So why is this?
The Department for Education is clear that there are significant educational benefits to be gained from promoting and supporting collaboration.  Strong schools are encouraged to provide support for weaker neighbours, and schools seeking conversion to academy status are required to commit to assisting others.

But networks are not just about strong schools supporting weaker ones, and the benefits are not just educational ones.  Effective and well run networks have much more to offer than might be clear on the surface.

EdisonLearning are interested in how school networks form, operate and grow.  We believe that effective networks do not happen by chance, but are the result of high quality leadership, robust planning, well-designed systems and well managed implementation.  Our Partner Schools Programme provides these essential components and, supported by our highly skilled advisers, we help individual schools to come together to create strong networks, focusing initially on improving educational outcomes, but, over time, seeking to realise broader benefits through more effective use of time, people and finance.

We are still in the early stages of school collaboration, and there is much still to learn, but schools working with EdisonLearning are well positioned to meet the challenges presented by this exciting opportunity.