BackgroundThe importance of community engagement in health is widely recognized, and key themes in UK National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) recommendations for enhancing community engagement are co-production and community control. This study reports an innovative approach to community engagement using the community-organizing methodology, applied in an intervention of social support to increase social capital, reduce stress and improve well-being in mothers who were pregnant and/or with infants aged 0–2 years.MethodsProfessional community organizers in Citizens-UK worked with local member civic institutions in south London to facilitate social support to a group of 15 new mothers. Acceptability of the programme, adherence to principles of co-production and community control, and changes in the outcomes of interest were assessed quantitatively in a quasi-experimental design.ResultsThe programme was found to be feasible and acceptable to participating mothers, and perceived by them to involve co-production and community control. There were no detected changes in subjective well-being, but there were important reductions in distress on a standard self-report measure (GHQ-12). There were increases in social capital of a circumscribed kind associated with the project.ConclusionsCommunity organizing provides a promising model and method of facilitating community engagement in health.

The Successful Law Student provides insights, advice, and perspectives on the student experience in the field of law. The focus is on the things that will make a big difference to the student experience, including making a smooth transition to university level study, getting the most out of lectures and feedback from tutors, advice on how to approach law exams, and finding a rewarding career. Complemented by a variety of insider voices, which add valuable context and real-life insight, the text includes extensive experience from the perspective of law teachers to explore the learning process and look beyond it to consider the wider definition of success and to provide help against the pressures of legal study.

This chapter considers further activities and opportunities for the student to put their knowledge of law and their legal skills into practice, and further develop skills that are key to legal practice. This is important for legal careers but also in developing skills to enhance employability more generally. This chapter explores important legal skills-related extracurricular activities that are commonly available within the law programme or on an extracurricular basis, particularly mooting, negotiation, client interviewing, and debating, and the value of these activities in developing legal and general skills including analysis, critical thinking, professionalism, and teamwork.

This chapter considers the wide range of sources that a law student will need to discover and explore in their legal studies for a range of different purposes. Guidance is given on different legal and other sources and their importance, including the difference between primary and secondary resources and their place in legal learning. Guidance is also provided on navigating the way to the right resources and using them to guide the student to greater understanding. This chapter considers the various resources available in the modern university, both traditional library resources and additional digital resources, and resources in the wider context of how these sources can be accessed and other study tools. This includes consideration of the ‘virtual learning environment’ or VLE.