New Community Schools and Inter-Agency Working: assessing the effectiveness of social justice initiatives

This paper considers the meaning of social justice as reflected by New Communities Schools (NCS). It reviews the role of NCS in the modernisation of welfare, considers the criteria used to judge their effectiveness and assesses the outcomes of the NCS programme. Problems in assessing social justice outcomes are explored in terms of pilot or mainstream approaches; the focus on the most disadvantaged; local diversity versus over-arching approaches; soft or hard measures. It is concluded that there are major problems in addressing major problems of structural inequalities through pilot initiatives. However, although the NCS was not transformative it was sustaining for the schools that participated in it and led to modest improvements in the lives of staff, pupils and parents.