Community Action Programme

All Sixth Form students in Year 12 volunteer for one afternoon a week in a variety of placements across Brighton and the surrounding area. The aim is for the students to draw on their own interests and strengths to make a positive impact in the immediate area.

Aims

The aim is for the girls to feel embedded in the local community, making a difference to other people's lives.

Background

CAP has been running at Roedean for well over a decade, but in recent years it has gradually become more and more honed, and therefore more effective in effecting positive change.

Resources

Half of the CAP placements are outside the School, and the other half are in School.  Those in School include the Community Music, BSL, and Community Music, all of which prepare in School to then visit a local institution to share what they have prepared. Another in-school activity is the Junior Roedean Academy, which we launched in 2022-2023 – this activity brings 150 children from local primary schools to Roedean for a six-week period, and the Year 12 students plan lessons and share their passions and interests with the children. Following its successful introduction, this has continued in 2023-2024. 

Impact

These activities are mutually beneficial, and we aim for both sets of students to benefit in a variety of ways. At the Somerset Centre, students spend time with the members, some of whom report that the day Roedean students visit is their favourite day of the week. There is also cross-over between this and other CAP activities - for example, the British Sign Language group, as well as visiting a school for the deaf to practise what they have learnt, also visited the centre, and the Community Music Group has performed concerts for the members too.

Pupil Involvement

All students in Year 12 are actively involved in this programme.

Frequency

This happens every Wednesday afternoon in term-time.