Partnerships for Learning Adding Value through Partnerships for Learning RM Conference 29 April 2008 Dr John Dunford General Secretary Association of School and College Leaders

Partnerships for Learning Adding Value through Partnerships for Learning l Defining partnership l The benefits of partnership l The evidence l Four phases of leadership l Learning from other sectors l Key partnerships l Support federations l Barriers l The way forward

Partnerships for Learning Defining partnership l An arrangement between two or more schools or colleges which has one or more of the following features: - A constitution or clearly defined written protocol - A financial commitment or a shared budget - Shared appointment(s) or shared use of staff - Jointly commissioned or delivered activities l And is overseen by an agreed set of management arrangements, such as: - A joint governing body or committee - A management group of heads and principals - An executive head - Another transparent supervisory arrangement

Partnerships for Learning The benefits of partnership l Economies of scale l Increased efficiency l Knowledge building l Increased capacity l Increased opportunities for students and staff l Broader curriculum l Extended services

Partnerships for Learning The evidence l Improving performance (in supported and supporter schools) l Improved inputs - Professional practice and development - Leadership development l Improved outputs - Increased participation in school sport - Improved behaviour and reduced truancy - Improved learner motivation and staying on rates - Broader curriculum l Improved outcomes - Faster rates of improvement in attainment

Partnerships for Learning The evidence l Partnership costs time and money l The benefits take time to come through

Partnerships for Learning Four phases of leadership Phases 1-3 Description of phaseApproximate time period Government policies Head-centric/collaborativeUp to late-1980sLocal authority coordination Few powers for governing bodies Technical and vocational education initiative Head-centric/competitiveMid-1980s to mid-1990s Funding through Local Management of Schools Grant maintained schools Parental choice and open enrolment League tables. National testing Distributed/competitiveEarly 1990s to mid-2000s Ofsted Specialist schools (early) Expansion of popular schools Academies (early)

Partnerships for Learning Four phases of leadership Phase 4 Description of phaseApproximate time period Government policies Distributed/ collaborative Early 2000s to present London Challenge Workforce reform Behaviour collaboratives Extended services Specialist schools (later) Academies (later) Federations/Trust schools National Leaders of Education and National Support Schools

Partnerships for Learning Learning from other sectors l Private sector l NHS l Police l Higher education l Local government

Partnerships for Learning Key partnerships l consortia l Behaviour collaboratives l Extended services l ICT-based partnerships l Support federations

Partnerships for Learning Support federations These are most effective in three phases: Early phase l clear mandate l saturate with leadership and systems l confront problems Development phase l build capacity l strengthen curriculum leadership Longer-term l sustainability

Partnerships for Learning Barriers  Insufficient funding to pay for partnership working  Too many partnership initiatives  Schools and colleges funded on a differential basis  Different pay and conditions frameworks for staff in different parts of the partnerships  Variable admission arrangements  Need to focus on school’s own position in performance tables  Lack of recognition for partnership working in inspection process  No national system for monitoring and capturing added value in partnerships

Partnerships for Learning The way forward for the government l Move to a culture of collaboration l Fund partnerships l Change accountability system l Rationalise partnership programmes l Produce coherent support strategy l Encourage wider leadership l Be patient

Partnerships for Learning The way forward for schools l Create a culture of collaboration l Deal with non-collaborators l Be prepared to commit funding l Be rigorous about quality assurance and local accountability l Involve governors, staff, parents and students l Define clear focus l Embed values l Develop joint CPD l Distribute leadership l Be patient and persistent l Communicate, communicate