Ysgolion partner y GCA

Background and Context – Why have we developed the Partner School Model   

An important feature of the self-improving system is the central role of schools and practitioners in supporting other schools, so that strengths are spread across the system and areas for improvement are addressed through collaboration between peers. This will be an important pre-requisite for the achievement of genuine equity for all in the education system. (School Improvement Guidance, Hwb).

The EAS has invested in building the capacity of schools and educational settings within the region over a number of years to enable more collaborative ways of working. This approach has enabled teachers and leaders to learn from each other, to try out new approaches and to engage with educational research as the backdrop for improvement. The Learning Network Schools programme ran for 6 years engaging hundreds of schools across the region both as facilitators and participants. 

During the Autumn of 2022, EAS commissioned ISOS to complete an independent review of EAS ‘school to school’ support, providing recommendations for how we should evolve this model to better support schools’ needs. A large number of schools across the region participated in this review, providing their feedback. This feedback was utilised to shape recommendations:  

The two key recommendations influencing the partner school model are:  

Align the Professional Learning and Learning Network School Support Offers  

• • Implement a new support model which encourages applications from schools or groups of schools wanting to offer both PL and Curriculum support.  

  • Continue to allow flexibility in the model for schools to offer only one element of support and work with these schools to build and develop their capacity further. 

  • Find new ways of encouraging applications from a broader range of schools interested in offering one-off support either on a stand-alone basis or as part of a wider offer. 

Re-launch and communicate the support to schools 

• • Use this review as an opportunity to re-launch and re-fresh the support offer to all schools, explaining the changes that have been made and plans to take this forward. 

  • Publish a short prospectus outlining the new support offer, roles played by different types of schools and the expectations around how clusters will work moving forward. 

There are two possible routes through which support from partner schools can be brokered.  

1. Via a referral from the School Improvement Partner (SIP) to a professional learning programme or an aspect of bespoke support 

2. Direct contact from a school, requesting support (from the EAS partner school directory). 

Where schools require support in an identified curriculum area e.g. a subject discipline / AoLE or aspect of skills development (literacy, numeracy or digital competence) or professional learning support for leadership or teaching this can be brokered via the School Improvement Partner, in conjunction with the recipient school headteacher and the EAS Curriculum Partner from the Partner School.  

The partner school will work closely with the SIP to ensure support is aligned to the school’s priorities identified within the School Support Overview and link to the overarching plans for school improvement identified by the School Improvement Partner. 

The routes and processes for arranging support are set out in the diagram below.