Harlington Area Schools Trust: delivering coherent education

Summary

As the Harlington Area Schools Trust, five Bedfordshire schools are working together to provide a coherent education experience for learners from age 4 to 19.

Key learning/outcomes

The trust has seen improvements in standards and achievement.
The schools are able to offer more flexible and personalised curriculum and assessment routes.
The trust has improved the transition process from lower to middle school and from middle to upper school.
The schools share staff, resources and leadership and have developed more efficient business services.

Background

Based in Harlington, Bedfordshire, the Harlington Area Schools Trust was formed in September 2008. Its members are Harlington Upper School, Arnold Middle School, Parkfields Middle School, Sundon Lower School and Toddington St George VC Lower School. Several other lower schools are actively working towards joining the trust.

Key challenges and issues

Developing a formal partnership

The schools had been collaborating on an informal basis for the past 20 years, but had made only occasional and transient gains. They wanted to develop a more formal partnership that was capable of delivering sustained progress.

A coherent education experience

The schools wanted to work together to provide a coherent education experience from age 4 to 19.

Solution or approach

Communicating the vision

The schools spent time communicating their vision to all stakeholders, in order to explain why a trust model was the right approach to take.

Shared governance

The trust’s leadership model provides shared governance and strategic intent across the schools, allowing school leaders to act in the long-term interests of young people and the local community.

Collaborative leadership

The trust’s collaborative model of leadership is less hierarchical than often seen in single institutions and promotes collective rather than individual accountability. For example, emerging leaders in one school have taken on leadership roles in other schools.

Commissioning projects

The trust board commissions collaborative projects that support its strategic aims. The trust executive committee then oversees the project teams that deliver on the commissions.

Improving business services

One of the trust’s major projects involves exploring ways to achieve greater efficiency in business services, for example through joint purchasing agreements. Having fewer staff involved in procurement negotiations frees up capacity in others.

One-stop student support

The schools are also collaborating on the Trust Families project, which aims to create the infrastructure for a one-stop student support service for underachieving students. The service will bring together special educational needs support, family liaison, behaviour support, counselling and monitoring.

Next steps

The trust plans to explore options for integrating other children’s services within its educational work.

Further information

For further information contact Harlington Upper School.