By Vivienne Russell | 24 May 2013
Schools could share their pupil premiums and work together to close the achievement gap, the Royal Society of Arts has suggested.
No school an island, published today, looked specifically at how Suffolk's poor education record could be transformed, but the RSA said its findings could be adopted by other areas in England. Suffolk has poor aggregate levels of pupil progress and wide gaps in educational achievement between disadvantaged groups and other pupils, leading to poor participation in further education and training.
The report called on head teachers and other local leaders not to focus exclusively on a single school’s performance, but to look outward across the wider area. It recommended several ways in which schools either in one locality or in different parts of the country could work together to improve results.
As well as sharing pupil premium funds, schools with similar pupil profiles could establish ‘families’ of schools. Small schools in isolated, rural areas should form federations to establish new relationships, maximise resources and save money.
As part of its Raising the bar project, RSA staff have been working with Suffolk since last summer to identify ways it can lift educational standards and reduce its number of ‘stuck’ underperforming schools.
One suggestion was that it form a partnership with Hackney in east London to broaden its horizons and stimulate new thinking. Teachers in Suffolk and a partner authority in London could also participate in a leadership exchange programme to expand their experience.
RSA chief executive Matthew Taylor said: ‘We have called this report “no school an island” because we think vital to a radical improvement in Suffolk is a new public service ethos in which successful school leaders see their responsibilities and opportunities extending beyond their own school to the wider local system and community.’
Responding for Suffolk County Council, Lisa Chambers, Cabinet member for education, skills and young people, said: ‘The proposed partnership with Hackney is something we’re very positive about and have already started to implement.
‘This isn’t about replicating exactly what Hackney has done because that wouldn’t necessarily work in Suffolk. We know that much can be achieved from closer working with them and that fresh ideas will come from partnerships like this.’
