated a use of the highly successful engagement strategy with
learners in the community. Its history of capacity building with self-organised groups has
informed how to launch a new choir and support its ability to sustain and manage itself in
the future.
The success of the project has depended on the commitment to this work across the
College and on our model of integrating community initiatives into mainstream curriculum
activity.
The creation of a website is an important part of the innovation, good practice and legacy
of this project. It provides communication across borough boundaries, on-line learning,
support for learning, marketing and raises the profile of the work. It helped to raise the
aspirations of small community choirs, helped to widen participation and new membership
which in turn will sustain the activities of this work.
The new College community choir Local Vocals, engendered by this project, will continue
into the future with new repertoire inspired by the performance at the Royal Festival Hall
and will reflect the evaluations which have informed the development of this project.
17
5
Conversations, interviews and feedback provides some reflections
about what we have been developing at Morley
As part of the process of writing this report, many conversations took place
about effective and not so effective partnerships. Below is a sample of some
of those which illustrate some of the key elements as perceived by staff and
governors at Morley and our partners.
Partnerships are an essential component of Morley College’s democratic traditions
Partnerships take time and investment by people and resources to grow and be
sustainable. It is often only history that fully tells the story and reason for both
success and failure. Success is not formulaic, and some of our best partnerships
developed in ways we and other partners could not have conceived of at the start.
Partnership can be a euphemism for lots of different formal and/or informal
arrangements that organisations enter to support the delivery of objectives and
funding requirements as well as mission. These arrangements may include:



collaboration; contractual and commercial arrangements
competition; entrepreneurial activities; cost-saving arrangements;
activities complementary to mission; collaboration and partnership
to support reputation; political imperatives; mission and needs led
activities; and collaboration and partnership to support
progression opportunities
Commitment from all parties and being ‘valued’ by senior colleagues is of
particular importance for partners and specifically in times of rapid change
Given that partnerships are often not regarded as a ‘requirement’ and therefore
not perceived as a priority, commitment from the leadership team is a critical force
in developing external partnerships and collaborative activities
Values of trust, openness, welcoming and encouraging new ideas are critical
features of successful partnership
Clear and good communication between parties
Clarity over the different partner roles, responsibilities and resources – very aware
that all partners may/do have different parts to play but need to be understood
It is critical that the driver for partnerships and collaboration is a shared vision
around benefit to ‘learner’ NOT funding. This point was emphasised by partners
across our manifold working partnerships.
18
Appendix 1
Audit of partnerships and collaboration activities across the college:
these have been developed to support progression and Access to Higher
Education; to support responsiveness of College programmes; widen
participation and address the needs of disadvantaged communities; meet
the needs of communities of interest, identity and geographical area;
support enrichment for students as well as add value to the professional
practice of students
London South Bank University
Birkbeck University
Goldsmiths University
University of East London
Linking London
UAL Awarding Body
Body of People: Jazz dance company in residence
London School of Capoeira
The Cinema Museum
Aromatherapy & Allied Practitioners Association (AAPA)
International Federation of Reflexologists (IFR)
Ki Kai Shiatsu School
Acem Meditation International
London Potters Organisation
BBC Singers
Company of Angels
South Bank Mosaics, London
London Sculpture Workshop
Phakama
Clayground Collective Ltd
Coin St
Ilderton Primary School
19
Rotherhithe Children’s Centre
Waterloo Adult Providers Group/collaboration (includes WAC, waterloo Community
Counselling, Oasis, Waterloo Health Centre)
Collaboration: ABHI – Association of British Healthcare Industries
Collaboration: Trinity Laban
Collaboration: London Contemporary Dance
Collaboration: Kidscape
Collaboration: Jubilee Children’s Centre
Collaboration: Goldsmiths Hall
Collaboration: Guildhall Clock Museum
Collaboration: Freemasons Hall and Museum
Collaboration: Westminster City Council Archives
Collaboration: Mercers Hall
Collaboration: Goldsmiths Hall
Collaboration: Lambeth College
Collaboration: Southbank Centre
Collaboration: City Lit/MWC/WMC/
Collaboration: Springfield Hospital
Collaboration: Churchill Hospital
Collaboration: South London & Maudsley NHS Trust
Collaboration: The Garden Museum. Commemorative project based on the centenary of the
outbreak of WW1 and gardening.
Collaboration: Canada Water Library
Collaboration: Learning Unlimited
Collaboration: Phoenix Primary
Craft Potters Association – ( CPA ) The main national ceramics organisation Including the
Contemporary Ceramics Centre (CCC) and Ceramic Review magazine
British Museum and the Korean Institute. External Curator - Sarah Frangleton
In Touch
20
Lambeth Mencap
Rathbone
Blue Skies
In-Mind Healthcare Group
Lambeth Walk Day Centre
Foulkes House
Blackfriars Settlement
Heritagecare.co.uk
Crisis Skylight/Bermondsey Project
21