Schools - impact of Regional Improvement Collaboratives on pupils and practitioners: review

Part 4: Partnership working – RIC governance and deepening collaboration with system partners

Key Themes

• RICs have evidenced strengthened engagement and support for regional working across and between local authorities.
• cross-RIC collaboration is expanding support across regional boundaries.
• RICs have evidenced expanding relationships with other partners, including with academia and other systems.

Introduction

This section summarises additional evidence provided to this Review on how RICs have sought to deepen collaboration and strengthen partnership working within RICs and with system partners.

This section does not provide information relating directly to the central focus of this Review, to capture evidence on the impact of RICs on pupils and practitioners. Rather, the purpose of this section is to highlight aspects of evolving partnership working which demonstrate the ongoing development of RICs as delivery partners within and across the system, and/or to highlight aspects of partnership working which have strengthened the approach and/or profile of each RIC.

RIC Governance – Local Authority Partnership Working

Building on the partnership arrangements outlined in previous RIC Reviews, evidence provided to this Review demonstrates that RIC governance structures and relationships have continued to mature and are more deeply embedded across local government. While the detailed arrangements in each RIC differ, a number of key findings have emerged. These include:

• strengthened governance and planning arrangements, supporting collective vision and focus across member authorities within RICs. This has been evidenced through and is supported by:
  • evidence of increased maturity in governance structures in providing strategic oversight and collective decision-making. This includes, for example the setting of strategic vision and the use of improvement drivers, and critical indicators to focus the work of the West Partnership.
  • evidence of project management tools and approaches in the governance of RIC programmes, with progress monitoring and reporting across programme levels. A programme based, data driven approach was evidenced by all RICs in evaluating and reporting on progress.
  • evidence of increased visibility of practitioner and other voices in RIC governance arrangements and plans. All RICs evidenced engagement with leaders, practitioners and other stakeholders in the design of their regional plans and programmes. Many also evidenced the involvement of youth, Early Years and/or school representation within their regional governance structures and partnership boards.
  • strengthened staffing relationships between RIC teams, programme leads and member authorities across all RIC areas. For example, this was evidenced through the Link Officer approach developed by the Northern Alliance, whereby NA officers are linked with an authority to deepen collaboration and support coherence, and through the South East Improvement Collaborative’s new staffing model to support the involvement of authority staff in regional working as part of authorities’ strategic remits.

Collaboration between RICs

Another aspect evidenced in this Review is both increased co-production and the greater sharing of regional initiatives across and between RICs. This has been demonstrated through regular engagement between RIC Leads and Managers, to share learning, co-construct approaches and discuss developments. Collective discussions across the RICs have further been supported by the ADES Professional Development Officer and by Education Scotland, with many examples of cross-RIC working also involving Education Scotland staff. RICs have also highlighted that workstream leads are more regularly engaging with their counterparts in other RICs, to share developments within subject and sector programmes.

Examples of cross-RIC collaboration include:

• the Forth Valley & West Lothian interactive attendance guide has been shared with Headteachers, senior officers and Educational Psychologists in the West Partnership, South East, South West and Tayside RICs, the attendance focus model has also been presented to Directors in the Northern Alliance.
• the West Partnership Assessment & Moderation Toolkit has been launched and made available across all RICs and will shortly be loaded onto the national moderation hub.
• the Tayside Regional Improvement Collaborative made their online teacher tool available across all RIC areas last school session.
• the Forth Valley & West Lothian Collaborative and the Northern Alliance have collaborated in their numeracy programmes.
• the West Partnership OS resource is open to all pupils and parents across Scotland.
• in response to requests from secondary schools to help them support learners with barriers to learning, The Tayside Regional Improvement Collaborative and the Forth Valley & West Lothian Regional Improvement collaborative have collaborated to develop and collate National 1 – National 3 resources for learners in the Senior Phase in all STEM subject areas.
• the Northern Alliance and the South East Improvement Collaborative have collaborated on the Data for Improvement Project, looking at support for educators using data more effectively to plan for improvement and also aiming to provide practitioners with access to the right data, at the right level and in the right way, so they can apply the most appropriate interventions for every child.
• the Northern Alliance developed a Regional Collaboration Framework, which was shared with the other RICs. SWEIC have made use of this framework within their developments to measure the progress and impact of aspects of collaboration.
• RIC Leads and Managers across RICs are collaborating to develop a RIC self-evaluation framework to build a shared understanding and expectations around the role of RICs regionally and their associated impact.
• further collective discussions and contributions across all RICs when engaging in national level events and reports, including in presenting to the OECD in their May visit to Scotland as part of the education reform programme, and in responding to consultations such as the Independent Review of Qualifications and Assessment (Hayward Review).

In summary, each RIC is leading and/or collaborating on improvement activity which is being shared with other RIC areas as exemplars of effective, impactful approaches. Only limited cross-RIC collaboration was evidenced in previous reviews, and this indicates the further development and progress of RICs as part of the Scottish education system, both within each RIC area and collectively as a framework to systemically develop and share innovation and best practice.

Partnership Working with other Partners and Systems

Collaboration with National Bodies and Scottish Government

While RICs noted variance in their detailed interaction/s with Education Scotland and highlighted a lack of clarity and consistency on the regional roles, responsibilities and contribution of our national education bodies, RICs evidenced examples of positive engagement with Education Scotland, including with Senior Regional Advisers and their teams supporting regional programmes and workstreams.

Longer term financial and staff planning was also highlighted as a challenge by each RIC, with current annual funding rounds identified as a potential barrier to building on and further developing their reach and impact. Many also noted that pressures on funding have been exacerbated by recent financial challenges and rising staff costs.

To date, the Scottish Government has provided grant funding to the RICs, with funding support being confirmed on a year-by-year basis. RICs commented that this has impacted on their ability to plan strategically, for multi-year programmes where further value and impact could be pursued. They also commented that the funding process was bureaucratic and unresponsive, and that the short-term nature of funding support impacts on the recruitment and retention of staff seconded from member authorities to lead on regional work. The maximum length of secondments was also highlighted by some RICs as a challenge to developing sustainable programmes of support delivered over time.

Collaboration with research and academia

RICs are evidencing further and deeper engagement with educational academics and consultants, to support the design and delivery of specific programmes and approaches, and in the use of evidence and evaluation, including external evaluation, to assess, triangulate and further refine the support their RIC provides.

Selected examples on RIC engagement with research and academia include (further examples in the use of research have been evidenced by RICs in this Review):

• to support the Forth Valley & West Lothian Collaborative STEM workstream, officers from Forth Valley College have worked with practitioners in schools and have provided further resources to support STEM delivery in classrooms. This workstreams also involves Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) and Skills Development Scotland (SDS) representatives, to further promote and support this learning offer and explore where partnership working can be further developed in this area.
• the Northern Alliance has worked with:
  • Michael Fullan Professor Emeritus, OISE/University of Toronto, to support practitioners and learners across the region in exploring Professor Fullan’s ‘Right Drivers for Whole System Success’ – a set of research-based drivers to support a system-wide focus on building collective responsibility for wellbeing and learning.
  • the Data for Children’s Collaborative (with UNICEF), which included academics from the University of Strathclyde’s Fraser of Allander Institute and Glasgow Caledonian University’s Scottish Poverty and Inequality Research Unit.
  • the University of Aberdeen to carry out research on ‘Shared Headships’, resulting in a report which is being shared nationally.
  • Professor John McKendrick from Glasgow Caledonian University to understand the impact of breakfast provision on outcomes for secondary school learners.
  • during the pandemic, with Emeritus Professor Aline-Wendy Dunlop, University of Strathclyde to advise the Alliance on developing guidance and professional learning for effective transitions across early years, primary and secondary.
• the South East Improvement Collaborative Board includes representatives from Education Scotland, Edinburgh University, Community Learning and Development and Skills Development Scotland, in addition to Director and headteacher representation from each of the five member authorities. The University of Edinburgh has worked in close partnership with SEIC over a number of years, to develop and deliver supports to SEIC Research Schools, helping school teams engage in supported research and to deliver improvement and enhance outcomes for children and young people. University of Edinburgh colleagues are also partner members of many of the SEIC Networks.
• to further deepen collaboration and support coherence across the system, the South West Education Improvement Collaborative is establishing a Delivery Support Group, to both advise on and support delivery of the regional plan. This group will include representation from: SWEIC Clusters, Third Sector Partners, FE & HE Academic Research and Professional Learning Professionals, Curriculum Networks, Education Scotland Regional Improvement Team, Business/Commerce Partners, Education Sector Networks, Schools’ Improvement Network, Global Partners, Local Authority Officers, Practitioners, Headteacher Innovation Group.
• as outlined in Part 5, the West Partnership has an established relationship with the Robert Owen Centre, (ROC, University of Glasgow), who provide: Professorial support and challenge as members of the RIC Board; practical support for leaders and teachers undertaking collaborative action research activities, and through annual external evaluations on the progress and impact of the West Partnership.
• the West Partnership has also engaged with and/or referenced latest research within their workstreams, including:
  • Professor Mark Priestly and Dr Valerie Drew from the University of Stirling’s programme on School Based Curriculum Development through Critical Collaborative Professional Enquiry for depute headteachers.
  • with Glasgow Caledonian University for inputs in the Delivering Mentorship and in the Improving Our Classrooms programme.
  • with Professor Emeritus at Strathclyde University Aline-Wendy Dunlop, who advises the WP reference group for a longitudinal study on the impact of 1140 hours of funded ELC across the region.
  • in taking account of recent research and guidance including educational consultant Lucy Crehan’s work on curriculum design and Dr Simon Breakspear’s Teaching Spirits as a foundation for pedagogy partnership work this session.

Collaboration with external partners and other systems

In addition to the above, RICs have also evidenced increased engagement with a range of external partners since the last RIC Review. This includes through their regional partnership boards and in the design and delivery of selected workstreams, for example with leadership consultants, Third Sector and/or other external partners.

Some RICs have also evidenced engagement with other education systems, including access to wider partnerships and/or events for staff, and the further sharing of regional approaches with other systems.

Examples evidenced by RICs in this review include:

• as noted in Part 5, the Northern Alliance has facilitated access for 6,313 practitioners to register for the World Education Summit live event and legacy resources, which equates to over 60% of the teaching population of the Northern Alliance. The NA has also been working in partnership with The Promise Scotland as part of a project to improve outcomes for Care Experienced Learners using data for improvement.
• from 2022, the South East Improvement Collaborative have entered into new Tri‑Nations Collaborative arrangements with education colleagues in the Education Authority of Northern Ireland and Central South Wales Consortium. This involves the sharing of context, practice and approaches relating to themes including: digital technologies to enhance learning, support provisions for the most vulnerable learners, approaches to tackling the poverty related attainment gap, and approaches to quality improvement. This cross-nation collaboration has gone on to support investment in professional learning for regional and central teams and also the establishment of the first Scottish cohort of the Association of Education Advisers.
• practitioners from the SWEIC programmes for Curriculum Innovation and Learning, Teaching and Assessment are taking part on the global partnership New Pedagogies for Deep Learning. They will attend their virtual Foundation Capacity Building Institute 2-day training programme with the intention of sharing this approach to deepen learning across the SWEIC and into participating schools. Through the OECD Schools’+ Network, the SWEIC is also aiming to put forward a South West Network as possible members to participate in the Schools’ Learning Circle.
• in addition to local authority Directors and Heads of Service for education, and workstream lead officers, the Tayside Regional Improvement Collaborative TRIC Leadership group also includes representatives from NHS Tayside and Police Scotland. This has shaped and informed the particular approach of the TRIC.

Conclusions

RICs have evidenced continued focus and progress in strengthening collaboration with and across partners. Collaboration between local authorities within each RIC continues to deepen, with evidence of firmly embedded governance and reporting structures providing strategic oversight and accountability and strengthening buy-in across local authority members. Collective understanding, coherence and a shared regional vision across member authorities is further supported through clearer links between RIC teams and member authorities, the use of strategic aims, measures and drivers to support coherence between local, regional and national priorities and supports, and strong programme management, evaluation and reporting arrangements across all programme levels.

As RICs have continued to mature, cross-RIC working has also evolved and expanded, with each RIC collaborating across a range of initiatives, to share learning across the system, including supports for pupils and practitioners.

RICs have evidenced broad engagement with research and academia, to inform their improvement approaches and models, strengthen the evaluation of regional support impacts, and ensure that design and delivery of pedagogical and other supports to practitioners and establishments are informed by latest research.

RICs have also evidenced increased engagement with a range of external partners and with other systems, to further strengthen regional learning supports and widen access for practitioners to other system networks and resources.