The Big Society and the co-operative contribution to Sustainable Communities A FREE virtual event via Zoom on 2nd July 2022 from 11.00 am to 2.00 pm. Following the considerable success of the Inaugural Lecture in 2021 we would like to invite you to join us at the...
THe MArches hive
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In 1997 the Robert Owen Group launched a co-operative school centred initial teacher training project through the Marches Consortium and in partnership with the University of Gloucester. The scheme rapidly grew and became the largest of its type in the United Kingdom , successfully training over 3,700 post graduates who now work in our schools and colleges with many at senior leadership levels. Alongside this we launched a Master’s level programme for trainers in schools and for former trainees and teachers to access as career progression.
It became clear that the absence of an institute of higher education in the Marches sub region posed a real impediment to developing research, seminal thinking and platonic discourse. We often ignore the valuable infrastructure that comes with a quality centre of higher education. The Directors of the Marches Consortium developed a Robert Owen Learning Academy in Leominster and encouraged many ‘hub’ schools to have satellite post graduate libraries for their ‘clusters’.
This is all now background history but our 1998 creation of “query” as a radical journal of left field thinking has now in 2021 led to the addition of this section to the Marches Hive website. We want to stimulate thinking, discussion and the sharing of relevant news and knowledge.
We called the original 1990’s journal query because our minds turned to the creation in the 1870’s of the Tredegar Medical Aid Society which started life as as ‘Health and Education Fund’. In 1920 Walter Conway , Aneurin Bevan and others formed the radical Query Club as a new development. The Club was a cross between a debating society, a mutual support group , a focus for sharing contemporary knowledge and a body set on advancing radical thinking to address the issues of the day. In those times adult education was very much in cells following on the model of the early Methodist house groups.
We believe the challenges of today in many ways mirror those of one hundred years ago and we do encourage everyone’s to engage with query and to share your thoughts, views, knowledge and understanding so that we can all grow together . Thank you
News Articles
Family Farm Succession & Community Ownership
How a national crisis of family-owned farms presents an opportunity for a new generation of community ownersAcross the UK around 120,000 family-owned businesses are planning to retire or transfer ownership over the next few years (ONS), but two-thirds of these owners...
The Big Society and the co-operative contribution to Sustainable Communities
ONLY 2 DAYS TO GO – BOOK NOW – FREE EVENT! A FREE virtual event via Zoom on 2nd July 2022 from 11.00 am to 2.00 pm. Following the considerable success of the Inaugural Lecture in 2021 we would like to invite you to join us at the second Robert Owen Annual Lecture. The...
What is a cooperative?
A cooperative is defined in the Statement on the Cooperative Identity as an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically...
A FREE virtual event via Zoom on 2nd July 2022 from 11.00 am to 2.00 pm.
JUST 3 DAYS TO GO – BOOK NOW! The Big Society and the co-operative contribution to Sustainable Communities Following the considerable success of the Inaugural Lecture in 2021 we would like to invite you to join us at the second Robert Owen Annual Lecture. The Robert...
Use “precious” Dormant Assets to grow business in communities, says new coalition
Social enterprise, charity representative bodies and social investors have joined forces to call on Government to get behind a new plan to back enterprises in underserved places and communities in the forthcoming consultation on Dormant Assets. A 12-week consultation...
What Is A Social Enterprise?
The first time I heard the term “social enterprise” was in a college seminar. Case study after case study, we examined successful social entrepreneurs who were making a scalable difference in the lives of others. Their impact was made possible thanks to social...
Labour/Co-op MP introduces bill to improve co-ops’ access to capital
Sir Mark Hendrick has put forward a private members' bill to amend the law governing the co-op and mutual sector By Miles Hadfield Sir Mark Hendrick, the Labour/Co-op MP for Preston, has today introduced a private members’ bill to update part of the law on...
6 DAYS TO GO – BOOK NOW!
The Big Society and the co-operative contribution to Sustainable Communities A FREE virtual event via Zoom on 2nd July 2022 from 11.00 am to 2.00 pm. Following the considerable success of the Inaugural Lecture in 2021 we would like to invite you to join us at the...
ONE WEEK TO GO – BOOK NOW!
The Big Society and the co-operative contribution to Sustainable Communities A FREE virtual event via Zoom on 2nd July 2022 from 11.00 am to 2.00 pm. Following the considerable success of the Inaugural Lecture in 2021 we would like to invite you to join us at the...
