Teach17

Schools do not have to work in isolation. Across the UK, state and independent schools are increasingly sharing expertise, facilities, staff development, enrichment opportunities and ideas. The School Partnerships Alliance (S.P.A.) exists to support this work and help partnerships become more meaningful, sustainable and genuinely beneficial to everyone involved.

Rather than seeing partnership as one school simply “helping” another, S.P.A. promotes collaboration where schools learn from each other and work together around the needs of pupils and their communities.

Here are 17 useful things to know about the organisation and what it offers schools.

1. It brings state and independent schools together

The School Partnerships Alliance focuses particularly on collaboration between schools from different sectors.

The aim is to create relationships where schools share ideas, expertise and opportunities rather than remaining within their own separate networks.

2. Partnership is meant to work both ways

One of the most important ideas behind S.P.A. is that good partnerships should be mutually beneficial.

An independent school may be able to offer specialist facilities or subject expertise, while a state school may bring different experience, community links, teaching approaches or specialist knowledge of its own.

The most successful partnerships recognise what each school contributes.

3. There is already a great deal of partnership work taking place

Thousands of partnership activities take place between independent and state schools every year.

These range from small local projects involving two schools to much larger collaborations involving groups of schools, multi-academy trusts, charities, universities and community organisations.

4. Partnerships are about much more than sharing facilities

Access to sports pitches, swimming pools, theatres or laboratories can be valuable, but modern partnership work often goes much further.

Schools might share teachers, organise joint lessons, run academic masterclasses, provide mentoring, hold careers events or create activities for pupils from several schools.

5. Academic partnerships can fill genuine gaps

Some schools may have limited access to particular subjects or specialist teachers.

Partnerships can provide pupils with opportunities in areas such as physics, languages, mathematics, classics, computer science or university preparation that might otherwise be difficult to offer.

6. Science is a particularly interesting area for collaboration

Science departments can benefit enormously from working together.

Schools can share practical resources, specialist equipment, technicians, teaching ideas and subject expertise. Joint science events and competitions can also give pupils opportunities beyond their normal lessons.

For subjects where specialist recruitment can be difficult, this type of cooperation can be particularly useful.

7. Sport remains an important part of school partnerships

Sport is one of the most common areas in which schools collaborate.

Partnerships can provide access to pitches, courts, swimming pools and specialist coaching, but they can also create competitions and activities that would be difficult for individual schools to organise alone.

The emphasis is increasingly on widening participation rather than simply offering opportunities to already successful athletes.

8. The arts can bring schools together too

Music, drama, dance and visual arts lend themselves particularly well to partnership work.

Joint orchestras, choirs, theatre productions, workshops and exhibitions can bring together children who might otherwise never meet.

They can also help schools provide opportunities that would be difficult to sustain independently.

9. Partnerships can support teachers as well as pupils

Some of the most useful collaboration happens away from the pupils.

Teachers from different schools can observe lessons, share resources, moderate work, discuss curriculum planning and take part in joint professional development.

A strong partnership can therefore improve teaching as well as provide additional activities for children.

10. S.P.A. provides professional development

Partnership work is increasingly becoming a recognised area of school leadership.

The School Partnerships Alliance provides training, webinars and events for people responsible for developing partnerships, whether they are just starting out or already coordinating an extensive programme.

11. It can help schools find potential partners

One of the biggest barriers to collaboration can simply be knowing where to begin.

A school may be keen to work with others but have no existing relationship with nearby schools or organisations.

S.P.A. can help schools make connections and think more carefully about what each potential partner could bring.

12. Good partnerships start with a real need

The strongest projects usually begin with a problem or opportunity rather than with the vague idea that schools “ought to work together”.

Perhaps pupils need more access to sport. Perhaps teachers need subject-specific CPD. Perhaps sixth-form students could mentor younger pupils. Perhaps several schools could jointly organise a careers programme.

Starting with the need makes it much easier to design a partnership that actually achieves something.

13. Measuring impact matters

Running a partnership event is relatively easy. Knowing whether it made a difference is harder.

S.P.A. has placed increasing emphasis on helping schools measure the impact of their partnership work.

Instead of simply recording that 100 pupils attended an event, schools can ask what pupils learned, whether confidence increased, whether opportunities widened and what should happen next.

14. Partnerships need to survive changes in staff

Many excellent projects begin because two enthusiastic teachers happen to meet.

The danger comes when one of those people moves school.

Sustainable partnerships need clear aims, support from senior leaders and relationships involving more than one member of staff. Building partnership work into the wider strategy of a school makes it much more likely to continue.

15. Pupils should have a voice in what is offered

Adults can easily design programmes they assume young people will want.

Asking pupils what they would actually find useful can lead to very different ideas.

Student voice can help schools decide whether young people would benefit most from mentoring, sport, careers support, academic enrichment, creative activities or something completely different.

16. Small partnerships can be just as valuable as large ones

Schools do not need to create a huge programme involving dozens of organisations.

A regular joint science club, shared orchestra, debating competition or mentoring scheme between two neighbouring schools can have significant impact.

Starting small can actually make it easier to build trust and develop the relationship gradually.

17. The bigger goal is to make collaboration normal

Perhaps the most interesting ambition behind the School Partnerships Alliance is the idea that schools should not automatically see themselves as separate organisations competing with one another.

A school may have specialist teachers, facilities or expertise that other young people could benefit from. Another school may have strengths from which its neighbours could learn.

When those connections become part of normal school life, partnership stops being an occasional outreach event and becomes something much more powerful.

The School Partnerships Alliance provides schools with ideas, research, professional development, connections and practical support to help make that happen.

For school leaders, teachers and partnership coordinators interested in developing stronger links with other schools, it is a useful organisation to know.

Find out more:
School Partnerships Alliance