This toolkit provides guidance for schools considering entering into a formal partnership or federation. It includes a series of questions for governing bodies to discuss around topics like strengths and weaknesses, advantages for pupils and staff, benefits to governance, and priorities to preserve a school's identity. The Diocese of Exeter recommends involvement in discussions and decisions around any potential changes to a school's structure.

1. Federation and
Management Partnerships
Toolkit
To complement the Diocese of Exeter
Guidelines on Federation and
Management Partnerships
Diocesan Board of Education
Diocese of Exeter
June 2010

2. Working Together
Toolkit
This toolkit is designed to complement the Diocesan Guidelines on Federation
and Management Partnerships. The toolkit contains a series of questions each
centred on a particular theme. The list of questions is not exhaustive, but it is
recommended that all the questions in the toolkit are discussed and agreed
by a Governing Body prior to any commitment being made to enter into a
formal agreement or partnership.
Genesis 31:45-48 ‘So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar.
Then Jacob said to his brethren, “Gather stones.” And they took
stones and made a heap, and they ate there on that heap. And Laban
said “This heap is a witness between you and me this day.”
The imagery of the stones used throughout the toolkit is a reminder that each
of the questions and related discussion points help to build up a clear picture
for a school and its members of what is important to clarify, change or sustain
and uphold – each stone is a marker which will build into a visible reminder of
the development process, and should be seen not only as a process, but a
crucial epoch for the future of the school and its history. Any movement
towards a potentially permanent change to the structure and dynamic of a
school should not be taken lightly, nor without considerable consideration and
discussion, and these questions below can assist with this process.
It is strongly recommended that the Diocese of Exeter through its Diocesan
Board of Education (DBE) is involved at every stage of the discussion and
decision making process and your Diocesan Education Officer should be your
first point of contact:
ccyp@exeter.anglican.org 01392 294950
www.exeterccyp.org
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3. “School federations enable us to share best practice, facilities,
expertise and to learn from the strengths of excellent teaching”
‘An Introduction to School Federations’ DCSF Innovations Unit
What are the strengths – and areas for
development of your own school? Are
there any specific issues to take into
account?
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What are the strengths – and areas for
development of the other school(s) you
are considering partnering with / or
you would look for in another school?
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4. Raising Standards
How will any planned partnership
working improve and enhance teaching
and learning and social development of
pupils across the schools?
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What improved educational
experiences will pupils receive as a
result of working in partnership?
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5. What are the advantages for your
school and your pupils?
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Are there any disadvantages for your
school and pupils?
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6. What will be the benefits for the staff
in your school?
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How will your partnership working be
of benefit to your governors and
governance of your school?
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7. What are the things you cherish most
about your school and its Church
school status?
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What are the non-negotiables for your
school? (i.e. what might be the ‘deal-
breakers’ as you progress forward)
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8. Learning from others
Are there any similar models of
partnership working or Federations
locally that you could contact or visit to
learn from?
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If you have contacted or visited
another school or Federation, what
were the main things that worked /
didn’t work / were of interest to you?
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9. If you have another school(s) as a
potential partner it is helpful to do a
SWOT analysis at this stage:
What are the potential Strengths of this partnership?
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Weaknesses?
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Opportunities?
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Threats?
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10. Supporting paperwork and engagement with the Diocese
Do you have a copy of the Diocesan
Working Together Timeline and
supporting papers (see below) for
Church schools?
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The Devon Local Authority ‘Federation Toolkit for Schools’ has been produced
to assist all Devon’s schools in exploring the options available and is
recommended reading for all schools embarking on this process.
www.devon.gov.uk
The DBE have also produced two important guidance documents available
from your Diocesan Education Officer or our web-site www.exeterccyp.org
Working Federation and
Together Management Partnerships
Guidance
Diocesan Recommendations on To complement the Diocese of Exeter
Partnership working for Church Schools Toolkit on Federation and
Management Partnerships
Diocesan Board of Education
Diocesan Board of Education
Diocese of Exeter
Diocese of Exeter
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11. Collaborative working, Management Partnership or Federation?
Collaboratives are many and varied – schools often find these easy to operate
within, as there are no fixed legal arrangements or structures, therefore
allowing for easy networking and sharing. Some schools, however, require a
more structured partnership. A Federation or Management Partnership is
formed where there is some type of formalised agreement to work together.
Which model of working do you think is
the best one for your school and its
needs?
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Why?
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12. Leadership
Federation models usually involve sharing an Executive Headteacher,
although options are possible where all schools in the Federation retain their
own Headteacher. However, this limits any potential financial flexibility to
achieve improvements or changes elsewhere. Sharing a high quality Executive
Headteacher means that the schools involved benefit from sharing expertise
and leadership. Usually this arrangement means that the Executive
Headteacher has more non-teaching time (or even no teaching commitment)
so they are better able to do their job and to provide leadership and support
to other staff. As teaching and learning responsibility points could also then
be offered in the school, it would provide teaching staff with more career
progression opportunities – something currently lacking in many small
schools. The supporting roles of Head of Teaching and Learning in each
school also allow opportunity for leadership experience for middle leaders,
within a supportive and mentored environment.
The issues surrounding Church schools and the appointment of Leadership
staff to the Federation are the same as for Management Partnerships and you
are requested to view the earlier section of this paper for more information on
this area. VA schools in particular should be extremely cautious of this model,
with the necessity of the Governing Body to renounce the ability on
Headteacher and Executive Headteacher appointments to give preference to a
candidate’s religious opinion or beliefs; thereby relinquishing the ability to be
able to appoint a practising Christian into the leadership role of a VA Church
school.
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13. Leadership and management
What leadership model do you think
will be best for your school?
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What are the leadership strengths of
your school and what would you look
for from another school in terms of
developing your future leadership?
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14. Who will lead your school and what
model will this take – Federation or
Management Partnership (Executive
HT) and who will manage the day-to-
day running of the school?
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If you are to have an Executive HT –
will you advertise and/or interview for
this post (interview as recommended
by the DBE)
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15. If you are to have an Executive
Headteacher, what skills and abilities
will you look for in an applicant? What
will you include in the Job Description
/ Person Specification?
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If you are to have an Executive HT
from another school – how will you
ensure the Christian distinctiveness of
your school is upheld and developed
through its leadership model?
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16. How will you appoint a Head of
Teaching and Learning (or similar SLT
role) and how will you ensure they
support and develop the Christian
ethos of your school?
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Will other SLT roles across the planned
partnership also have a responsibility
for supporting and developing the
Christian ethos of your church school?
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17. Governance – Federations
What are the current strengths and
areas of expertise in your Governing
Body?
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How will the planned partnership
model work strategically across the
schools in terms of governance?
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(Governor Services and the Diocesan School Admissions and Governance
Adviser can help you with this)
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18. Federation of VA schools – are you
intending to federate with another VA
school(s) as recommended by the DBE?
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VA schools – how would you manage
the governance of your church school if
you federate with a VC or Community
school and lose the foundation
governor majority?
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19. What would the composition of the
governing body look like in the new
model?
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Have you ensured that the Ex-officio
Foundation Governor role is protected?
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20. Have you considered also including any
other parish priest as an Associate
Governor?
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Are you aware of your school’s Trust
Deed and whether this will affect your
planned partnership model?
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21. Ethos Committee
Schools engaging in a Federation are encouraged to create an Ethos
Committee for each school. This is one of the ways in which schools can
ensure their own distinct Christian ethos and approach can be maintained and
supported – and even developed more deeply. This is particularly relevant
when Church schools federate with schools of differing category.
Will you ensure that you have an Ethos
Committee for each Church school? (or
a joint Ethos Committee)
Who will be the representatives on this
committee and how will it function?
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What areas of importance will the
Ethos Committee focus upon?
What are the areas for development
from your last SIAS inspection?
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22. Working with local schools
Which schools do you already work
well with in your local area or Local
Learning Community?
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How will any planned arrangements
affect these relationships and how will
you continue to ensure that you also
work collaboratively within broader
school partnerships?
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23. Getting started
Who will be part of the committee to
progress the planning and consultation
process?
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Who needs to be involved in the
consultation process and how will this
be covered?
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Name and contact details of your Diocesan Education Officer:
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24. List all the contacts you will need to have as you progress:
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25. List all the information and resources you will need to have as you
progress:
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26. List all the formal paperwork you will need to complete as you
progress:
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27. And most importantly:
Why are you considering this for your
school? Make a note of the Vision you
have for this project and keep this in
mind as you progress forward.
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Please remember that the Diocese of Exeter and the Diocesan
Schools’ team are here to help you at each step along the journey.
We are here both to support – and challenge – you, in order to
ensure that the decisions you make are the very best ones for the
children and schools in our care.
By progressing through this toolkit at an early stage we hope that
this helps you to carefully consider the decisions you may need to
make. This is however not a definitive list so please also contact
your Diocesan Education Officer for further support and advice.
CCYP office 01392 294950 ccyp@exeter.anglican.org
May 2010.
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