Community cohesion framework plans put student voice in design and evaluation

Updated Sep 27, 2026

On 9 September 2026, the Department for Education (DfE) set out plans for a community cohesion framework with the University of Salford and the National Union of Students. For Student Experience and quality teams, the practical question is how students can influence a response after describing their experiences.

What the community cohesion framework proposes

Students will help design the framework and shape its implementation and evaluation. Salford will lead student focus groups, stakeholder interviews and desk-based research.

Initial development covers five areas in England, with wider testing to follow. A first draft of the framework and toolkit is anticipated by the end of 2026. The announcement gives no institutional compliance deadline.

What this means for institutions

Our recommendation is to give a local belonging review a clear decision to inform. Ask students which questions need attention, what they should help decide and how they will review progress. For example, a team could examine whether students understand how to join a campus activity, then work with them on revised information. Define the scope of that student voice partnership before collecting another set of comments.

Plan participation with the students’ union and people who may find the usual meeting format difficult. Offer written contributions alongside discussion, explain what participants will see and agree how their accounts will be reported. Our account of UWE’s community listening exercise offers a related example to consider when describing confidentiality and the limits of a listening project. Ask who might still be absent from the conversation.

Agree the follow-up before presenting themes. Record the proposed action, the person responsible and when students will be invited to review it. In the campus activity example, check whether the revised information was published and ask students whether it answered their questions. Treat delivery and students’ subsequent experience as separate checks. These are suggestions for local practice, rather than instructions issued by DfE.

How student feedback analysis connects

For an open-text review of belonging, we suggest keeping accounts of experiences separate from requests and proposed solutions. A comment about difficulty joining an activity raises a different question from a suggestion to change its timing. Retain the collection question and route, and ask students to review whether the interpretation preserves what they meant. Record disagreement instead of forcing a single account of community experience.

Avoid treating the most frequent theme as a measure of how the whole student body feels. Review whose perspectives the collection reached and where further listening is needed. Before sharing examples, use the student comment analysis governance checklist to agree access, redaction and reporting rules. The useful output is a set of questions and possible responses for shared review, with its evidence limits visible.

FAQ

Q: What should a university team do now?

A: Choose an upcoming decision about belonging and agree a student role in it. Write the participation invitation and follow-up plan together, specifying what can change, who decides and how students will hear the response.

Q: Who is the framework for, and when is wider rollout planned?

A: Colleges, universities and students’ unions are the intended users. The wider rollout is not dated in the announcement.

Q: How should students help evaluate a local response?

A: Ask them to help define what progress would look like before an action begins. Revisit the original concern afterwards, preserve contrary experiences and explain what still needs work. Publishing a summary should begin that discussion, rather than close it.

References

[Department for Education]: "Education to play a vital role in building belonging in divided communities" Published: 2026-09-09