Beyond closure: rewiring the civic estate for a new era of "place"

Families facing poverty, young people at risk of becoming NEET, children on the edge of care, adults needing work, parents needing support and older residents experiencing isolation rarely fit neatly into organisational charts. I see this increasingly in the public service transformation work that I do.

As powers and responsibilities increasingly move closer to places and communities, there is a real opportunity to think less about individual institutions and more about local civic infrastructure. School sites are often perfectly placed to do exactly that. They already sit at the heart of neighbourhoods, with kitchens, halls, sports facilities, outdoor space and good accessibility. 

Hubs for life and not just learning….

A school closure could become the catalyst for creating a new generation of neighbourhood hubs that blend public services, community activity and local enterprise. Imagine a former school where:

• a wing houses youth employability and apprenticeship services
• another provides flexible space for local businesses and social enterprises
• community organisations run family support and mentoring programmes
• health and wellbeing services operate from shared rooms 
• sports facilities remain open to local clubs
• adult learning and retraining courses run during evenings
• young people receive careers advice, digital skills training and help into work

A building once designed around the journey from age five to eleven could instead support people from early years through to retirement. That really is place-making.

Could it help with our NEET challenge?

The rise in young people who are not in education, employment or training presents one of the most significant challenges facing many communities. Repurposed school sites could become local youth and employment hubs where schools, colleges, employers, voluntary organisations and local authorities work together. In the spirit of devolution, support can become local, relational and visible. The building that once prepared children for the future could continue doing exactly that, just in a different way.

Keeping our children close to their homes

For me, perhaps the greatest opportunity lies in supporting vulnerable children and young people. We know that local authorities spend significant sums on residential placements, often many miles from the communities where children grew up. Every mile travelled can mean weaker family connections, disrupted relationships and reduced opportunities to maintain local support networks.

I know every former school site will not be suitable, but some could provide the foundation for new forms of local provision, including children's homes, supported accommodation, therapeutic services and wrap-around support Instead of sending our children from their communities because there is nowhere suitable nearby, we could repurpose these public assets to help them remain connected to the places and people that matter most.

With imagination, partnership and a willingness to break down organisational silos, a closed school can become a new civic place: a place where education, employment, care, community and opportunity come together under one roof.