About

Background

The partnership was officially formed in 2004 as the collaborative work of the schools as a DFES 14 – 19 Pathfinder grew and became embedded. The partnership includes all six community schools, North Hertfordshire College, Lonsdale and The Valley special schools and the Stevenage Education Support Centre.

The partnership puts the student at the heart of its collaborative planning and activities. There is an entitlement for all students to:

• Provision at 14+ that promotes opportunity and access on to planned, challenging and relevant learning pathways
• Guidance that is impartial, universal and informed
• Teaching and learning of the highest quality
• Be part of, and contribute to, a culture that promotes and affirms life long learning

Through partnership working across the town students have more choice and more opportunity, in line with the Hertfordshire 14 – 19 Strategy. The enhanced curriculum offer and partnership arrangements are designed to encourage students to remain in study at 16+ and succeed on courses that best suit their talents and abilities. Equally, the partnership works in collaboration with Primary Schools and other educational providers to support lifelong learning and progression.

Year 12 students beginning courses in September 2011 had over 3,000 personalised learning pathways open to them, including those that mix and match academic, applied and vocational courses and Level 2 and 3 courses.

The detailed information and guidance that underpins the Post 16 collaboration is contained in the Protocols and Procedures section

The Post 16 curriculum offer is shared and coordinated across the town through a blocked timetable organised around 5 columns, each containing a range of individual Level 2 and Level 3 courses. Each column is timetabled for a full day.

All students have a Home Centre and if they take a course at another centre as part of their studies they are registered as a Guest Student. In 2010-11 there were around 350 guest students in the town.

Opportunities

As well as providing a wide range of 14 – 19 collaboration for students the partnership provides many opportunities for staff and institutions to collaborate together. This includes the work of the CPD Group whose latest brochure contains an outline of the range of opportunities on offer for staff professional development.

This town wide collaboration allows staff to come together to discuss learning and teaching, student progress, good practice, etc. and to follow up areas of interest with like minded colleagues.

The Trust

The Stevenage Educational Trust, a limited company carrying charitable status, has been established by the partnership’s headteachers with the objects of:

• Advancing the education of learners across the town of Stevenage;
• Developing a coherent, progressive 14-19 structure in Stevenage by building upon existing collaborative practice by qualifying schools and by drawing together a range of initiatives into a single planning and delivery framework, thus raising levels of participation, retention, achievement and progression to Higher Education and sustainable employment; and
• Advancing the quality of teaching and learning in providing teaching staff with high quality Continuing Professional Development programmes. 

The Trust is currently inviting membership from the Primary Schools to provide a townwide approach to providing the best possible opportunities for all young people in the town. This will mean an extension of the vision of the Trust.

Useful links

Hertfordshire Grid for Learning
NCSL
DfE
Ofsted