OUR COMMUNITY

IMPACT 2015/16

COMMUNITY ORGANISERS
Last academic year
the Union developed a
Community Organiser
scheme- employing
students to canvas
residents in our
local communities,
identifying key issues
that the Union and the
community can then
work together on to
resolve. This is based
on our premise that
we should not simply
look to solve problems
residents feel students
cause, but instead
build partnerships
where students and
their local neighbours
can work together
for the good of all
concerned.
One of the biggest
concerns to emerge
from this consultation
was littering and
rubbish in roads with
a significant student
population. Analysing
this feedback has
generated the project
identified below

SSHH BUS

The Unions SSHH

Bus has now been
delivered for
three years, and is
recognised by both
residents and local
police as significantly

COBDEN CLOSE CLEAN UP

The Union has several
recurring volunteering
opportunities for our
members in the local
community, one of the
most longstanding
and successful of
these- running twice
a year for the last

three years- is the

Cobden Close Clean
up. Cobden Close
is a local sheltered
housing street, and
the opportunity
to work with our
students in tidying
up and improving

(Rogue landlords),
but also provided us
with an opportunity
for a short term
response-, Union
organised volunteers
to litter pick in our
local neighbourhoods.
In addition, we
published and
distributed customised
leaflets identifying
the processes and
timetables of refuse
collection in the key
identified student
areas.
An underlying element
of the feedback
we gained was a
feeling of lack of
responsiveness when

problems are raised,

and this intervention
enabled both a
clear and immediate
response and a longer
term communication
of students being
committed to keeping
their community a
clean and welcoming
place.
Looking forward,
we aim to continue
the regular face to
face engagement
with our neighbours
through Community
Organisers, and
identify opportunities
to support joint
delivery of solutions to
common problems.

SILVER SURFERS

contributing to the
reduction in late night
noise complaints.
Working in partnership
with Liquid nightclub
on Wednesday nights,
the scheme mitigates

against anti-social
behaviour by helping
students get home
safely and quietly from
Uxbridge town centre.

Combining our
commitments to
reducing food waste,
assisting our members
and contributing to
the most in-need
members of our

A great activity
delivered by the Union
in partnership with
AGE UK and local
libraries to provide a
much-needed service
to older residents in
Hillingdon. Seeking to
bridge the knowledge
gap, Student
volunteers facilitate
workshops where older
residents can bring
their gadgets and be
taught how to use
them effectively. We
have received a really
positive response

from residents on
this project, and
the demand for
further, more regular

FOODBANK COLLECTIONS

society, the Union has

implemented regular
end of term collections
of unwanted food
from students- which
we then deliver to
the Hillingdon Food

their gardens is really

welcomed.

workshops across the

borough is clearly
there.

Bank. To date this has

delivered hundreds of
items to the foodbank
where they can be
successfully distributed
to people from across
the borough.

BE BRUNEL

One of our key projects

established over the
past three years is Be
Brunel -created to
give primary school
pupils in Hillingdon the
opportunity to take
part in activities within
a university campus.
These activities, run
by Union staff and
volunteers, are aimed
at demonstrating to all
pupils that University is
a realistic opportunity
for them.
We have had over

1,000 local children

come to the campus
to take part in these
activities, ranging from
learning sports with
our student teams, to
academic exercises
using our facilities.
Forging stronger links
with Brunel this year
has begun to improve
the aspirations of
our pupils. They have
thoroughly enjoyed
their visits and
now talk about the
possibility of attending

VOTER REGISTRATION

Brunel as a student
one day themselves.
Leah Wright, Assistant
Headteacher at
Colham Manor Primary
School.

COMMUNICATIONS
As a core element of
the Unions community
work, we send out
a termly newsletter
to the closest 700
houses local to Brunel.
This newsletter, called
Our Community,
shares information
about what has been
happening at Brunel,
good news stories,
and upcoming events.
We augment this with
further letters at key
times- for example
just before Freshers
Week ensuring our
neighbours are aware
of the return/ arrival
of our students,
and identifying the

activities delivered
and the actions being
taken to recognise
residents concerns.
This year we combined
our engagement
with local schools
with our eagerness
to maintain positive
communications
with our neighboursrunning a competition
in primary schools
for the design of our
Christmas card- again
sent out to the 700+
closest residents.
These communications
are particularly
well received by
residents and local
press- specifically the

As part of our ongoing

commitment to
developing Brunel
Students into positive
and active citizens,
the Union ensures
regular engagement
in regards to
understanding
national, regional
and local elections
processes- and
encouraging students
to vote. Over the last
15 months we have had
three opportunities
to focus on- the 2015
General Elections,
the 2016 London
Elections, and the

EU referendum.. For
each of these, we
have put strategies in
place to encourage
voter registration
AND then increasing
the understanding
of the issues, and
generating interest. As
an indicator of impact,
over 1000 students
registered to vote
in a week of activity
prior to the Mayor of
London elections.
In addition to voter
registration, we have
sought to position
ourselves at the
heart of the local

political landscapeworking with residents

associations and local
groups to host the
communitys Greater
London Assembly
member hustings
and debates for the
General Elections local
candidates, welcoming
many local residents in
addition to interested
students.

PARTNERSHIPS

Uxbridge Gazette- has

further responded
to our engagement
by publishing several
positive stories about
the University, and
in particular the
students contributions
to Hillingdon.

Demonstrating a will
to work in partnership
is absolutely key,
and we have been
welcomed to several
important forums
where discussions
take place regarding
students and the
community;
University Residents
Forum - The Union
has had a presence
at these for many
years, however the
community depts.

work provides a far

greater engagement,
and we continue to
listen, and seek to
develop solutions- and
report back on our
success.
Hillingdon Council
Strong and Active
Partnerships Board originated by our
funding from the
Councils Leadership
fund, we continue to
feed in to, and receive
data and trends

from, this Council

committee focussed on
community Cohesion.
This has proven an
ongoing benefit in
regards to identifying
opportunities to
develop partnerships,
and ensure our activity
is recognised by local
politicians.

STUDENT-LED VOLUNTEERING
Already confirmed as
a future growth area
and key to the Unions
overall strategy, is the
support we provide
to groups of students
who identify and wish
to progress their own
local volunteering
projects. Examples
supported this past
year include the
Unions Hockey club
who arranged to
visit local primary
schools to give taster
sessions, the Innovia
(Women in Stem)
Society who received
extremely positive
feedback from their
Engineering Activity
day with teenage
girls from Stockley
Academy, and the

Dance club who for

the past two years
have delivered Dance
lessons to students of
Colham Manor Primary
school- culminating
in their enthusiastic
involvement in the
clubs annual Dance
show.
By encouraging
students to identify
and create their
own volunteering
opportunities, we
are nurturing their
leadership skills and
enhancing their
awareness of how they
can play a positive role
in their community;
therefore creating
active and positive
citizens.

Brunel Innovia at Stockley Academy

Colham Manor Primary at Brunel

Dance Show

Brunel Hockey at Hillingdon Primary

FURTHER PROJECTS AND EVENTS

Eid Celebration - for
the second year
now, the Union in
partnership with our
Islamic Society and
local community
groups has delivered
a fantastic community
Eid Celebration,
welcoming our Muslim
neighbours from
across the borough.

The Big Lunch - led

by Brunel Volunteers,
the Union provided
resources, experience
and presence to
ensure this community
focussed event on
campus was a success.
Conflict resolution following the
identification of
significant anti-

social behaviour
on Whitehall Road,
the Union engaged
successfully with the
local residents and
the group involvedsecuring over 3000
recompense, and
managing what
could have caused
significant harm to the
University reputation.

UPCOMING PROJECTS
Dependent on funding
availability, the
Union has identified
a series of further
projects which would
each have significant
impact on their
respective target
audiences.
Creating a social
environment for
local teenagers:
weve identified that
the local teenagers
of Uxbridge do not
currently have a
youth club provision.
Using our nightclub
we can provide a
safe space for that
age group to take
part in recreational
opportunities as well
as to provide personal
development . We
anticipate that this
could reduce levels of
anti-social behaviour
in the local area.
Rogue landlords:
Confirmed by the
Community Organisers
work on the doorsteps,
we recognise several
high profile issues
driven by the move
of students into their
local community (ie

to live off campus). In

many cases, our local
residents recognised
that the students
werent wholly to
blame, they expressed
an understanding
that the landlords
of these properties
have a responsibility
which may not always
be delivered. The
opportunity therefore
is to continue to
deliver information
and guidance to our
students, but also to
work with residents
and Hillingdon
Council to encourage
Landlords to fulfil
their responsibilities
as the property
owners (eg garden
tending, rubbish bins,
appropriate info,
house repair).
Improving the social
environment and
increasing safety:
One of the Unions
Priority Campaigns
for the coming year
is to address antisocial behaviour
and lad culture.
One community
focussed area we
will be considering

is a Nightlife
Charter, working in
collaboration with
the council, police
and local late-night
venues to develop
a set of standards
and expectations
for a safe nightlife
environment- aimed
at reducing instances
of sexually related
violence, homophobia
and misogyny.
Enhancing our
engagement with
older residents:
Building on our current
projects, we believe
we can significantly
widen the range of
activities the Union
delivers aimed at
enhancing the lives
of older residents
and improving
their perceptions of
students- subject to
appropriate funding.
This is currently in
the planning stages,
but we have a
number of projects
in development and
is believed to have
significant traction.

For more information about community

projects at Brunel please get in touch with our
Community Development Co-Ordinator,
Kerri Prince
01895 269 269
kerri.prince@brunel.ac.uk

brunelstudents.com