Voluntary activity in small rural primary schools: boundaries, networks and trajectories

Voluntary activity - the unpaid and uncoerced giving of time, talent, money, and resources - in primary schools is increasing. However, this increase is not equal, with schools in wealthier areas attracting double the amount of volunteer time and money than those in more deprived areas. Voluntary activity is becoming a necessity rather than a choice, with primary schools increasingly reliant on volunteers and fundraised income. In this context, small schools are experiencing the largest increases in voluntary activity across compulsory education. These are schools with fewer than 100 pupils, often designated as 'rural' by the Department for Education. Whilst frequently conceptualised and promoted as part of a rural idyll in policy and school marketing, England has a highly differentiated countryside, with small schools educating children from a diverse range of backgrounds with a variety of needs. Whilst these schools experience challenges related to their small size, under-prioritisation and underfunding from government, they are often inclusive and caring environments, providing a valuable educational experience difficult to find in larger urban primary schools. Voluntary activity has had and continues to play a vital role in ensuring education can be provided in these contexts. However, it is not well-recognised or researched. It is critical to better understand how voluntary activity happens in different educational contexts and the impact it has on education delivery as well as for staff, students and the volunteers themselves. My research addresses this gap by exploring voluntary activity for two small rural primaries of differing levels of deprivation in Southeast England: Applegood (less deprived) and Oakington (more deprived). This research was conducted through ethnography (2021-2024), with a range of different methods employed during my extended immersion in these schools as a volunteer, researching voluntary activity first-hand. My findings reveal the significance of boundaries and invisible labour, socio-spatial networks and stigma, and trajectories of voluntary activity. My positionality and the methodology adopted (including children's voices) in this research contributes to a holistic and thorough approach to understanding voluntary activity in these environments. This research also contributes to conceptual and theoretical development by working with the total social organisation of labour framework and bringing previously separate fields of literature on educational purpose, parental involvement, gender, capital, stigma, the sociology of work, boundaries, voluntary activity and rurality, into dialogue with each other in the small rural primary context. It also contributes to substantive and policy debates around education and voluntary activity in the current climate.