Robert Hill Consulting The school partnership journey: where next for Wales? January 2016

Robert Hill Consulting Schools in Wales are part way through a journey… It’s more akin to a marathon than a sprint

Robert Hill Consulting …and progress is good Schools in Central South doubled the national level of improvement at GCSE From amongst the worst in Wales, now above the national average for the first time Each authority in Central South showed a significant level of improvement Teacher assessment shows primaries are also above the national average The gap between children claiming free school meals and their peers has narrowed at every key stage

Robert Hill Consulting Reasons for improvement (1) Pathfinders School-to-school partnerships focused on specific areas Peer Enquiry Developing capacity for self-evaluation through peer models School Improvement Groups (SIGs) Joint practice development for all schools Hubs Developing programmes of professional practice Central South Wales Challenge School-to-school-support has been part of the picture Source: Central South Consortium

Robert Hill Consulting Reasons for improvement (2) Pathfinder School-to-school partnerships focused on specific areas Peer Enquiry Developing capacity for self-evaluation through peer models School Improvement Groups (SIGs) Joint practice development for all schools Hubs Developing programmes of professional practice Central South Wales Challenge Categorisation Lead practitioners Formal interventions Leadership development Federation and executive headship Challenge Advisers Schools Challenge Cymru Foundation Phase Alliance NQT programme Welsh Language Hubs Structural drivers Network learning drivers

Robert Hill Consulting Reasons for improvement (2) Pathfinders School-to-school partnerships focused on specific areas Peer Enquiry Developing capacity for self-evaluation through peer models School Improvement Groups (SIGs) Joint practice development for all schools Hubs Developing programmes of professional practice Central South Wales Challenge Categorisation Lead practitioners Formal interventions Leadership development Federation and executive headship Challenge Advisers Change of culture Hard work Schools Challenge Cymru Foundation Phase Alliance NQT programme Welsh Language Hubs Structural drivers Network learning drivers

Robert Hill Consulting Member of School Improvement Group Part of local sixth form consortium Individual school (maybe part of a federation or sharing a head/executive head) Working with other schools on specific improvement issues Accessing/providing business support to or from other schools Partnership is working at different levels

Robert Hill Consulting Where next on the school improvement journey? Donaldson Ridge Leadership desert PISA 2021

Robert Hill Consulting The destination: school-led improvement Over time the resources spent on the consortium’s leadership through the challenge adviser role and core strategies, restricted to most vulnerable schools... and increased resources and leadership for schools for self- evaluation and improvement planning and core strategies Source: Central South Consortium

Robert Hill Consulting How do we get there? Learn from what is happening round us Deepen our learning networks Develop formal school-to-school structures Build leadership and governance capacity Reshape the role of local authorities and consortia

Robert Hill Consulting What do we know about learning networks? Key strengths Non-threatening way for schools to learn from each other Good for sharing expertise and moving knowledge around Provide a strong platform for:  Conducting action research  Operating peer review  Running joint training and development sessions Conducive to improving classroom practice

Robert Hill Consulting Issues to consider Hard to hold each other to account Work programmes not always related to schools’ improvement priorities May not get to the heart of a school’s challenges Frequently fails to assess impact of joint initiatives Can only go at the pace of the slowest Vulnerable to leadership changes What do we know about learning networks? Key strengths Non-threatening way for schools to learn from each other Good for sharing expertise and moving knowledge around Provide a strong platform for:  Conducting action research  Operating peer review  Running joint training and development sessions Conducive to improving classroom practice

Robert Hill Consulting Strengths They have a good (but not 100%) track record of turning round a struggling school They provide a clear means of accountability for all schools They can lead to new (and better governance structures) They build leadership capacity and provide a new model and career path for leading schools They help to realise economies of scale What do we know about formal school-to-school structures ?

Robert Hill Consulting Issues to consider The schools in a group may not share a common purpose or ethos Groups may overreach themselves and have insufficient capacity to support the schools they take on Governance arrangements may be more complex A school group may become too reliant on a single leader The system becomes fragmented as groups of schools look inwards rather than sharing their learning Strengths They have a good (but not 100%) track record of turning round struggling schools They provide a clear means of accountability for all schools They can lead to new (and better governance structures) They build leadership capacity and provide a new model and career path for leading schools They help to realise economies of scale and support efficiency What do we know about formal school-to-school structures ?

Robert Hill Consulting What do we know about linking collaborative activity together? Without some steering there is a risk of fragmented patchwork quilt Some schools may get left out or left behind Some partnerships may be ineffectual It makes sense to undertake some things at a regional level

Robert Hill Consulting So we need to work at making partnership working deeper AND more structured… Source: David Hargreaves for National College, 2012

Robert Hill Consulting …this is where we are at the moment… Tight Shallow Loose Deep Head/Exec Heads of two schools or more Business clusters SIGs/Pioneers/other formal learning networks School improvement Federation Viability Federation Ad hoc partnering between schools Brokered school-to- school support and/or sixth form consortia Pathfinders

Robert Hill Consulting Source: George Berwick and Challenge Partners …we need to deepen learning networks… Schools School Effective emerging innovation Best practice Research Best practice Time Performance Stage 1 Isolation Stage 2 Initiation Stage 3 Engagement Stage 4 Integration Research Effective emerging innovation

Robert Hill Consulting ….by learning together in a disciplined way how to improve teaching and learning… Lit reviews Toolkits Reading groups Speakers Teach meets Seminars Training Master classes 1.New knowledge 2.Improved experience and outcomes for pupils 3.Teachers supported to be learners and so better equipped to teach Lesson study Action research Pupil-led research Peer review & coaching Classroom-based Masters Online forums and observation What do we know? What works in our context? What’s the impact? Effect size RCTs * Adapted from an idea by Sarah Stafford -

Robert Hill Consulting …continuing to develop peer review.. Source: Matthews and Headon, Multiple Gains: An independent evaluation of Challenge Partners’ peer reviews of schools, UCL IoE, 2015

Robert Hill Consulting …and we need to re-imagine and grow the role and scope of formal clusters and federations Executive leader Head of school Redesign the governance of federations Stop using governor resistance as an excuse Remodel leadership pathways Introduce shared leadership teams Link increased delegation to being part of a business cluster or federation Make sure formal clusters and federation are bound together by core purpose and values

Robert Hill Consulting Local authority or consortium-wide partnership activities School group/federation SIG, Hub, pathfinder and other partnership activity It won’t be a question of ‘either…or’ Partnership will continue to operate at different levels

Robert Hill Consulting …with local authorities and consortia playing a less operational and more strategic role Schools increasingly working in hard clusters/federations with greater delegated funding and autonomy led by executive leaders… …as part of a broader school network(s) that focuses on improving teaching and learning …as part of a local authority or consortium that coordinates supply of pupil places, admissions, recruitment and training of teachers, development and, in some cases, deployment of leaders and that oversees school performance and progress School leaders increasingly influencing and shaping decisions and direction of policy

Robert Hill Consulting To achieve this we will need to develop different leadership roles… Leading learning within schools (Headship) Leading learning between schools (Consultant leaders and exec heads) Leading learning across the system Lead school improvement planning Focus on precise areas for improvement Orchestrate the work of coaches Use collaborative groups and learning cycles Monitor impact Be a learner Track and oversee progress across clusters of schools Commission support Lead strategic thinking Lead research networks Support cluster leaders Take responsibility for leading improvement in more than one school Adapt learning strategies to schools’ contexts Champion and build trust to extend and deepen impact Slide adapted from an idea developed by Joanne Quinn, Three keys to maximising impact, 2015

Robert Hill Consulting …and leadership capacity… Executive heads Consultant leaders supporting leaders in other schools Challenge Advisers/lea ders of peer review School leadership partnership spectrum Lead practitioners Heads leading more than one school but reporting to two or more governing bodies Shared faculty leaders across two or more schools Teachers acting as ITT mentors or coaches to colleagues Heads mentoring a new head teacher Middle leaders leading action research across more than one school Heads leading a learning network InformalFormal

Robert Hill Consulting Corporate governance arrangements for partnership School governance exercised by local governing bodies Governance and accountability operate at different levels Formal schemes setting out in detail respective responsibilities and accountabilities for polices and performance, underpinned by consultation and dialogue …and change our model of governance Smaller group populated by people with a good balance of backgrounds and skills High quality chairs essential Fewer committees

Robert Hill Consulting Some early wins that would help prepare the ground 1.Steer schools to work in small formal clusters AND be part of SIGs 2.Accredit the best leaders (and their schools) and provide and business model for releasing them to support other schools 3.Accredit the best teachers/subject specialists to work across schools 4.Ensure the pay and conditions framework recognises system-wide responsibilities and inspection reflects partnership working 5.Develop emerging and senior leadership programmes that link formal learning with assignments across schools 6.Pilot different models of business/support service clusters 7.Make the federation regulations much more flexible 8.Discuss with governors and trial two-tier governance models 9.Develop coaching and action research models across consortia 10.Roll out a robust peer review model

Robert Hill Consulting What do you think needs to be done to move school-to-school partnership further towards the right hand side of the chart? Identify up to five actions using the post-it notes on your table