Hathern Church of England Primary School, Holywell Primary School, Mountfields Lodge Primary School, Outwoods Edge Primary School, Rendell Primary School, Robert Bakewell Primary School, Stonebow Primary School, Hall Orchard Primary School
The Loughborough Primary Academy Partnership (LPAP) was formed in 2012 when nine local primary schools, now eight, decided to work more closely together. Most of the schools in the group were in the process of converting to Single Academy Trusts and sought to forge a partnership of challenge and support to replace the local authority’s framework.
One of the most successful collaborative activities has been the quality assurance work undertaken by LPAP. The eight Headteachers work in two groups of four schools (quads) to monitor and evaluate each other’s work. This begins in the Autumn term with a review of the School’s Self-Evaluation, Performance Data and annual School Improvement Plan. Subsequent discussions result in a report shared with individual governing bodies, which offers a professional critique of the current educational provision and standards in each school. Quality assurance extends to an examination of teaching and learning, through book trawls, pupil interviews and focused Learning Walks. Headteachers and Deputy Headteachers ensure that they allow time for observation, examination and discussion, which result in a deeper understanding of each school. This leads to valuable feedback.
The success of the strategic group meetings has been mirrored by the School Business Managers, EYFS, and SENDCo leads. Their regular meetings provide invaluable mutual support. Support from more experienced colleagues has helped new staff ease into their role. Examples of best practice resulting from these networks have been; joint procurement of legal and accounting services; joint employment of an Educational Psychologist; Baseline and Framework implementation support for EYFS.
Other groups are commissioned on an annual basis resulting from the strategic meetings, identifying current needs of the partnership and considering the current educational landscape. Headteachers and governors are happy to support this development as it benefits the staff, and ultimately the children of all nine schools.