Frequently Asked Questions
Working in partnership with others can contribute to improved student outcomes and deliver benefits to every pupil, particularly those attending schools in under-resourced areas. Partnerships can support the educational, emotional and social needs and aspirations of pupils, whilst opening up their worlds to new opportunities. Staff also benefit immensely from partnerships, through sharing of ideas, pedagogy, personal and professional development and gaining new perspectives.
Partnerships have been proven to have impact for all types of school; maintained, MAT or independent, primary or secondary, large or small. Whatever your set up, working in partnership with other educators and schools can be beneficial for your own school community and beyond, improving outcomes for all.
Right here! Members of S.P.A. benefit from networking and brokering services between schools. Beyond S.P.A. we encourage schools to reach out into their local community – to schools down the road and in their vicinity – to open a dialogue about how working together can benefit all.
Partnerships come in all shapes and sizes, and there are many excellent examples, ranging from 1:1 to multi-school partnerships. We have showcased some here on our website, and we are in the process of creating the School Partnerships Index (SPI), which will shine a light on the best and most impactful partnerships from across the sector. Sign up to our mailing list to be notified about the launch of the SPI. In the meantime, look through our case studies.
Additionally East Kent Schools Together (EKST) run a partnership that includes two universities as equal partners. Find out more here: https://www.ekst.org/
This is completely dependent on the type of partnership, the number of schools /organisations involved and the number of people and the scale of the partnership. Some partnerships cost very little in actual monetary terms, whilst others require investment in running costs, staffing, transport, venues and resources. With S.P.A. membership, you have access to experts who can advise on your specific partnership.
It’s important that partnership work serves the community in which it is set. Place-based partnerships are being referenced by government and by associations dedicated to schools playing a major role in their communities. Where resources allow, transformational partnerships are to be encouraged: partnerships that can truly impact on the learning and social opportunities of children from less affluent backgrounds who may not have access to networks that others take for granted.
School partnership working can be genuinely transformative for children in high-disadvantage areas, and the evidence across the sector is compelling. Research and practice show that school partnerships broaden young people’s access to opportunities, can raise aspirations and widen horizons, reduce the attainment gap and build social capital. Partnerships can help children in isolated communities feel connected to something bigger, be it their city, their country or to a professional world, all of which builds the confidence and social fluency that underpins long-term life outcomes.
Not yet, but such a strategy will be developed by S.P.A. and its members in partnership with others in 2026.
The recently published Curriculum and Assessment Review should give a great impetus to cross-sector partnership work. If every child is entitled to an enhanced curriculum – involving access to oracy schemes and creative arts and sporting opportunities – then there’s going to be a need for schools to work together to provide these. The enhanced curriculum as defined in the CAR is in essence a statement to say that state schools should commit to the provision of a holistic education which has long been a mainstay of the independent sector. The teachers in independent schools have expertise in running the sorts of clubs and societies needed, and the independent schools already have frameworks for enhanced learning into which local state schools should be able to fit.
S.P.A. promotes and commissions new research, offers a wide range of professional development opportunities, consultancy and auditing support to budding and existing school partnership professionals. We collaborate with UK schools, local and national government, independent educational bodies and organisations and businesses who are invested in supporting cross-sector school partnerships to serve the needs of local communities. Our combined experience, expertise, networks and specialist knowledge enables the S.P.A. to facilitate, broker and support mutually beneficial school partnerships that raise educational performance, expectations and aspirations of thousands of children across the UK.
Costs are dependent on your type of school / group or organisation. Please see our membership page for further detail on annual membership fees.
There are a number of ways you can support S.P.A, such as becoming a corporate partner, being an event sponsor or making a donation. All of these offer many benefits, primarily the opportunity to connect with our network of School Partnerships professionals and educators from schools across all sectors. Please see our ‘Support Us’ page for more detail.
Yes. S.P.A. can work with you to advise on the best methodology of measuring the impact of your partnership work. We strongly encourage all schools to capture real outcomes, not just impact. For more information regarding impact & measurement, please contact our Research Director; Margaret Hunnaball margarethunnaball@schoolpartnershipsalliance.org.uk
Yes, to some degree. The DfE has sought examples of best practice from the S.P.A. and indirectly there are strong links being forged between the S.P.A. and decision makers in Whitehall and Westminster.
S.P.A. are committed to working with a wide range of partners, whose values and aims align with our own – in order to support the delivery of the strongest pupil outcomes for all children. We are currently working with a wide range of partners, who you can find out more about in the ‘About Us’ section.
