1. Forming or Joining a Group of Schools: staying in control of your school’s destiny

2. The following slides accompany the joint Association of School and College Leaders, National Governors’ Association and Browne Jacobson guidance paper of the same name. They are designed to support a step-by-step process to help governors and school leaders in standalone schools to better understand the current educational landscape, consider whether they would like to enter into a formal partnership with one or more other schools, talk to potential partners and stakeholders and, ultimately, make the right decision for their school. More detailed information and guidance is provided in guidance paper Forming or Joining a Group of Schools: staying in control of your school’s destiny www.ascl.org.uk/formandjoin

3. Step 1: Raise the idea of partnering with one or more other schools at a full governing body meeting or at your annual strategy planning session (or convene a one-off meeting to do this) Slides a – f are designed to support this conversation.

4. Slide a: The educational landscape in England is changing rapidly 15 per cent of primary schools and more than 60 per cent of secondaries are academies, independent of their local authority. The role of local authorities is changing, with many struggling to provide the level of support and challenge previously offered to schools. Schools are increasingly providing that support and challenge for each other, through formal and informal partnership and collaboration.

5. Slide b: Our school is likely to face a number of challenges over the next few years These might include: higher expectations (including raised floor standards and the new ‘coasting school’ definition) growing or falling rolls a more stretched budget the need to recruit new leaders, teachers and governors the need to develop new skills to address changes to our curriculum or the way in which pupils are assessed changes to our catchment area new schools opening in our area

6. Slide c: There is growing evidence for the benefits of formal partnerships between schools in meeting these challenges Strong collaboration with shared accountability can lead to better progress and attainment for pupils, and help schools meet rising expectations. School leaders and teachers can share thinking and planning, to spread expertise and tackle challenges together. Governors can come together to share strategic thinking, combine skills and to support each other during challenging times. School leaders, teachers and other staff can be shared across more than one school, enabling schools to find different solutions to recruitment challenges, retain staff by providing new opportunities within the group, and plan succession more effectively. Groups of schools can find it easier to find and fund specialist expertise (specialist teachers, but also specialists in data analysis, finance, health and safety) and to provide richer curricular and extra-curricular activities. Shared professional development can more easily be arranged, whether led by staff from one of the partner schools or an outside body. The economies of scale and collective purchasing made possible within larger groups help schools cope better with shrinking budgets. See accompanying guidance paper for more information on the evidence behind these statements.

7. Slide d: Schools are entering into different types of partnership, depending on their current situation and future ambitions Maintained schools are forming federations (groups of schools with a single governing body). Academies are entering into multi-academy trusts (MATs) (groups of schools that have come together to form a charitable company, governed by a single board of trustees). See accompanying guidance paper for more information on how these groups operate.

8. Slide e: we should explore the possible benefits of partnerships for our school Proposed process: Step 1: Raise the idea of partnering with one or more other schools at a full governing body meeting or annual strategy planning session (or convene a one-off meeting) Step 2: Bring together a small working party of interested governors to explore possibilities, including: considering specific pros and cons of partnering versus remaining standalone for our school talking to bodies with authority over our school (eg LA, any relevant religious authority) identifying, researching and talking to any existing federations or MATs that we might consider joining identifying, researching and talking to any other schools we would be particularly interested in partnering with holding informal discussions with key stakeholders about potential partnerships Step 3: Convene a full governing body meeting for the working party to report back on its work Step 4: Talk to key stakeholders to let them know our plan and invite their comments

9. Slide f: discussion points What is our vision for our school? What are likely to be our biggest challenges in delivering that vision over the next few years? Might partnering with other schools help? What concerns do we have about this? Are there other local schools that we might like to work more closely with? What sort of relationship do we already have with them? Are we happy for a group of governors to explore the idea of partnership further? Who would like to be involved in this working party?

10. Step 2: Bring together a small working party of interested governors to explore possibilities Slides g – k are designed to support this exploration.

11. Slide g: Questions to guide discussions of pros and cons of formal partnerships How clear are we about the vision and ethos of our school? What specific benefits might a formal partnership bring to our school? What downsides might there be and how might we mitigate these? What might remaining as a standalone school mean for us over the next few years? Are there existing federations or MATs that we might consider joining? How aligned are these groups with our vision and ethos, and how successful are they in realising the potential benefits of collaboration?* Are there other schools that we would be particularly interested in partnering with? What stage of this journey are those schools at (for example already in a federation or MAT, actively considering partnerships, not really thinking about this yet)? Are there any restrictions on the types of school we can formally partner with (for example due to our school type or religious designation)?+ * See accompanying guidance paper for emerging evidence on the characteristics of effective school groups. + See accompanying guidance paper for more information on the restrictions placed on different types of school.

12. Slide h: Questions to explore with bodies with authority over your school (for example local authority, diocese) What plans, if any, do they have to encourage schools under their authority to partner with other schools? What restrictions might they place on our partnering with other schools? What support could they provide through the partnership process?

13. Slide i: Sources of information on potential partner schools, existing federations and MATs Ahead of any meetings with potential partner schools or existing groups, you might want to: Review the Ofsted reports of the school (or schools in the group). Analyse their data dashboard. What are their strengths? Do they complement the strengths of your school? Where are their weaknesses? Consider local intelligence. What is the reputation of the school or group? What is this based on? How accurate do you think it is? For academies or MATs, look at their annual report and financial statements (these will be filed at Companies House*). What can you learn about the financial health of the school or group from these accounts? * https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/companies-househttps://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/companies-house

14. Slide j: Questions to explore with potential partner schools What is their vision for their school? What do they think are their strengths and weaknesses? What are likely to be their biggest challenges in delivering their vision, building on their strengths and addressing their weaknesses over the next few years? Have they considered partnering with other schools to help with this? What concerns do they have about this? Which local schools might they be interested in working more closely with? What sort of relationship do they already have with those schools? Would they be interested in exploring the idea of partnering with your school? What might be the specific potential benefits of a partnership between your schools? What might be the specific potential downsides of a partnership between your schools, and how might you mitigate these? Are there any existing groups you might both consider joining?

15. Slide k: Questions to explore with existing federations or MATs What is the group’s vision for its schools? What is the current composition of the group and what are its future plans? How successful is the group in realising the benefits of collaboration?* What benefits could the group bring you and what benefits could you bring the group? Would there be any specific difficulties to overcome if you were interested in joining the group? How does the group approach governance, leadership and decision-making? Which decisions are made centrally and which at an individual school level? What is the financial model on which the group operates? Does it take a ‘top slice’ of each school’s budget? What percentage is that? What services do schools get in return? How does school-to-school support and challenge work in the group? Could you talk to some schools currently in the group to find out more about their experience? What support could the group give you with the process of joining? * See accompanying guidance paper for emerging evidence on the characteristics of effective school groups.

16. Step 3: Convene a full governing body meeting for the working party to report back on its work Slide l is designed to support this discussion.

17. Slide l: Possible format for feedback meeting Presentation of the working party’s findings. Recommended way forward. Explanation of why the working party thinks this would be the best decision for your school. Explanation of the likely implications for governors, staff, pupils and parents. Opportunity for the rest of the governing body to ask questions, raise concerns and make suggestions. Agreement on the preferred option and, if relevant, the governing body’s approval to move on to formal discussions about partnering with the preferred school(s) or group.

18. www.brownejacobson.comwww.nga.org.ukwww.ascl.org.uk