Liverpool's learning leaders & community partners join LJMU for opening of its city-centre School of Education

Education leaders and community partners across the city-region have welcomed the LJMU School of Education to its new city-centre home.

The £30million new-build premises on Maryland Street was officially opened by Vice-Chancellor Professor Mark Power at a ceremony on Thursday 30 March as part of the university’s 200 anniversary celebrations.

Joining LJMU to mark the occasion were headteachers and wider partnership school colleagues, local government officers, community education leaders, staff, current students, alumni and children from St Nicholas Catholic Academy and Pleasant Street Primary School - representing the eight primary schools who helped create thought-provoking artworks from recycled materials for the building’s interior with Luma Creations. Liverpool School of Art and Design Graduates, Ella Matthews and Elisa Sallis, also created a beautiful wall rug from the children’s drawings, which now adorns the School of Education’s foyer.

Emma Dickinson, Education Policy Lead Officer for Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, said: “It’s fantastic to see the evolution of LJMU as a leading provider of education and educational leadership.

“This is a place that helps drive forward the agenda on education in a positive and collaborative way.”

'Fairness, opportunity and access to education matters to us all'

Vice-Chancellor Professor Mark Power said that the School of Education had long been a well known and loved part of the educational sector in the city region but the fabulous new city-centre HQ: “gives Dr Ceri Daniels and her staff the perfect platform to collaborate with long-standing partners in the city – both on the provision and local government sides.”

The School of Education has a vibrant academic community, currently educating and supporting more than 1,700 students and researchers, with a further 2,150 earning its qualifications around the world in Asia, Africa and the Americas. It was formerly located in Allerton, where the Irene Mabel Marsh College was based, and its history stems back to the F L Calder College and the C F Mott College which grew out of a national shortage of teachers after the Second World War.

Dr Ceri Daniels, Director of the School of Education, said: “Fairness, opportunity and access to education matters to us. We feel very settled and welcomed by the community since our move to the heart of the city. This is a location which enables us to further strengthen our role in the region and beyond, as proud and passionate advocates of social justice and the transformative power of education.”

Chantelle Lunt, Community Activist, HE Educator and LJMU Graduate PHD Tutor Trainee, gave a rousing keynote speech at the event about her personal, inspiring educational experiences – and how valued the relationship with LJMU has been in that journey.

Local schoolchildren also presented their work on the environment and sustainability that they’ve been developing in collaboration with staff and students from the School of Education and Luma Creations.

The school graduates around 700 professionals each year, many of whom go on to vital and leading roles in schooling, colleges, early childhood settings and government.

The Vice-Chancellor also unveiled a portrait of Fanny Calder, the pioneering educationalist whose college launched the city’s first BA in Education in 1966.