As we near the end of the first phase of funding for new community schools, it’s worth reminding ourselves of the unique nature of the experiment. For much that it promotes is based on practice that is well proven, but which has been patchily implemented. What is new is the national scale and long-term commitment demanded of all agencies.

Although the initiative demands better measured performance of pupils in school, it also requires improvements in areas that predict long-term life chances. This includes healthier life styles, enhanced post-school destinations, genuine participation and stronger communities. Most of all, it calls for that elusive ingredient, organisational and cultural change.

Less than three years into the programme, results are coming through. Schools and social services report more effective joint working, leading to earlier intervention and fewer crisis referrals. There are dramatic improvements in post-school destinations and more parents are using schools to return to full-time education.

Schools are benefiting from health services working with them and are better resourced to meet targets on reducing exclusion. They can demonstrate having added value from baseline testing, while personal learning plans are helping parents become more involved in supporting learning. Schools are increasingly providing quality-learning experiences during holidays and after hours. Practice is spreading from the original schools and in some cases a whole-authority approach has developed.

Of course, the experiment has not been universally welcomed. The challenge to dismantle professional barriers and to understand the cultures of other agencies has proved still too great for some. This unease has caused a delay in fully integrating other services into schools. It can lead to bolt-on projects, a Woody Allen-ish Orgasmatron stuck in one wing of the school, with an expectation that it will do it all for us without any effort by us.

Thankfully, these models are rare. More frequently, we are seeing professionals sowing the seeds of shared resources and expertise, and reaping the rewards of finding their teaching and practice refreshed, breaking down some of our most intractable problems.

For example, Woodfarm High in East Renfrewshire has committed in-service time to staff development in care and welfare, along with shared accommodation for staff involved in supporting pupils: the school’s social worker, behaviour support teachers, attendance officer, psychologists and careers adviser are all included.

“We can put together a package of support for a young person much more quickly than before,” one psychologist says. “All the people you need to speak to are on the spot.”

A new pupil support base has been opened and Woodfarm has reduced exclusions to zero this year. Notably, this has been without disadvantage to other pupils, as the school’s success in external examinations and standardised testing diets demonstrates.

In Thornliebank Primary, the integration manager is a key member of the senior management team, which facilitates joint development planning, ensuring that resources are directed effectively. One example is the development of the “families reading together” project involving over 100 parents and led by the school’s family learning co-ordinator who has a community arts background.

In East Renfrewshire, we are convinced the model we have developed locally with our partners is delivering in our local situation and we are committed to extending the programme to over half the schools in the authority by 2003 - in fact, more schools are already benefiting, especially from out-of-school hours learning and health promotion. We are also heartened by good news stories from our colleagues across Scotland.

The most significant variable in this experiment is commitment. But there is a growing appreciation from all concerned that this is a long-term model for the school of the future. To quote a parent from Thornliebank Primary:

“This school has made such a difference to me and my family - I got into training and back to work and my kids are learning faster because of all that happens here. But my youngest is only six - we need it still to be around when he is 11.”

Jeannie Mackenzie is the integration manager for new community schools with East Renfrewshire Council.