Collaboration Schools matter. They are public places which convey the meaning and purpose of learning in our communities. For children, they are the single most significant built expression of the civic world. Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence encourages, recognises and fosters learning wherever this takes place. It recognises opportunities for learning beyond the school walls - and the potential of whole communities as places for learning.
public resources which could offer great learning experiences if institutional barriers could be overcome.
Those who provide education, from Nursery to University, are responsible for a vast estate at the heart of communities and cities. The spaces that surround these public buildings are not only a critical resource in learning - but also in redefining, regenerating, and enriching the public and private activities around them. In addition every town contains a great range of other
Creating Learning Towns requires a new level of collaboration between those who hold assets and those who deliver services. Based on a number of such exercises with local authorities, the evidence is that Scotland is well placed to explore better ways of doing what we want with what we’ve got.
Learning Towns are about focusing on outcomes for individuals and communities using all of the resources that are around them. For any given community the challenge is to harness the funds to that place, and the assets in that place, to deliver the priorities for that place.