Setting up school partnerships

Schools can greatly benefit from sharing their knowledge, experience and resources by working together. So, how can you set up a partnership?

Setting up a partnership with another school, or schools, can be hugely beneficial to all parties involved. As the saying goes – team work makes the dream work – and being able to share knowledge and resources allows for growth and improvement for everyone involved. Here‘s a quick guide which details the many ways a partnership can work – and the things you might need to know if you’re considering setting one up.

What areas can you collobarate in?

Teaching – this could include:

• taking part in national programmes such as training for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) teachers;
• providing continuing professional development;
• sharing teachers of shortage subjects;
• cutting teachers’ workload by sharing lesson plans and resources.

Curriculum – this could include:

• helping with curriculum design and delivery, such as shared lesson plans;
• broadening the curriculum, such as forming mixed school classes in subjects such as languages and classics;
• widening the curriculum offer, for example by making use of facilities at universities such as science labs;
• organising joint, attainment-raising activities in school holidays.

Leadership – this could include:

• taking a leading role on the governing body of a school;
• providing senior and strategic leadership support;
• offering coaching and mentoring.

Targeted activities – support for tailored activities to meet a school’s specific needs, such as:

• academic support and mentoring for young people applying to, or preparing for, university;
• working together through teaching school alliances;
• working with local authorities to open up opportunities for vulnerable and looked after children, such as offering boarding, day places or extra-curricular activities.

Schools or universities with a record of giving this kind of support will also be in a stronger position if they decide they want to become an academy sponsor, or open a free school, in the future.

How to find schools to work with near you

Your regional schools commissioner’s office will be able to tell you the school improvement priorities for academies in your area. If you want to expand your partnership, and work with several schools at once, you could contact multi-academy trusts, local authorities or teaching schools in your area.

The opportunity area programme aims to improve social mobility in 12 ‘coldspots’ in England. If you’re based in, or near, an opportunity area consider how you could help with the priorities listed in their opportunity area strategic delivery plan.

Setting objectives

Everyone involved should agree their objectives, and how they’ll work together to achieve them. A clearly defined set of objectives should reflect the strengths and needs of everyone involved. Together you should decide:

• the aims of the partnership;
• who will be the project lead from each institution;
• what specific activities, year groups and subjects the partnership will cover;
• what measures will be used to monitor performance;
• how you’ll measure the outcomes and impact of the partnership;
• how you’ll evaluate the partnership – what data you’ll use, and how it will be shared and analysed;
• the form of your partnership agreement, such as a memorandum of understanding (MOU).

You should also decide together how you’ll fund the partnership, if necessary.

Schools have found it useful to outline their objectives and partnership activities through a non-binding formal agreement. You can set this up using a MOU. Once the governing bodies of all partners have agreed a plan or MOU you can get started. It’s essential that you are clear on what you hope to achieve, and by when. You may find this template memorandum of understanding (MOU) and guidance helpful.

What do you need to monitor?

You should collect accurate and timely data about your partnership to make sure you’re achieving your objectives. Use this information to:

• adjust how you allocate time and resources in the short term to get the best outcomes;
• make decisions about future investment and strategy.

You’ll probably need to gather both:

• quantitative evidence – such as attainment data, or rates of application to higher education;
• qualitative evidence – such as interest in a subject, or confidence in applying to university.

Performance data can show the progress of groups of pupils sharing certain characteristics relative to the progress of their peers – for example, those who are eligible for free school meals. This approach can provide a rich data set for partnerships when considered alongside other characteristics such as ethnicity, disability, parental education and occupation, or the area where a student lives.

Although some data sets will be more readily available than others, a good working relationship should allow you to make use of existing data in a pragmatic and meaningful way.

Comprehensive advice on evaluation can be found in The Magenta Book: guidance on evaluation from HM Treasury.