United Communities

Strong, Connected Communities - Led by Local People

We work with schools and communities to create spaces for connection, leadership, and locally led action.

United Communities is an independent charity – established in 2025 by United Learning – to build on the community development work that began in 2022. We partner with schools to strengthen their role in local communities: helping them listen well, build strong relationships, open their facilities, and work with local people to transform unused spaces into vibrant community hubs.

Our work rests on three core foundations:

A three-year community development programme
A national network of school-linked community hubs
Ignite Communities Fund – a microgrant programme investing in the ideas and skills of local people, including children, young people, and adults.

Children and young people play an active role in these hubs – leading social action projects on issues that matter to them, their friends, and their neighbours. Each hub reflects the diversity and energy of its community, creating practical solutions and celebrations that truly belong to local people.

Read United Communities' Annual Impact Report 2025

Spotlight on Three Community Hubs

YouthWorks Community Hub

YouthWorks powers Positive Voices – an award-winning, youth-led movement where young people lead change. From local projects to global campaigns, they lead social action on issues that matter to them and their communities. Guided by Mashuq Hussain OBE and a dedicated team, Positive Voices builds leadership, sparks advocacy, and connects communities – where young voices create real change.

United Communities Paulsgrove

In Paulsgrove, activities include boot camps, cooking clubs, and community meals, alongside regular community conversations – often held on a travelling sofa taken to different places in the neighbourhood to connect residents and spark ideas for locally led initiatives. These conversations sparked the formation of a constituted resident group, which is now revitalising a vacant high street unit to create a shared space for support and connection.

Marlborough Community Hub

Marlborough Community Hub – once an underused youth and community centre – is now a thriving space at the heart of local life. It’s home to the UK’s youngest pantry team, who have turned food support into a youth-led initiative that advocates dignity and choice. Open to all, the hub offers regular activities – from resident-led fitness sessions to youth clubs and community events – helping people connect and shape their community together.