School hubs – how to access support and achieve improvement

A school hub is a strong school, or partnership of schools and other organisations, that helps other schools to develop and improve

School hubs can help school leaders to get support from other schools in their local area to improve a specific area of teaching or leadership. The four key areas where hubs are helping schools to improve are:

• teaching; 
• subjects;
• behaviour;
• careers.

Each hub offers specific support for schools in need of help from either an exemplary school in their area, or through training, resources and tools. 

Teaching hubs

Teaching school hubs are made up of exemplary schools that deliver evidence-based professional development to schools in a designated area of the country. These hubs offer professional development to teachers at all stages of their career, including:

• Trainee teachers: teaching school hubs deliver high quality school-based initial teacher training, underpinned by the initial teacher training (ITT) core content framework, either as an accredited ITT provider or a partner school.
• Early career teachers: teaching school hubs deliver free, DfE-funded, training to early career teachers and their mentors to ensure their practice is based on the evidence set out in the Early Career Framework. They can also quality assure the statutory induction that the early career teacher receives through the appropriate body role.
• Experienced teachers and leaders: teaching school hubs deliver the full suite of national professional qualifications (NPQs), consisting of: 
  • specialist NPQs for teachers and leaders to enhance and develop their existing skills and knowledge both inside and outside of the classroom;
  • leadership NPQs for existing and aspiring leaders to develop their knowledge and skills for leadership roles in schools and multi-academy trusts.

Subject hubs

Subject hubs are designed to develop expertise in a specific subject or discipline. All state-funded schools and colleges, special schools and alternative provision settings in England are eligible for support. However, some hubs only target specific phases of education:

• English hub support is for primary schools only.
• Languages hub support for secondary schools only.

The following subjects are included:

• English: to help to improve the teaching of early reading, with a particular focus on systematic synthetic phonics, early language and reading for pleasure. They provide support from a literacy specialist, CPD and funding to buy phonics and early language resources.
• Maths: work with teachers and leaders from reception through to KS5 and offer CPD to leadership communities and early career teacher professional communities to help schools improve mathematics education.
• Computing: these hubs offer CPD, guidance and support to local schools and colleges, to improve the teaching of computing and increase participation in computer science qualifications. They work with teachers from KS 1-5 and offer development programmes, certification, and peer networking – they also signpost to teaching resources and lesson plans.
• Science: science learning partnerships work with teachers from reception to KS5 to identify and address CPD needs. They offer CPD and networking support to local schools and colleges in order to improve the teaching of science and increase attainment and progression in the sciences.
• Music hubs: ensure teachers have access to music CPD and bring together schools, trusts, local authorities and art, community and voluntary organisations to make sure all children and young people access high quality music education in and out of school.
• Language: language hubs provide resources to support teaching in French German and Spanish.

Behaviour hubs

Behaviour hubs match lead schools or multi-academy trusts (MATs) with exemplary behaviour practices; they partner schools or MATs which want and/or need to improve behaviour culture. It is open to schools in England that are rated ‘good’, ‘requires improvement’ or ‘inadequate’ by Ofsted. Support is available to senior leaders in:

• MATs;
• primary and secondary schools;
• alternative provision settings;
• special schools.

Careers hubs

Careers hubs offer school and college careers leaders and senior leadership teams support to develop their careers programmes in line with the Gatsby Benchmarks of good careers guidance. This includes:

• training for careers leaders;
• bringing employers, educators and providers together through the hub network;
• sharing digital tools and resources.

It is important that schools are continuously improving, and there is no better way than by sharing best practice and knowledge across local communities in school hubs.