comino foundation & nwcc
​Comino Foundation is a national charity which ‘seeks to improve social opportunities for young people; by helping them develop their personal and practical capabilities to unlock their potential to live fulfilling and prosperous lives.’
The foundation was founded by engineer Dimitri Comino, a design thinker who developed a solutions-focussed toolkit, getting results and solving problems, which he applied to engineering problems, but which he came to see as a process for wider, and in particular, social problem solving.
For many years Comino Foundation has worked through their network of schools, universities, charities and other social enterprises across England to develop innovative learning programmes which aim to foster the attitudes that founder, Dmitri Comino was committed to.
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Since 2013 Comino Foundation has funded the North West Comino Consortium (NWCC), a ‘Community of Practice’ of schools, businesses, and charities who work in partnership with Comino Foundation to deliver projects which help young people thrive.
At the heart of our work is a belief that learning experiences developed through partnerships with people and places beyond school have the power to motivate and inspire young people and to nurture the social, cultural and career capital they need to face the future with confidence. Many of our schools sit in areas of high disadvantage with diverse cohorts of pupils who particularly benefit from the personal and career development opportunities that our carefully curated projects offer.
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Our small NWCC ‘core’ partnership team are professionally qualified teachers with significant experience in educational management both in and out of schools. Consortium schools work in direct consultation with our team to develop:
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Supportive networks bringing and an integrated approach to whole school development; the partnerships we build can directly respond to our partner school’s priorities and drivers.
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Immersive experiences which provide opportunities for personal, academic and career development for all young people.
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Bespoke and achievable projects which offer best fit between schools and workplaces.
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Staff CPD which offer unique insights, exchanges of knowledge and skills between teachers and other professionals.
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Our collaborative ‘Community of practice’ model places emphasis on shared ownership and continuous development. We seek to develop long term relationships with schools and external partners who share our particular interest in experiential, student centred and problem-based learning. Through working together with practical curriculum experts in NWCC schools and the many influential national Comino partners we are able to add tangible insights and innovative practice models to a chorus of voices calling for change.
Key to the success of our CoP model is the pivotal role of the ‘Comino Lead Practitioner’, appointed to the role from within each school, these are our key agents for change. These highly experienced senior teachers have a real passion for creative partnership working and they lead, connect and advocate for Comino Foundation project work within their school. We believe this unique network of invested professionals has been key to the effective and sustainable long term impact of our small organisation through a period of significant change in educational policy.