Building Community Cohesion in to Practice

Workshop Contents:

• Multiculturalism in the UK
• Socio-political and economic landscape
• Rise of new political parties and renewed unrest 2024/5
• Set the scene for community cohesion policy
• The components that contribute to social unrest
• Reflection on professional skill sets and competencies that help contribute to the community cohesion agenda in practice
• Community cohesion in practice
• Community cohesion toolkits and guides

Course Overview

Community Cohesion has been adopted as the government’s official policy of harmonisation amongst British communities since the 2001 riots in Northern Towns namely Oldham, Burnley and Rochdale. Hundreds of Millions have been spent on implementing the policy. However, the state of our communities is far from cohesive.

The killing of three young girls in Southport on 29 July 2024 sparked acts of violence and disorder in over 35 locations around the UK. The targeting of Muslims, asylum seekers and visible minorities made these the worst outbreaks of racist violence seen in the UK for decades. The Government’s strategic response is to continue to build and strengthen the foundations of social cohesion in the UK. Councils and combined authorities are charged with the responsibility to deliver local cohesion strategies.

However, many front-line professionals are under skilled in both the details of this important policy and its application in practice. This essential course charts the gradual demise of Multiculturalism as both policy and practice in the United Kingdom and navigates the contested terrain that led to the adoption of Community Cohesion.

Through the use of innovative case studies, frank media viewing, group work, practical examples of community cohesion initiatives and professional reflection, delegates will have a safe space to explore the range of socio-economic, political and integration dimensions that led to the formation of the term ‘community cohesion’.

The four core strands of community cohesion will be thoroughly analysed and delegates will get a change to apply their skills, knowledge and competencies gained to real-life case studies that will give them a good understanding of applying the cohesion agenda in practice. Delegates will be aided after the course with a number of official toolkits and research reports into best practice in this arena if they wish to develop further their theory and practice.

Course Objectives

• An appreciation of the different socio-political dimensions that led to the demise of multiculturalism policy.
• A clear understanding of how social, political and economic dynamics contributed to the formation of community cohesion policy.
• A reflective understanding of the reasons behind the rise in new political parties and renewed unrest in 2024/2025
• Access to books and resources on the day that practitioners can browse to develop their reading around the subject area.
• Able to map the social components that contribute to civil unrest.
• Able to confidently discuss the four key strands of the community cohesion agenda.
• Recognising the importance of building community cohesion into practice.
• Able to learn from the course facilitator worked community cohesion initiatives, projects and ideas and share best practice with fellow professionals.
• Able to apply these key strands to real-life scenarios in order to build community cohesion into their practice.
• Able to reflect professionally on several key skills, qualities and competencies that would need to be developed in order to effectively apply the community cohesion agenda to our practice.
  

The workshop is designed to give you the real-world training and tool-kit to build community cohesion in to practice when engaging with diverse communities. , The tool kit comprises tried and tested programmes, best-practice based upon current research and the lived-experience of facilitators of what works.

The session can be further personalised whereby we will use the session learning to model a bespoke transformation plan, tailored to your organisation by attending at your place of work (This is an additional product; see reflection and personalisation sessions below). This will give you a clear roadmap towards a set of specific goals of what community cohesion looks like for you, your organisation and the communities we serve.

Who should attend this course:

• Frontline teaching staff at schools, colleges and Universities
• Senior Leadership Team staff members at schools, colleges and Universities
• Front line staff in the community work, youth work and social work sectors
• Community Co-ordinators, Development Workers, Policy Officers, Area Managers and those tasked with engaging with both community groups and individuals to build tolerance and community cohesion
• Staff who wish to increase their theory and practical understanding of the community cohesion agenda
• Students studying youth, community work, social work or undertaking postgraduate level studies in the community arena

Facilitators

Imam Abdul Hafeez Siddique

The workshop is delivered by Imam Abdul Siddique, the Founder & Chief Executive of The Flowhesion Foundation, Non-Executive Director of Bridgewater NHS Trust, Imam/Chaplain at HMP Wymott. He holds an MPhil in Community Cohesion and an MA in Social Work.

Abdul is a community cohesion specialist and was specifically funded to undertake ground breaking research in Bolton in 2008 where he looked at how members of the south-Asian community interpreted community cohesion language and lexicology in their everyday lives. He has over 20 years of experience working with BAME communities across the North of England and is an advisor, consultant and community cohesion lead for a number of organisations.

Amena Patel

Amena is an expert in organisational change, specialising in advancing equity, diversity, and inclusion, with over 20 years of experience in the third sector. She works with organisations to foster equitable and inclusive work environments, ensuring that all voices are heard and valued. Amena is deeply passionate about addressing inequalities and currently holds a senior position at CAB, where she engages with minority-ethnic communities to provide advice, welfare, and support. Her extensive experience has given her a thorough understanding of the health and financial disparities that affect these communities. Amena’s commitment to tackling inequalities led her to join the NHS NeXT Director Scheme, which supports the development of minority ethnic individuals to serve on Trust boards. Through her work and advocacy, Amena strives to create systemic change, ensuring more diverse and equitable representation in key decision-making roles.

Testimonials

‘I admired the flow of the workshop and gained a thorough understanding of community

cohesion vs multiculturalism and challenges facing communities. Glad I came!’

Adrian Bates, Community Cohesion Manager, Trafford Council.

‘I gained a lot from today, a good understanding of cohesion’s four key strands, importance

of personal stories and challenging media stereotypes’

Linda Monckton, Policy research Manager, Historic England.

'Welcome open and clear addressal of the dynamics of how lack of cohesion occurs and

how to find solutions. Good principals to develop practice and skills, thanks'. -

Dawn Obe-Yates, Team Manager Bolton at Home.

‘This workshop was delivered in a very interactive manner, the message from media,

statistics and other resources provided will be very useful for my practice’

Holly Meredith, social worker, Leaving care Team, Bolton Council.

‘ All the content, engagement with audience and the in-depth knowledge and practice

sharing of the facilitator was absolutely phenomenal’

Director Ibrahim Jameel- Mentoring for social advancement

‘Excellent content, very in-depth, broadened my understanding of the topic and extremely

well presented! Thanks Abdul’

Nick Woods- Advanced practitioner Adult safeguarding NWBH, NHS Trust

‘There was a lot of useful content in this course and I have learnt a lot due to the well

structured, engaging session’

Rachael Whittle, Lead Nurse assessor Bolton CCG

‘Very informative and interactive session. Gets people talking about a subject that is that is

quite often perceived as taboo.’

Victoria Martin, Nurse Assessor Team lead, Salford CCG

‘Great informative session very useful for practice, thanks’

Sarah Harrison, Senior paramedic, North West Ambulance service

‘Very knowledgeable trainer, great discussion and group work to engage the audience on

some very sensitive topics’

Sarah Gallagher, Named Professional for safeguarding vulnerable groups, Yorkshire Ambulance service.

Where and When?

Venue: The Flowhesion Foundation, All Souls, Astley Street, Bolton. BL1 8EY

Workshop Dates:

• Monday the 8th of September 2025
• Monday the 22nd of September 2025

10:00am - 4:00pm

Tickets

£150.00 Per person (Lunch and refreshments included). Discount available on block bookings.

Included in your delegate ticket price of £150.00 per person:

· Quality delegate resource pack

· Attendance certificate

Post- workshop reflection and personalisation Session: £120.00 Per person

We offer ‘Reflection Sessions’ at your workplace with a post-workshop site visit, where we track your progress, and give you clear, demonstrable KPI’s to prove your organisations growth in Community Cohesion. At which point, you will be granted the coveted ‘Beacon Centre Award’ certification.

For more information, questions, queries or to book onto this course please contact:

simon.lucas@flowhesion.org.uk or call T: 01204275106 M: 07549791579