14- 19 Partnership Working  - The Ilkeston Partnership

Summary - this case study focuses on a ambitious, newly set up 14-19 partnership in a significantly deprived area. Despite being at an early stage they are already to provide some useful insights into the secrets of effective collaboration.       

The Context

Ilkeston is a medium-sized town in south-east Derbyshire, lying mid-way between Derby and Nottingham. Traditional industries have included coal mining, iron making and textiles, with several significant and nationally known employers such as Stanton and Staveley and Charnos, but today’s economy is very mixed with no large local employers. Agriculture in the surrounding area is typified by small family-run farms mixed in nature but with a leaning towards livestock. The town itself contains areas of significant social deprivation. Educational provision is met by 4 secondary schools namely, Bennerley School, Ilkeston School, Kirk Hallam Community Technology College and Saint John Houghton Catholic School, along with Bennerley Fields, an all-age Special School, and South East Derbyshire College of Further Education. Although Ilkeston is home for the College’s Vocational Academy it has provision and commitments in other similarly-sized towns in this area of the county. Levels of Added Value at GCSE are high across the 4 mainstream schools and overall levels of student performance have improved significantly in recent years. However, in contrast to this the level of NEETs is relatively high.

Origins

There is a tradition of educational collaboration in the area seen most visibly in recent times in the activities of the South East Derbyshire Secondary Schools Improvement Partnership [SEDSSIP]. There are 19 schools in this Leading Edge Partnership, founded in 1999, with Heads meeting termly to review and plan activities and staff also meeting regularly to develop and share good practice. SEDSSIP’s involvement in the 14-19 Pathfinder initiative over the last two to three years has encouraged the establishment of geographically centred clusters of schools seen as the best vehicle for delivering the new 14-19 curriculum. Beginning as one of these clusters, the Ilkeston 14-19 Partnership has moved quickly to a more formal and established status and is now seen as a model for collaboration within Derbyshire.

Vision and Objectives

The Partners have now signed up to a Vision .

‘The Ilkeston Secondary Schools and South East Derbyshire College working innovatively together and in partnership with Derbyshire LEA, Derbyshire LSC and other Education and Training Providers, Support Agencies, and Local Employers, will provide all young people in the area with equal access to
1. High quality learning experiences
2. The fullest possible range of 14-19 Pathways
leading to the fulfilment of their potential and an overall further raising of levels of achievement.’

We hope that the Vision will be realised through the achievement of the following Agreed Objectives

1. The Partners will work closely together to imaginatively implement the Government’s proposals for 14-19 education and to ensure that all the educational benefits arising are available equally to all students in the Ilkeston area or adjacent locality.

2. The Partners will work together to provide all young people in the area with an appropriate and high quality education from the age of 11 through to 19, markedly improving the retention rates in education and training at 16 and beyond.

3. The Partners will seek to develop a jointly-managed and staffed Sixth Form Centre in Ilkeston, building on the existing provision at Ilkeston School, complementing the existing Vocational Academy provision at South East Derbyshire College in Ilkeston and drawing upon and complementing the Sixth Form Centre at Heanor.

4. Collaboration over the development, planning and delivery of the 14-16 curriculum will increase markedly, building on existing good practice, in order that students in all the 5 schools will have equal access to the full range of new vocational and work-related courses as they are introduced.

5. Staff Support Networks, based upon existing good practice, will be established from July 2005 to enable staff across the Partnership to work together, to share good educational practice, to implement new initiatives and to develop innovative solutions to new challenges.

6. The Partners will develop their Specialist Status in order to provide the local educational community with a range of complementary Specialisms and Centres of Excellence covering the whole of the 14-19 curriculum. These Specialisms will work in a coordinated manner to improve the learning opportunities of all Ilkeston learners with mapped local progression pathways to quality assured post 16 provision.

7. The Partners, working together, will accept responsibility for the success of all young people in the Ilkeston area and will set and work towards development, participation, progression, participation and achievement targets for the area as a whole. Overall, Ilkeston area students already achieve results which are well above national norms and exhibit considerable Added Value. It is the intention to further improve upon these performances dealing with areas of weakness and under-achievement as a priority.

One of the great strengths of the Ilkeston Partnership is that 3 of the 4 mainstream schools already have Specialist Status and the 4th is preparing its bid.

The schools are:
Kirk Hallam – Technology status specialising in Design and Technology, ICT, Maths and Science
Ilkeston – Arts status specialising in Art and Design, Music and Drama
St John Houghton – Science status specialising in Science and Maths
Bennerley – bidding for Business and Enterprise status

Kirk Hallam will be entering the third phase of its specialist status in the Autumn of 2005. It will be taking full advantage of its High Performing Specialist School designation and its ‘Leading Edge’ status to bid for the following to add to its Technology portfolio
• Vocational Education as an additional specialism.
• The Rural Dimension [Land Based and Environmental Education] as a free-standing designation or a part of the Vocational Education option.
• Humanities [History, Geography and Religious Education] as a ‘further specialism’

All Specialisms attract additional funding and we see this allowing for the development of Centres of Expertise in the respective schools which will be a common resource for all Partnership Partners.

Management Structure

The next step is to establish the Partnership Board consisting of Governor representatives from the 6 Partners, the 6 Headteachers/Principals, representation from Derbyshire LEA, Derbyshire LSC, Training Providers and from Local Industry. The Board will meet termly and receive and discuss Reports on progress in all Partnership initiatives, but already the work and pace of development of the Partnership is being led by a Steering Group consisting of the 6 Headteachers/Principals and supported by the Project Director and an LEA Senior Adviser. The Steering Group meets monthly, moving between the Partner Institutions, and determines, prioritises and manages all Partnership developments.

Three Key Teams have just been formed to help ensure that the objectives of the Partnership are met.
The Curriculum Team, will develop and map the Partnership’s 14-19 Curriculum and has a particular responsibility for the development and introduction of courses and ultimately Diplomas across all the 14 Vocational lines.
The Pathways Team, will ensure that educational and career pathways from 14-19 and beyond are firstly created and then made demonstrably clear to students, parents, staff and employers at all times across the Partnership.
The Engagement Team, will remove barriers to learning, mentor and support individual students, ensure any Special Educational Needs are recognised and addressed, run personalised programmes for students with significant difficulties etc. The Team will deliver both a significant increase in the number of students continuing their education until 19 and a marked reduction in the number of NEETs.

Early Reflections

The success of our Partnership to date is very much down to having a shared vision, mutual trust and abundant enthusiasm. All Partners see the advantages for all young people in the area of our working closely together to develop a comprehensive and inclusive curriculum package. They also see that collaboration is advantageous to their own institution with everyone benefiting in very many ways.

The priorities in these early stages are to
• Establish an effective and efficient management structure
• ‘Flesh out’ and ‘firm-up’ the Development Plan
• Enable staff from all partner institutions to meet to develop and share good practice
• Keep everyone involved fully informed of developments and encourage ownership of the venture
• Get our plans accepted and backed by the Derbyshire LSC.

Further details

For further details please contact the Project Director, Andrew Shaw.  andrew.shaw70@btinternet.com