Reflections On: Surrey Education Partnership
Over the last 18 months, learning providers and other groups from across Surrey have come together as the Surrey Education Partnership to support the development and implementation of the ‘Lifetime of Learning Strategy’. These partners include schools, colleges, early years, higher education, skills, adult learning settings along with Surrey County Council, Schools Alliance for Excellence, the Department for Education, members of the Surrey Health and Wellbeing Board, and the Dioceses.
The Surrey Education Partnership Board met last week to discuss plans for implementing the Lifetime of Learning Strategy and how all involved can best ensure that Surrey’s education systems are fully equitable. Working with the principles of culture, challenge, commitment, collaboration, celebration, championing and communication in mind, the Board discussed how partners can work together to share information, good practice and initiatives to improve outcomes for all.
An example of good practice came from Johnny Clarke, Headteacher at Heathside Walton School. Johnny shared their literacy strategy, focusing on the importance of using accurate data, developing a whole-school reading culture and offering targeted support through small group guided reading, Literacy For All, Lexia and Nurture, as well as an Accelerated Pupil Programme. As a result of these programmes, the school has seen improvements to students’ literacy data and reading age and a significant improvement in students’ perception of their own reading. Students with EHCPs were found to make the greatest progress through small group reading and Lexia, and Nurture sessions have resulted in improvements in students’ attendance and overall engagement in school life.
Surrey’s Service Manager for Early Years Quality, Education and Inclusion, Pippa Gray, also shared strategies for targeted interventions on communication and language in the Early Years. Early Talk Boost and WellComm interventions have been implemented in a range of Surrey settings, with significant improvements in the percentage of children at the expected levels, and children becoming more confident in their speech and language overall. Practitioners have seen children improve their focus and engagement in sessions and programmes have been particularly beneficial for those with English as a second language.
For more information on the Surrey Education Partnership, read Volume 1 of the Equity in Education Newsletter, where you will find further case studies, news and local initiatives.
