Delivery, efficiency and innovation

The impact of school improvement in a local authority

‘Isos Partnership delivered a terrific piece of work. Particularly impressed with the remarkable pace, especially in the diagnostic phase at the start. Costs sensible for this scale of work. Delivered on time. Everyone involved carried themselves equally with the upmost credibility.’

The brief

  • Increase the impact of the school improvement service and bring greater consistency to the quality of provision in primary, secondary and special schools with the aim of raising the overall achievement of pupils.

  • Determine the barriers to progress and recommend solutions to increase the impact of the school improvement team.

  • Strengthen the relationships between the local authority and its schools, and, in partnership, build and implement a vision and strategy for improvement.

What we did

Problem solving review

  • Analysed the data and performance of primary, secondary and special schools and the support provided by the school improvement service.

  • Undertook fieldwork visits to schools in the local authority and engaged heads of primary, secondary and special schools through visits and workshops to assess the relationship between heads and the local authority.

  • Carried out focus group discussions and one-to-one interviews with the school improvement team and key colleagues from across children’s services.

  • Triangulated our fieldwork evidence through discussions with key national and regional stakeholders.

Designing and implementing solutions

  • Delivered a focussed review of the key barriers with recommendations for action.

  • Facilitated two workshops with over 60 headteachers to consider key messages from the review and establish the framework for moving forward.

  • Brought together local authority officials and headteachers in working groups to produce a shared vision and strategy and address the key priorities identified during the review.

How we did it

  • Established credibility through our knowledge of schools, local authorities and good practice. Enhanced this credibility through our direct engagement with schools and headteachers.

  • Used high quality analysis of data and field work evidence.

  • High quality facilitation.

  • Built strong relationships and partnership working.

  • Powerful communication of key messages through compelling presentations.

  • Building capacity in the local authority by working in partnership and co-creating solutions.

Impact

  • Relationships between schools and local authority strengthened.

  • Clear programmes of work in place to address key barriers identified from the review.

  • Ongoing implementation through sustained engagement of working groups of local authority staff and heads once the Isos work had been completed.

Feedback

‘Isos Partnership delivered a terrific piece of work. Particularly impressed with the remarkable pace, especially in the diagnostic phase at the start. Costs sensible for this scale of work. Delivered on time. Everyone involved carried themselves equally with the upmost credibility. We have already recommended Isos Partnership to other clients.’