Impact & Outcomes

The Building Bridges Pendle’ Community Integration and Cohesion Education programmes have a significant impact on all children, schools and agencies who are involved in its delivery.

• Primary and secondary schools are able to uptake a community provision from an organisation which has an expertise in community integration and cohesion education.

• Primary and secondary schools are able to get involved in projects with other schools as a result of the Building Bridges Pendle initiatives. This involves joint projects as well as twinning initiatives.

• Class teachers and classroom assistants are very much a strong link in the setup and therefore feel a great sense of belonging to the project.

• Police Officers from the Community Safety Department (Pennine Division) who take part in session four in the Primary School programme are able to address issues which have been linked to a school and the local area in a constructive way.

• Pupils who take part in the programmes are able to and are also encouraged to express their true feelings in a comfortable and well-managed environment.

• The Building Bridges Pendle programmes further develop knowledge, skills and abilities of pupils who go through the courses.

Through each of the modular programmes, pupils are able to substantially increase their knowledge and understanding of diversity in Race, Faith and Culture, with a special emphasis on factors that cause social division and factors which will promote integration and community cohesion. Pupils learn to understand causes of conflict and how best to resolve conflicts in a non-violent manner. Pupils learn how to use ‘Empathy’ as a life skill to better understand people and their own actions. As a result of developing positive attitudes of greater respect and tolerance, these pupils will be positive role models for their peers for the remainder of their time at school.

All pupils will have a greater respect for people outside the School environment, regardless of what their background is. They will understand that their actions will either promote cohesion or create division. We believe that our education programmes help pupils to have a deep reflection on their attitudes towards some very serious subjects and understand the implications for society if positive actions do not counter divisive factors.

The impact and the outcomes of the community integration and cohesion education programmes can be demonstrated by the following statements;

Quote from an OFSTED report after a visit to a local Primary School:

• “The Building Bridges Pendle initiative has had a major impact on the Year Six curriculum. The aim of this is to promote a greater understanding of people and their beliefs. The programme includes discussions about diversity, conflict resolution, perception, moral actions, personal decisions and personal response”.

Feedback in an OFSTED report from a Secondary School:

• “The school has made a very useful start through its Building Bridges Pendle project to develop it works on an interfaith partnership”.

Quote from the head of the Community Safety Department (Pennine Division) which works in partnership with Building Bridges Pendle:

“Our partnership has developed over the three year period and we have tailored specific inputs relative to session four in direct response to specific growing problems in our communities relative to cohesion”.