Inspectors identify 10 questions to aid effective collaboration

A report by Welsh inspectorate Estyn also finds that there is not enough evaluation of the impact of partnership working – whether it be formal federations or informal arrangements.

School-to-school Support and Collaboration finds that successful partnerships work best when there is a clear need and “genuine commitment” from school leaders. 

The partnership must also be mutually beneficial with a focus on raising standards and “clearly identified strategic objectives and success criteria”.

It also suggests that school improvement partnerships should involve schools in similar positions – rather than one strong school and one weak school.

It states: “School-to-school support works best when the schools are at similar stages of their journey of improvement, because if one is good or very good and the other is weak, it is less likely that the support is effective as the distance between the schools involved is too great.”