“Vision is vital but don’t forget the lavatories”!
Report on Schools Together Group conference “Inspiring School Partnerships”
Eton College, 24 May 2017
Over 150 colleagues from a wide variety of schools convergedon 24th May in blazing sunshine to share their experiences of and learn more about school partnerships. Organised by the Schools Together Group as part of their termly programme of events, and generously hosted by Eton College, the programme offered no less than 20 workshops, preceded by a keynote speaker session and concluding with a panel discussing impact measurement. The all-important networking took place over a delicious lunch.
Most of the delegates attending were new to their professional responsibility for engaging with other schools. The workshops were led by those with experience of running successful inter-school partnerships, outlining projects ranging from sport, science and music to university aspiration, initial teacher training and sponsoring new schools. They offered not only inspiration but also down-to-earth practical suggestions about how to set up new partnership projects; as Martin Leigh from King Edward’s School, Birmingham put it: “Vision is vital but don’t forget the lavatories”! As well as sharing the ‘how’, some speakers went into the ‘why’ of partnering with local schools, and the benefits accruing to both partners. Simon Davies, former Headmaster of Eastbourne College, citedmurder as the unlikely analogy for partnership: “you need motive, means and opportunity”!
The details can be seen on the attached schedule and many of the presentations can be downloaded here:
The keynote speakers set the tone for the day. John Weeks, Head Master of the London Academy of Excellence, described the importance of matching needs and skills between partner schools. Keith Budge, Headmaster of Bedales School and Chair-Elect of HMC, shared his reservations about a one-size-fits-all model of partnership and the often-held assumption that certain schools can ‘help’ other schools, whereas a two-way relationship is vital to the success of any partnership. Bill Lucas rounded up the keynote session by presenting the initial findings of his research [which can be downloaded from which it is hoped will lead to a toolkit for schools to use to measure the impact of school partnerships.
The closing session took this topic further, with the panel addressing questions from the conference about impact evaluation. Simon Henderson, Head Master of Eton College, Karen Wespieser from the National Foundation for Education Research and Toby Greany from UCL Institute of Education, agreed that evaluating partnerships was complex but could be carried out with a light touch, as long as it addressed the aims of any collaboration.
In her closing remarks, Christina Astin, founder-Chair of the Schools Together Group and Head of Partnerships at The King’s School, Canterbury,emphasised the importance of appreciating mutual benefit between schools, even if it not at first obvious. She thanked all the speakers, hosts and delegates and wished them success as they took away their to-do lists from the day’s stimuli.
The Schools Together Group would like to thank Tom Arbuthnott, Director of Outreach and Partnerships at Eton College, and incoming Chair of the Schools Together Group in the 2017-18 academic year, and all his colleagues, for hosting such a splendid day at no costs to delegates.
The Group’s next discussion meeting will take place at the London Academy of Excellence in Tottenham on 15th November 2017. If you would like to join the mailing list to stay informed about this and future events, please email .