As an independent school, there are probably a number of questions that spring to mind when you think of Independent / State School Partnerships (or ISSPs). What are they they? What are the benefits? Is it right for your school?
We know school partnerships produce valuable results. However, we generally think of these partnerships as existing between state schools: think Academy Trusts and Teaching School Alliances. But let’s consider the benefits of state schools and independent schools collaborating, each of them providing a different curriculum and a wealth of knowledge.
Like any school partnership, ISSPs are all about embracing the new and the different. Enabling staff from different organisations to collaborate encourages new discussion and the sharing of expertise. This can improve your staff's professional practice by familiarising them with new teaching techniques.
"ISSPs have been a hugely successful - and durable - initiative which has had a real impact on the quality of learning in partner schools."
- Lord Nash, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Schools
Community involvement is key to an ISSP, as they successfully build bridges between the two education sectors, break down barriers and eliminate negative preconceptions. ISSPs dispel the idea that one sector is uniformly better resourced than the other and encourages schools to develop their strengths, in turn realising the potential of both staff and pupils.
It is beneficial to open yourself up to new experiences, and as an independent school, you don’t want to operate alone. You need to be part of the wider educational community in order to gain new perspectives which will help to keep your school moving forward. Partnerships across schools encourage leaders to share resources, innovations and examples of effective practice.
“Expertise, curriculum, teaching approaches, facilities and extracurricular opportunities can be shared. Evaluations have shown that, in inspiring a high degree of cooperation across sectors, the partnership made a big difference to the skills and confidence of teachers who participated.”
- Nick Gibb, Minister for State Schools
Would you like to...
If you would like to do one or more, an Independent / State School Partnership could be for you.
What could an Independent / State School Partnership do for your school? Let us know your thoughts below, or tweet us at @IRIS_Connect.