Sustainable Community Strategy

2020 objectives

By 2020, Nottingham will be:

• A city of aspiration where children and adults alike have high expectations of themselves and for their future, and have the motivation and abilities to follow their ambitions.

The commitment to raise aspirations has been written into the core of this strategy, with the targets for each of the Strategic Priorities set at ambitious levels requiring rising aspirations. No separate targets have therefore been set for this cross-cutting aim.

The Story: From Today to Tomorrow

There are many opportunities for people in Nottingham, young and old, to advance themselves and many do just that. However, there are some who appear to lack the willingness or ability to do so – who appear to lack the aspiration or motivation to engage with opportunities. We believe that the inter-generational experience of underachievement in some families in Nottingham – often associated with deprivation – has led to a lack of confidence about their personal, educational and employment prospects. In some more extreme cases, it has led to almost full disengagement with the city’s wider community, economy and values. It means that thousands of people in our city are not fulfi lling their potential. This is a loss for them, but also for the city. As we have seen, Nottingham has only achieved its position today through the hard work and innovation of its people. The whole city benefits when its people do well.

Our approaches to date have not successfully addressed this problem. We now wish to tackle it head on. We are committed to raising the aspirations of all individuals and families across the city, particularly those who are underachieving. Our intention is to improve their educational and employment outcomes in particular. Raising aspirations is a means to an end, a route to helping people fulfi l their promise; no one should get left behind.

Our review of evidence suggests the following, which will inform our approach:

• There are no quick fixes or single initiatives that will address what is a complex challenge.
• The primary driver of better employment outcomes is better educational attainment and this is in turn primarily a function of a healthy family environment and good schooling. Good attainment requires a range of skills, including a range of positive behaviours such as motivation, self-esteem, perseverance, self-discipline – including aspiration. These skills are mainly developed in children through their families and by parents being engaged in, and interested in, their children’s education.
• Interventions to support the development of positive behaviours in those at risk of underachieving yield more results the earlier they happen in a person’s life. Early intervention is a key principle with the best returns from investments in the early years of a child’s life.
• Wider factors that promote aspiration include environment and community influences, although these are more indirect.