State and private school partnerships can struggle to reach those who could benefit from their activities the most, according to research by the Education Policy Institute.
A new report, published today and funded by The Heads’ Conference, examines the workings, challenges and perceived benefits of partnerships between independent and state schools in England.
The analysis is based on two partnerships: The Bristol Education Partnership and York Independent State School Partnership (ISSP).
The report says both partnerships offer pupils opportunities “beyond the core curriculum, fostering personal and academic growth”.
And it adds that teachers in partnerships report benefitting from CPD opportunities, with knowledge and expertise being shared across sectors.
Challenges with state-private school partnerships
The challenges with partnerships identified by the Education Policy Institute (EPI) include pupil integration and staffing and resource constraints.
The 2024 Independent Schools Council (ISC) census recorded 9,248 state and private partnerships, with two-thirds of ISC member schools (76 per cent) involved in at least one partnership with a state school.
The Bristol Education Partnership was set up in 2019 and currently comprises 13 secondary schools (seven independent and six state) and one state sixth-form college in Bristol.
Activities run by the partnership include a TEDx-style public speaking competition on topics of students’ choice, oracy training and a CPD event for teachers both within and outside the partnership.
York ISSP was set up in 2008 and currently comprises 13 secondary schools (three independent and 10 state).
Students involved in this partnership take part in a business and enterprise project, a maths excellence club run by the University of York and a weekend masterclass series.
However, because partnership activities are a small part of a student’s total educational experience, the report says it is “difficult to quantify the impact of such partnerships on pupil outcomes”.
And while the EPI recognises that both partnerships “work hard” to advertise their activities, it found that they can “sometimes struggle to reach those that might benefit the most”.
It recommends that partnerships should include outreach to students and parents who are “initially less motivated to participate”.
The report also identifies challenges in running partnership activities both during school time and outside of it.
York ISSP’s activities are almost exclusively outside of school time, which can result in students “finding it difficult to attend, and it can be hard to persuade teachers to work outside their core hours”, the EPI says.
However, the report says that students not attending in their school uniforms “helps with pupil integration”.
While the BEP operates many of its activities in school time, this poses a different set of challenges, including the transportation of students and arranging cover for teachers.
‘Small-scale’ activities
The funding models of the two partnerships are also very different, the report says.
The BEP relies on contributions from the independent sector, whereas York ISSP relies on equal contributions from all schools, regardless of sector, and parent contributions.
“These pose different challenges around perceptions. While the BEP model risks appearing unequal between sectors, at the same time it also means those with greater resources contribute more,” the EPI says.
The report suggests that partnerships should explore “alternative funding sources”, including philanthropic contributions and grant funding.
This would “reduce reliance on individual school budgets and ensure long-term financial sustainability”.
The EPI highlights that both partnerships have “highly beneficial” relationships with their local universities and other organisations, which provide “third-party, neutral spaces for events, alongside expert contributions to certain activities”.
However, the report raises concerns that the small-scale nature of the activities makes their impact difficult to quantify, and points out that the partnerships “rely heavily on external feedback to understand how effective activities are”.
It recommends that partnerships engage independent evaluators and implement structured feedback mechanisms.
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