Working collaboratively to improve transition in a deprived urban context

Case study

March 2011

Working with schools and parents, a multi-agency team in Bristol improved the achievement of disaffected children as they moved from primary to secondary school.

Key learning

The team achieved community based integrated working in a deprived urban setting.
Multi-professional partnerships have worked to achieve common objectives.
The secondary school (academy) became a hub for community project.
Clarity was gained on the strategic and operational focus.
A solution focused approach was adopted.
Collaborative behaviours were developed with all involved.
A clear pathway of escalation was created for improving children’s poor attitude to school, punctuality and non-attendance.

Background

Following a series of critical reports by Ofsted about the quality of children’s services provision in Bristol, the local authority embarked on the Integrated Leadership Development Programme to address key issues.

One of the key problems identified by the south Bristol team related to the high absence rate amongst certain groups of teenagers, associated with poor achievement at their secondary school. The team believed that these problems began soon after pupils transferred to secondary schools. As part of the programme they created a pilot project to begin to address these issues, in which they worked with a group of Year 6 pupils and their parents.

The team consisted of professionals from various settings and included a health visitor, senior educational psychologist, governor, headteacher, senior youth worker, voluntary sector professionals and many others.

Key challenges

Developing a shared integrated professional approach

Gaining an understanding of key roles in the local authority.
Aligning values and goals of all involved.
Agreeing on a single project.
Committing to find the necessary resources, eg time.
Agreeing the leadership of the project, and assignment of responsibilities and tasks.

Establishing a relationship with key stakeholders

Agreeing and approaching a target group of pupils.
Approaching parents.
Establishing a partnership rapport with staff in the schools involved.
Sourcing support from other agencies and organisations.

Solutions

The programme gave the south Bristol team the opportunity to focus on the key challenges and issues over a six month period. The programme has a number of features that supported the team to address the challenges ahead.

Setting up the group

The premise of the programme is that a participating group will, through a project, make a difference to children and young people in their local authority. Processes are tailored to meet the needs of the group and find solutions to the issues they bring.

Getting started

The programme started with group members learning about each other’s values and personal goals for children’s services. Through gaining an understanding of each other’s roles and tasks a comprehensive understanding or the group’s potential is built. This enables the group to create a vision and goals related to a key area of focus for the group.

Support

Through the programme the group gains confidence in their power to act, and their influence on the outcomes for children. Members of the group are given time to reflect, think, plan and learn, and receive support from their facilitators during and after the programme. The group also receives support from senior leaders in their local authority, who are aware of the pilot and the desired outcomes.

Impact on those involved

As a result of the programme the south Bristol team, local schools and other stakeholders have a better understanding of the issues faced by deprived children during the Key Stage 2/3 transition. They have also developed a greater understanding of each other’s responsibilities and levels of influence, helping to create a resilient and productive group.

‘’The programme enabled us to develop honest, supportive, trusting working relationships and as a result we have a very strong locality partnership which meets and regularly has 40 or 50 people networking and working on shared priorities.’’

“Depth of relationships has led to trusting each other, a shared resilience and being stronger which leads to sustainability.”

Next steps

To maintain focus on shared goals.
To engage with other schools to replicate the project and its successes.

Further information

For further information about this project please contact National College providers Best Practice Network at info@bestpracticenet.co.uk.