HC 269 Education CommitteeWritten evidence submitted by the School’s Co-operative Society South West

1. Background and introduction

1.1 The Schools Co-operative Society (SCS) is a secondary co-operative owned by its member schools who are all Foundation Schools with a Co-operative Trust. By becoming a co-operative trust school, the schools commit to embedding a set of co-operative values and principles1 throughout their operation and behaviour.

1.2 The SCS is a national network with a regional organisation, constituted as an Industrial and Provident Society. The South West has a regional branch with a current membership of 180 schools from five geographical constituencies and one constituency of special schools. These constituencies are developing their own local support networks.

1.3 The purpose of the SCS is:

To be a self-sustaining community of Co-operative Schools and Trusts across the South West that exists to respond to the mutual needs of its members, and the realisation of their co-operative identities through their embedding of co-operative values and principles.

1.4 The development of the SCS SW has been enabled by some capacity for regional co-ordination through a part time co-ordinator, funded currently by a grant from The Co-operative Group. There are challenges to the future sustainability of co-ordinated activity without the resource to provide this input.

1.5 The SCS SW has a Regional Board made up of senior managers elected from member schools and is developing a Teaching & Learning Forum and a Leadership Forum.

2. The differing forms of school partnership and co-operation, and whether they have particular advantages and disadvantages

2.1 Advantages:

SCS SW is a branch of a national network which enables a focus on local solutions to local problems.

It is democratically organised with mechanisms for the voices of all schools to be heard.

Being member owned, it has the potential to be directly responsive.

It is large enough to bring economies of scale and provide a large resource of expertise and experience.

Becoming a co-operative trust is new within the Education Sector. The organisation provides schools with the networking opportunities with the aim of reducing their isolation.

2.2 Disadvantages:

The geographic region is large and needs differ. It is important to foster a sense of belonging.

Potential for disconnection from the national SCS unless managed well.

3. Whether schools have sufficient incentives to form meaningful and lasting relationships with other schools. If yes, what are they? If no, or not enough, what incentives would you like?

3.1 The newness of the co-operative trust model drives an intrinsic incentive to co-operate with schools in similar circumstances.

3.2 If the schools fully embrace their commitment to the co-operative values and principles, they will be motivated to co-operate with others.

3.3 The nature of relationships is fluid. By the very nature a secondary co-operative, they will be organic and form around areas of need that appear at different times.

3.4 As partnerships increase in size, they require an element of co-ordination to drive and sustain their relationships, with an infrastructure that can facilitate it. This is a resource that must be costed in to partnership working. Recognition of the need for this and external funding to support it, is invaluable.

4. If and how the potential tension between school partnership and cooperation, and school choice and competition can be resolved?

4.1 As yet, untested but a co-operative solution could be explored. An advantage of co-operative schools is their common values base that aims to be inclusive of all pupils; this may not exist in the same way in, for example, faith schools or sponsored academies, who may seek to recruit pupils that match their particular characteristic qualities.

5. Whether school partnerships drive effective school improvement

School partnerships can drive school improvement. Examples of how school improvement is currently being supported through the SCS Networks are listed below:

5.1 CPD with local HE establishments. Through the SCS SW both Plymouth University and the University of St Mark & St John will be providing masters level CPD opportunities in co-operative learning from autumn 2013, targeted at teachers in co-operative schools. Without the partnership approach this is unlikely to have been made possible.

5.2 SCS SW initiated CPD, to meet specific needs. Two regional conferences on teaching and learning in a co-operative school are being arranged for June 2013 with a further one on leading a co-operative school planned for the autumn of 2013.

5.3 Forums or learning communities are being set up to meet demand.

5.4 Nurturing partnerships with like-minded support organisations for mutual benefit, for example, the Success For All Foundation, The Campaign for Evidence Based Education, The Institute for Effective Education at York. Each have a working partnership with SCS SW and activities planned.

5.5 Pursuing opportunities to form a closer coaching/mentoring relationship between schools that are at different stages of their development, given the concentration of new and emerging Co-operative Schools and Trusts in the region.

5.6 Further school improvement opportunities through the SCS SW partnership are being discussed at a forum in July 2013. One intention is to set up school to school support through a version of “challenge partners”. The intention is to create this in a co-operative way to ensure that both parties/schools in the arrangement improve, rather than one benefitting more and the other being financially rewarded for the work. The co-operative approach is not a “soft” solution—indeed application of the values and principles indicate the opposite. The local solution also gives more opportunity for face to face dialogue that is open and honest.

6. How can highly performing schools be encouraged to co-operate better with others? Are there are any upsides or downsides for highly performing schools supporting others through partnerships

It is not possible to “force” co-operation; it an option that must be chosen. The cultural context must be supportive of co-operative practice.

7. Are converter academies’ requirements to support other schools, included in their funding agreements, sufficient and effectively policed?

In the experience of SCS SW, the requirements are not sufficient or effectively policed and there is no guidance.

October 2013