LetsLocalise A state-of-the-art digital platform intends to revolutionise the way communities engage with their local state schools, bringing much needed support to teachers. Phil Murphy
When the precocious son of the founders of LetsLocalise started at a prestigious state school in Berkshire, he was shocked and more than a little disappointed by what he found. Despite the limitless energy and creativity of the teaching staff, he found the school to be in a shabby condition, its equipment often aged or broken and the opportunities to engage pupils in external trips and activities that might broaden their horizons to be limited at best and nonexistent at worst. The conversations at home triggered by these observations led to an idea with the potential not just to transform the prospects of state schools; it also offers an opportunity to strengthen local communities, by bringing multiple people, organisations and businesses into close relationships with their local schools. The lightbulb moment for Gaurav and Divya Garg, based in Wokingham in Berkshire, came when surveys prompted by their son’s observations showed that in excess of 60% of people in a given community wanted actively to help their local schools. They just had no idea how to do so. What if this reservoir of goodwill could be tapped into and piped into local schools?
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Given the background of the Gargs and friends and colleagues in innovation, technology and community activities, the solution emerged in the shape of a digital platform, LetsLocalise, that could highlight the demand in schools and connect it to ‘supply’ out in the community. A critical perception in the framing of the idea came in the realisation that support for schools needed to come in a variety of formats. Yes, financial support would be important but so too would be volunteer time, expertise, work experience – in fact, anything that would help pupils get a clearer window to the world beyond the core curriculum. The idea behind the concept is that state schools register on the platform and, between them, headteachers and their teaching teams identify the programmes and activities that they would most like to pursue but currently cannot, due to insufficient financial or human resource. A typical selection for a single school might be a campaign to raise funds for basketball hoops, a request for help with painting and decorating, an appeal for volunteers to act as exam supervisors, an appeal to experts to talk about their chosen profession and a request for internships or work experience opportunities for pupils.
