School peer support networks and collaborations: a study of a school-to-school peer support programme used in a large metropolitan city

This is a case study of a school improvement peer review programme (S2SSP), operating under an Education Partnership (EP) umbrella of schools in a large metropolitan area in England. It examines, through the eyes of participants (i) the effectiveness of the model in terms of school self-evaluation and school improvement (ii) factors which contribute to, or hinder its effectiveness and (iii) the capacity of the partnership to sustain school improvement over time. The outcomes of the study suggest that S2SSP provides a credible and semi-externally validated school improvement tool. As with most alliances, the strength of S2SSP lies in the ‘social capital’ derived from working within a supportive ‘learning community’ with the associated benefits arising from that. Enabling different categories of teams, such as Champions for Improvement, to lead the ‘change’ process was regarded as highly effective. The findings suggest that a rigid structure isn’t what is required. S2SSP appeared to work best where space was made for teams to be flexible in their approach which helped to sustain it. Where it worked well, participants shared a common desire to engage in and contribute to ‘system change’. This has the potential to shape the landscape of ownership of school improvement for school leaders in the area