COLLABORATION AND FEDERATIONS

Schools’ budgets are increasingly under pressure from spending cuts and a scarcity of revenue and capital funding. In some areas with falling pupil rolls, schools may struggle to recruit and retain staff. Schools are increasingly looking to collaborations and federations to bring a variety of benefits.

These can include:

• Combining forces to achieve enhanced purchasing power; gain economies of scale from single contracts for buildings and grounds maintenance, ICT, catering and caretaking.
  
  
• Use of a shared pool of resources, facilities and expertise across a portfolio of schools to improve and maintain good quality teaching and learning. Thanks to greater opportunities open to pupils, collaboration may increase pupils’ curriculum opportunities, enjoyment and confidence
  
  
• An effective way to learn from the strengths of teaching by colleagues in other schools
  
  
• Bridging primary and secondary age groups, to achieve better transition between schools and less disruption to pupils’ progress
  
  

Our specialist team of education lawyers regularly assist school leaders with a wide variety of legal and commercial issues. Our approach is to explain and demystify, to provide hands on practical support to help your school avoid the pitfalls, manage risk and achieve your objectives. We are a friendly, accessible team ready to help you set up your collaboration or federation.