In 2021 Creative Education Trust’s board agreed on a new initiative, the Our Town Community Fund, which would provide support to communities following the disruption of the pandemic. Each school was invited to bid for up to £7,000 for a student-led project that delivers benefit to the community beyond the school. It had to meet certain criteria around sustainability, learning, creative skills, and inclusivity. Edge Foundation supported us to develop the training and resources that would help get the projects started. 

Over a year on, we are sharing the stories of community engagement and collaboration from the Our Town projects and beyond. Included are examples of initiatives to support mental health and wellbeing, to promote allyship and equality, to tackle loneliness and social isolation, and projects to protect the environment and help address food poverty.

The Our Town project contributes to Creative Education Trust’s strategic goal around communities; for schools and their pupils to be active and valued participants in their localities. Across the publication, students share their motivations for being changemakers in their communities, what they’ve achieved so far, and their hopes for the future of their projects. We can’t wait to see what’s next!

Read Our Town: Celebrating the diverse and vibrant communities of Creative Education Trust.