Stockport Community Cohesion - PSE Lesson Scheme developed the Ethnic Diversity Service, Teachers and Young People from Stockport

Many schools already work in ways that promote community cohesion and the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) wants all schools to build on the best of that practice, so that all pupils understand and appreciate others from different backgrounds with a sense of shared values, fulfilling their potential and feeling part of a community, at a local, national and international level.

The duty on schools to promote community cohesion came into effect on 1 September 2007 and the duty on Ofsted is commenced in September 2008.

For more information on community cohesion and a link to the guidance produced by the DCSF, follow the link Teachernet, Community Cohesion.

In Our Shared Future, the Commission on Integration and Cohesion came out with the following definition:

An intergrated and cohesive community is one where:-

There is a clearly defined and widely shared sense of the contribution of different individuals and different communities to a future vision for a neighbourhood, city, region or country
There is a strong sense of an individual's rights and responsibilities when living in a particular place - people know what everyone expects of them, and what they can expect in return
Those from different backgrounds have similar life opportunities, access to services and treatment
There is a strong sense of trust in institutions locally to act fairly in arbitrating between different interests and for their role and justifications to be be subject to public scrutiny
There is a strong recognition of the contribution of both those who have newly arrived and those who alredy have deep attachments to a particuular place, with a focus on what they have in common
There are strong and positive relationships between people from different backgrounds in the workplace, in schools and other institutions within neighbourhoods.