Collaboration of Schools

Nettleworth Infant and Nursery School

Crescent Primary School

Farmilo Primary School

Intake Farm Primary School

Northfield Primary School

John T Rice Infant School

Newlands Junior School

 

From September 2019, Nettleworth Infant and Nursery School has joined a collaboration with Crescent Primary, Farmilo Primary School, Intake Farm Primary School, John T Rice Infant School, Northfield Primary School and Newlands Junior School from September 2022.

The purpose of the collaboration is to:

• Increase teacher skill, knowledge and expertise by increasing networking and the sharing of good practice opportunities

• Develop and implement a peer-to-peer quality assurance process

• Strengthen Governance

• Identify and utilise economies of scale

• Increase the range of strategies used to secure positive behaviour at lunchtimes

The collaboration is designed to share and strengthen practice across our schools. It is not intended to affect the unique characteristics of our school or the way that we operate on a day-to-day basis.

If you would like to know any more about our collaboration work, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

 

 

 

Mansfield Area Collaboration (MAC) Policy

 

1. Aims of policy

• To set out a mutually agreed set of principles to define how collaboration visits should be conducted.
• To clarify the professional responsibilities expected of visiting staff and staff of the school being visited.
• To define our shared values which should be observed during all collaborative activities.

 

2. Our common goals

Our agreed Partnership Plan targets are:

• To increase teacher skills, knowledge and expertise by building on existing networking and sharing of good practice opportunities.
• To develop and implement a school peer-to-peer quality assurance process.
• To strengthen governance.
• To identify and utilise economies of scale.
• To develop the wellbeing of pupils, staff and SLT.

 

3. Our shared ethos and common values

• Our collaboration of schools was initially set up on a voluntary basis because each school recognised the mutual benefit of doing so. We realise that we are stronger together and that we can gain strength from networking with each other, questioning each other, sharing our skills and knowledge, and pooling our talents.
• The activities that the Collaboration carries out are all done to support teachers and other school staff, to build expertise and to share good practice. This is so that each school in the Collaboration can build capacity and ultimately deliver better outcomes for our children. 
• Through sharing good practice and sharing skills and knowledge, the Collaboration aims to improve the quality of provision in each school and to raise standards of teaching and learning and levels of consistency. 

 

4. Programme of activities

Our collaboration has developed the following programme of activities:

• Subject networks.
• Other networks (e.g. attendance, business managers, headteachers, deputy headteachers, year group teacher networks etc.).
• Subject review visits.
• Quality assurance visits (e.g. behaviour, attendance, safeguarding etc.).

Networks typically run once a term for half a day. On occasions, a day may be needed, e.g. for moderation or target setting. There is an expectation that staff will be released to attend collaboration events that each school has agreed to.  The programme of activities varies from year to year depending on the needs of the schools in the collaboration. Not all schools will necessarily be included in all areas, e.g. Newlands School will not need to attend Early Years networks.  

 

5. Professional responsibilities and conduct

• When engaged in a collaboration activity, the visiting staff must always comply with the host school’s staff code of conduct and safeguarding policy. This includes the wearing of visitor lanyards and knowledge of such key documents as the host school’s safeguarding and health and safety documents. Visiting staff must always sign in to the host school and present identification.
• It is expected that visiting staff should always treat the staff of the host school with dignity, fairness, equality and respect.      
• It is understood that each school in the Collaboration has a different character, a different culture, a different setting and a different context. It is essential that these differences are borne in mind whilst carrying out collaboration activities. Visiting school staff must always understand that the school that they are visiting will not run identically to their own school.  
• When engaged in a quality assurance activity, staff of the host school are expected to have created a flexible schedule of activities and to share this with visiting staff via MS Teams. It must be understood by all staff that schedules are approximate guides and should always be treated as such. Adaptability and flexibility are key. Schedules might not always run to plan due to daily school life, e.g. safeguarding incidents.  
• When making evaluations of a school’s performance during a subject review or a quality assurance visit, and/or deciding on the overall findings of a quality assurance visit, the staff of the visiting and host schools will always highlight areas of strength and will provide a ratio of approximately 3 areas of strength to approximately 1 area to develop.    

 

6. Communication  

• When invited to an event, it is expected that staff respond to the host school to either confirm or decline the invitation.
• Network minutes will be shared on MS Teams. Quality assurance visit documentation will be uploaded to MS Teams in a timely manner.  
• The leader of each network completes the network impact form on MS Teams.
• When a QA visit or a subject review is carried out, the impact form needs to be completed on MS Teams.
• Any commentaries will always be written collaboratively and should focus on the positive elements – three positive points to one area for improvement (AFI). The pro forma should be used; complete the grid and keep to the point.
• School websites will show this policy to communicate to all stakeholders that each school is a member of the MAC.
• This policy will be shared at the JCC, shared with each school’s governing bodies, and shared with each school’s staff.

This policy will be updated every two years.

 

January 2025