United Learning, the country’s largest multi-academy trust, is setting up a charity to manage its new community hubs, but stressed it won’t “take resource from teaching and learning”.
The 90-academy United Learning is setting up “United Communities” as a subsidiary to run the 26 hubs it plans to have up and running by the end of the 2025-26 academic year.
The community hubs provide things like community meals, youth provision, early years groups, walking groups, skill-sharing sessions, cooking and family activities.
United Learning said they also provided adult learning, community allotments, community action initiatives, and “parent-led” SEND support, though they have not said what that means.
The trust has already opened 14 hubs, in locations such as Salford, Portsmouth, Sheffield and Bognor Regis, and said six more are currently in development.
The new Labour government has said it wants schools to be at the heart of their communities. It has pledged a network of youth hubs, and has taken an interest in community hub models already run by trusts like Oasis.
Its manifesto promised its Young Futures programme would be a “network of hubs reaching every community”, hosting youth workers, mental health support workers and careers advisers to “support young people’s mental health and avoid them being drawn into crime”.
‘A necessity rather than a nice to have’
The trust plans to expand its central team once the charity is launched to “better serve the hubs”, it said in a press notice.
Sir Jon Coles, its chief executive, said: “It’s vital that every school retains its core focus on teaching and learning and doesn’t deviate from its mission.
“But, what has become apparent over the last few years is that many of the families we serve depend on our schools for far more than the education of their children. For many we are the focal point when they need wider help and assistance.
“As a result, community hubs are now a necessity rather than a nice to have.”
Coles said the trust was already seeing schools with hubs report increased parental engagement and better attendance – and believes they are a contributing factor.
Setting up the charity will allow the hubs to seek funding from alternative sources, he added.
“Support that used to come from local authorities has been either cut back or lost completely so schools are filling the gaps.”
He said this is a “worthwhile responsibility” but it attracts no extra funding from government.
Analysis by the Local Government Association found that English councils face a £2.3 billion funding gap in 2025-26, rising to £3.9 billion in 2026-27.
“By formalising our approach through the creation of the charity we will be able to build our focus and attract funding whilst ensuring that it runs alongside, but does not take resource from, teaching and learning,” Coles added.
