Collaborative Advantage in School Partnerships: when 1 + 1 = 3

This week saw the publication of the School Partnerships for Impact Guide. Developed by the new School Partnerships Alliance (SPA) charity, the report provides clarity and structure around what best practice looks like in school partnerships, with a particular focus on partnerships between the state-funded and independent sectors. I was delighted to contribute a Case Study and to take part in their interview and fact-finding process. At the launch event at the House of Lords, we heard from trustees from the state, independent and charity sectors on the power of schools working together for the benefit of our young people. There was a real sense of positivity and optimism in the room as many of us met peers working in this space in-person for the first time.

The Report came in the same week as leaders of the north east regional authorities met with Michael Gove to seal a £4.2 billion devolution deal. This package of funding includes significant investment in education and skills, which if used effectively, could make a transformational difference. As Adrian Dougherty wrote in Schools Week, the existing North of Tyne Combined Authority has already shown that meaningful impact can be made when regional authorities work "alongside, and with, local school leaders to support their existing work". For example, the superb work in bringing welfare advice into schools is highlighted in the article. There is reason to be optimistic about the power of such collaboration when scaled up through the new devolution deal. Furthermore, it is clear that the key to success is in leveraging relationships towards common long-term goals; we must remain relentlessly positive that system-level change can filter down to real, tangible impact on the ground.

Everyone agrees that persistent academic inequality and child poverty are unacceptable, so there is shared purpose, but problems arise when it comes to turning enthusiasm into action...We can all, if we’re not careful, nod along at principles and comment on the shocking statistics from the sidelines. It’s much harder and messier to get everyone talking and implementing solutions. But it is this work that is necessary now.

 [link: https://schoolsweek.co.uk/we-can-only-tackle-child-poverty-by-working-together/]

Collaborative Advantage 

I am increasingly convinced that school improvement is best achieved through partnerships between schools and in collaboration with external agencies. If we have multiple organisations working towards the long-term objective of improving life chances of children in the North East, why wouldn't we work together? It was in this context of regional optimism and partnership, that I read the aforementioned SPA Report and reflected on the potential of collaboration for schools. In particular, I was struck by a side-note on Collaborative Advantage:

"All types of partnership bring demonstrable benefit to partners and as the partnerships themselves become more involved, so the types of benefit, and the ways in which partnerships create them, will also become more varied. Part of the magic of partnerships is that, together, we can accomplish more than we can apart. We know that in bringing together our skills, experience, resources and funds we can ensure that partnerships can be more than the sum of their parts and 1 + 1 can equal 3 or more. We call this the collaborative advantage of partnership..."

The Report goes on to show various ways this can work on the ground, from small-beginnings and pilots through to more formal Alliances and Integration. The work of RGS in Newcastle lies somewhere in between, with informal alliances with over 70 schools, and closer relationships with a smaller group - the next step will be to explore the development of more formal integration with institutions in the region. With the background of discussions around VAT on fees and Charitable Status of Independent schools, it is important that we are not distracted from the central point: we are all in this for the benefit of our children of our region.

It can no longer be the case that independent schools stand in isolation, working in silos within regions with such profound issues: charitable status or not, the larger MATs and the North of Tyne Authority have shown that opening up and sharing resource can tackle some of our biggest issues in the education sector, from recruitment to cost of living and more. There is a moral imperative as never before to work in partnership to open up opportunities to as many children as possible, and in the most effective ways possible. It is for this reason that I think the partnerships space is so exciting to work in at the moment - whether that be in the state or the independent sectors.

As one school head put it at the SPA launch this week: "all children deserve an excellent education, whether they be from council estate or country estate". 

Articles and Links

The School Partnerships for Impact Report

Adrian Dougherty, How the North East will Seize Devolution to tackle Child Poverty in Schools Week