Sharing expertise
The strongest schools and colleges in the country are being urged by the government to export their formula for success and collaborate with weaker schools to bring standards up to the levels of the best.
Schools Minister Andrew Adonis has launched a prospectus explaining how high performing schools, sixth-form and FE colleges can do even more for their communities by getting involved in academies and trusts.
The Government is providing up to £300,000 set-up funding for high achieving schools that sponsor less successful schools to become academies to help raise their standards.
The government suggests that some weaker schools have made huge leaps in results thanks to federations with stronger schools and today’s announcement takes forward Children, Schools and Families Secretary Ed Balls pledge in July that successful universities, colleges or schools would be exempt from paying £2 million to sponsor an academy.
The argument is that good schools can support struggling ones by becoming part of an academy federation, enabling them, supported by state capital and funding, to share quality teaching and learning and their good leadership and ethos.
Adonis’ line is that, “Good schools will be able to spread educational excellence to more children in their local communities. In return partnership with an academy or within a trust offers reciprocal benefits such as staff development, sharing of expertise and best practice and expanded learning opportunities for students.
Examples of good schools which have become involved in weaker ones through trusts, academies and federations include: Thomas Telford School; Greensward College, The Bramston School and The Rickstones School in Essex; The Priory Federation of Academies in Lincoln; the Ridings High School and King Edmund Community School in South Gloucestershire; the Haberdasher Academy Federations; and Chester-le-Street Learning Community Trust in Durham.
34 schools have become trust Schools and 307 schools are working towards trust status, of which 218 are working in partnership with other schools to acquire a trust, enabling schools to develop formal collaborative arrangements.
Latest figures show about 30 FE and sixth form colleges have already expressed an interest in the trust schools programme and seven are confirmed trust school partners.
For schools the message is obvious. For business there is an opportunity too, because one of the biggest issues will be the question of how information is shared, and how communication between schools is improved.
The prospectus “Academies and Trusts: Opportunities for schools, sixth-form and FE colleges” is attached
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Tony Attwood