Partnerships and the Department for Education In the past two years, schools and students have faced their greatest challenge of recent years: education through a pandemic. Regardless of how difficult circumstances became, schools have risen to the challenge and navigated through the most testing of times. It is wonderful to learn that many cross-sector partnerships between independent and state-funded schools have actually developed during the pandemic. With so many other priorities competing for your urgent attention, thank you for your continued commitment to this work and for the benefits it brings to students, teachers and communities.
fact, we have seen a new wave of partnerships that have embraced the opportunities of virtual collaborations and on working together to solve common problems. Perhaps most importantly, what I have heard is a continued commitment from schools and sector leaders to do more of this work – not less. It is clear to me that there are a growing number of ambitious and aspirational partnerships leading the way across the country. Many of those are led and supported by people encouraged by the experiences of others. That is why publications such as this, and Partnerships Week more broadly, are so important.
As a relatively new education minister, I have already had the privilege of visiting some exceptional schools. My first official visit was to the South West and Bristol, where I visited schools involved in one of the country’s most prolific partnerships. I know that they are not alone, with many more such collaborations happening across the country.
It is also worth noting that this work has developed immensely over the past few years. Where once we spoke about sharing playing fields, today we talk about partnerships with real depth of purpose; partnerships that deliver lasting impact to the lives of pupils across our schools. We are seeing more and more partnerships that break down barriers between independent, state, faith, selective and all other types of schools. A few years ago, school leaders also used to ask why their schools needed partnerships. Today, we ask the contrary: why wouldn’t schools partner with others to deliver benefits for their staff and pupils? We are seeing a strong appetite – even
What I have heard so far on partnerships underlines their importance. The pandemic may have paused elements of this work temporarily, but many schools have, for the first time, discovered the benefits of working with others. In
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