Partnership Working

Within education, partnership working is understood and accepted as a fundamental aspect of practice that supports individuals’ safety and academic attainment. However, as Armstrong (2015) states, the landscape of partnership working is complex, involving a wide range of collaborative activities, both formal and informal, across people, professionals, and educational settings at different phases and types. 

Many definitions of the different types of partnership working exist, and understanding them is essential. Firstly, a partnership is an agreement in which two or more people, professionals, or educational settings are interested in or committed to, as SAGE (2023) suggests, enriching educational experiences for students, families, schools, and the community. When exploring partnership working, these types can be split into two aspects: informal and formal. 

Informal

Informal partnership working is a relationship involving people, professionals, and educational settings that start working together on an idea, shared goal, or common purpose and is often based on a verbal agreement. In an informal partnership, partners agree on what is required rather than relying on written, recorded agreements. A typical example of this type of partnership is that it will be informal, provided it does not require participation from school management or organisational commitment.

Formal 

A formal partnership is a relationship involving people, professionals and educational settings to achieve a common purpose, goal or aim. A formal partnership is one in which goals and involvement are mutually agreed upon and recorded before the partnership occurs and then dissolves upon complication of the agreed-upon goals. However, when dissolution occurs, the partnership can evolve into an informal partnership in which people, professionals, and educational settings work together and continue to share interests, goals, and aims.

Next, partnership working can be divided into four main methods. These are the practicalities of partnership working: who you will work with and how.

Networking

The first of the four methods of partnership working is networking. This involves sharing ideas and highlighting, promoting and distributing best practices. In addition, networking often focuses on exchanging information to benefit different people or professionals involved. This is usually because it happens on a person-to-person level rather than an inter-organisational basis, and it can be formal or informal. This can be accomplished through professional networking events or social media apps like LinkedIn.  

Coordination

The next level of partnership working is coordination. This method of partnership working is often based on, and limited to, specific programmes, initiatives, or support for pupils or their families. This usually involves two or more people, professionals and educational settings coordinating their response to a shared and agreed-upon goal or outcome. An example of co-ordination within practice would be a class teacher, Special Educational Needs and Disability Coordinator, the pupil’s home, and a Speech and Language Therapist working together to carry out the same agreed-upon support strategy within each of their settings and interaction with the pupils to support the pupil in meeting the desired developmental outcome.

Cooperation

The third level of partnership working can be categorised as Cooperation. This takes place at a higher level than coordination and requires organisational commitment from educational settings and other professional organisations, such as social services. Cooperation is still limited to specific programmes, but the organisational commitment, such as sharing resources, staffing and premises, enables a more detailed, coordinated and effective partnership to occur and, as such, can ensure that the agreed-upon goals and outcomes are met.  

Collaboration

The final level of partnership working is collaboration. As Cribb (2009) suggests, collaboration is the highest form of partnership working with separate educational settings, organisations, professionals and people working together. One of the reasons that collaboration is seen as the highest form of partnership working and where it can also be clearly distinguished from the other methods is because Collaboration is a formal and ongoing commitment to solving significant problems, issues or challenges rather than being limited to specific programmes focusing on individuals or groups of particular pupils or topics. For example, collaboration can include raising attainment, improving teaching, learning and assessment, or improving outcomes for specific children by developing and implementing EHC plans.

Reference

Armstrong, P., (2015). Effective school partnerships and collaboration for school improvement: a review of the evidence. Department for Education: London. Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/467855/DFE-RR466_-_School_improvement_effective_school_partnerships.pdf

SAGE,. (2023). The Importance of Educational Partnerships. SAGE: London. Available at:https://www.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/upm-binaries/33868_Chapter1.pdf