As the Schools White Paper aims to renew its focus on collaboration, school partnerships must draw on the strengths of all schools to improve outcomes for young people, says Neil Smith.

Stronger together

The new Schools White Paper strongly encourages schools to work in partnership with one another, either within existing trusts or across schools with common areas of priority. However, if the impact of school collaboration on children and young people is to be maximised, the contributions of all types of school must be welcomed into these partnerships. This includes learning from, and building on, many years of effective collaboration between schools, both state and independent, rather than narrowing the definition of who can contribute.

There is nothing new about school partnerships. Indeed, each of the last two schools in which I have worked still proudly displays examples of gratitude from schools that were allowed to use their facilities during the Second World War. These are reminders of schools working together during periods of extreme need, but also of schools sharing resources and facilities to support children who would otherwise have missed out on their education. That history matters.

A renewed call for schools to work together therefore feels like a pragmatic move, given the ambitious aspirations this government has for education, at a time when the resources available to individual schools to meet those aspirations are limited.

What should schools collaborate on?

One question that will inevitably arise from the encouragement for schools to collaborate more closely is what, precisely, schools should collaborate over. The government’s response (tinyurl.com/3bhkv7d3) to the Curriculum and Assessment Review Final Report (CAR report) implicitly sets out several potential areas for closer working. It states that every school and college should provide an offer for every pupil that delivers access to civic engagement; arts and culture; nature, outdoor and adventure; sport and physical activities; and the development of wider life skills.

For many schools, this list will reflect provision that is already in place, or that they are well positioned to deliver. For others, however, there will be genuine challenges. For a variety of reasons, some schools may not currently feel able to meet these expectations to the standard they would wish. This is where meaningful partnership working can make a tangible difference, allowing schools to pool expertise, facilities, and opportunities so that pupils benefit from a broader and richer offer than any one institution could provide alone.

In November, the Independent Schools Council launched its 2025 Celebrating Partnerships booklet (www.isc.co.uk/sector-info/school-partnerships) at an event that brought together educational leaders from across multiple sectors. The purpose was not only to celebrate the impact of school partnerships, but also to share practical examples of what had contributed to their success. Many of the case studies in the booklet relate directly to the types of activity outlined in the response to the CAR report, and they provide clear models for how other schools can collaborate effectively. Alongside this, the School Partnership Alliance (https://schoolpartnershipsalliance.org.uk) offers further examples of strong partnership working, as well as guidance on how partnerships can maximise and evaluate their impact.

Learning from what already works

Beyond schools working together directly, the expansion of the Pride in Place strategy provides further opportunities for groups of schools to collaborate with one another and to interact with other local organisations. Through this, schools can play a more active role in positively influencing the lives of people in their local communities. Further information about Pride in Place, and the role schools can play in supporting the work of local Neighbourhood Boards, can be found in my blog here www.ascl.org.uk/BlogPrideInPlace

At ASCL, we have spent considerable time identifying examples of how collaboration between state and independent schools can contribute to achieving the government’s current strategic aims for children and young people. We have also shared these examples with officials from the DfE. As a result of this work, in January we were given the opportunity to present in person to the Permanent Secretary’s Stakeholder Forum.

At that meeting, ASCL General Secretary Pepe Di’lasio and I highlighted specific examples of partnerships involving independent, state, and virtual schools that have made a significant contribution to improved outcomes and life opportunities for some of the most disadvantaged young people.

Neil Smith
ASCL Independent Sector Specialist
@smitne.bsky.social

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