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6 Collaborative partnership working
Section overview
In this section you will explore partnerships with parents, service providers and agencies, when requests for assistance for targeted support are being considered. An overview of the role of partner services and agencies will be given and factors to support effective collaboration will be identified.
You will be looking at the following areas:
6.1 Effective communication
6.2 Partnership with parents
6.3 Partnership with partner services and agencies
6.4 Effective Collaboration.
6.1 Effective communication
Supporting learners is a collaborative process that involves effective partnership working. The role and views of the parents, carers, and child or young person are very important. Parents, carers or someone else involved with the family (e.g. social worker, health visitor) may have brought concerns to the teacher's notice in the first instance. The involvement of professionals will vary depending on the needs of the learner.
Figure 19 highlights the range of people who may be involved in the support and identification process over a period of time, working collaboratively to support the needs of the child or young person. This is not an exhaustive list.
It is important that partners, parents and learners (age and stage appropriate) are provided with information about the entitlements and support which are available. Information is freely available through your local authority and a range of third sector organisations. You will see an overview of the staged level of intervention process of support in the following section.
It is helpful to communicate the support given to a child or young person as parents may otherwise be unaware of the range of adaptations that are routinely offered.
Staged level of intervention: process of support
In this section, levels of support are considered and the need to involve parents as early as possible will be emphasised.
For most learners, progress through school will be supported by good learning and teaching practices. Others may require additional assessment and support from specialist staff within the school. This is in line with the principles of the Curriculum for Excellence and the Getting it right for every child approach.
Activity 14: The CIRCLE Framework supporting staged interventions
Watch this film which features a Deputy Head Teacher describing how the CIRCLE framework supports a staged approach to intervention.
Staged intervention ensures that children and young people receive the least intrusive support when needed. The types of support will vary depending on assessed need. At all times the views of the children and young people will inform the nature of support provided.
The process of staged intervention is founded on the collaboration of all relevant agencies involved in delivering services to ensure that children and young people’s barriers to learning are identified and addressed.
The key features of staged intervention involve the following:
(ASPIRE)
Assessment/identification of needs
Support required (to support barriers)
Planning the support
Implementation of plan
Review of progress
Evaluation
Universal support
Universal support starts with the ethos, climate and relationships within every learning environment. It is the responsibility of all practitioners to take a child-centred approach which promotes and supports wellbeing, inclusion equality and fairness. The entitlement to universal support for all children and young people is provided from within the existing early learning and childcare and school settings.
There is an expectation that children’s and young people’s needs will be met through universal support at the least intrusive level. Universal support can be augmented by additional and intensive support. The aim is to ensure that all children and young people are present, participating, achieving and supported in their education. It is the expectation that all children will have access to high quality universal support. This is primarily the responsibility of the class teacher, and may include a wide range of activities:
The physical environment:
Alternative seating
Quiet spaces
Work station
Sloping writing board
Visual timetables
Desk in quieter area of classroom.
Curriculum, learning and teaching:
Curriculum design
Personalisation and choice
Digital resources e.g. digital test papers and SQA exams
Differentiated tasks, activities and outcomes
Different approaches e.g. carousel, group work, and individual
Nurture approaches.
Planning:
Class planning and/or group planning.
Targeted support
For a small number of learners this universal level of support is not sufficient to meet their needs. In these cases, targeted support and collaboration from one or more specialist services (people and places) may be required to enable them to progress with their learning and/or participate in school life. Targeted support will occur, in most cases, following an Assessment of Need and a Child Planning Meeting as part of the ‘Getting it right for every child approach’ and will be coordinated by the Named Person or a Lead Professional allocated to the learner.
Parents should be fully involved in every stage of this process.
Targeted support can include:
The physical environment:
- Small class setting
- Mainstream units and bases.
Curriculum, learning and teaching:
- Interventions and strategies to improve relationships and communication
- Input or support from agencies including Allied Health Professionals
- Supported work experience placements.
6.2 Partnership with parents
Parents/carers are often looking for ways to be more actively involved with school to support their child’s education. It is known that when schools engage well with parents/carers, outcomes for learners both at school and at home are improved. Regular sharing of information can help support early identification of concerns and lead to the implementation of early intervention.
Not all parents/carers feel comfortable in this partnership role for a variety of reasons. For example:
- parents/carers may have low levels of literacy and/or not be used to having their views respected.
- parents/carers may have had previous negative experiences of engaging with schools and be reluctant to be involved.
- parents/carers may have difficulty prioritising time to attend meetings perhaps due to other caring responsibilities.
- parents/carers may have English as an additional language or come from a country that has different educational systems and expectations.
Working in partnership involves listening to, acknowledging and valuing the contributions that parents/carers make with regard to:
- sharing information about the learner’s abilities and needs, and how these impact on home life and education.
- setting and prioritising shared meaningful learning and wellbeing targets and goals.
- sharing and advising on the suitability of specific strategies to use, both in school and at home, which support the environment (physical and social), structures and routines, motivation and skills.
Activity 15: Supporting parents
Watch this film in which a deputy head speaks about how the CIRCLE framework encourages dialogue with parents (film duration 0:51 minutes)
Reflective Task 6.2: Collaborative partnerships
What, in your experience, helps communication with parents?
Make some notes in your Reflective Log before looking at our suggestions.
Discussion
These strategies are primarily whole-school approaches which would be implemented by the Senior Leadership Team. Ensure that school policies are followed during all interaction with parents/carers.
- Be welcoming, affirming and respectful during all communication.
- Ensure the parents/carers know that they are crucial to their child’s progress and that the best outcomes are achieved through partnership working.
- Effective use of digital medium e.g. emails, twitter accounts, texts, school apps.
- For meetings, ensure parents/carers are aware that they can bring someone with them for support.
- Provide an agenda and a list of the names and roles of those who will be attending the meeting in advance.
- Consider arranging for parents/carers to be seated in the meeting room first, rather than walking into an unfamiliar room full of professionals.
- Consider parents/carers’ needs - ensure that they are aware of support that may be available for themselves e.g. adult literacy programmes, English for speakers of other languages courses, carer support, etc.
Communication postcards
Communication postcards are a simple, easy-to-use way of sharing information about specific strategies which can be used to support a two-way flow of information with parents. They are not intended to replace normal communication routes but to supplement them.
The CIRCLE Participation Framework has produced some Communication Postcards which may be useful in your setting. Postcard templates are available to download below.
6.3 Partner Services and Agencies
Partner services and agencies are managed externally to the school but may still be part of education services. They work in a targeted way to support specific learners to participate in school life and to engage with the curriculum. You may be working with some partner agencies already.
These may include the following services:
- Assistive technology for communication
- Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS)
- Community Child Health Paediatricians
- Local specialist education services e.g. a deaf education support teacher
- Police
- Psychological services
- School Nursing Services
- Social Work.
Specialist
- Specialist Liaison Nurses e.g. epilepsy liaison nurse therapy and physiotherapy
- Therapy services e.g. speech and language therapy, occupational
- Third sector e.g. counselling service
- Voluntary service.
How do Partner Services and Agencies Work?
Partner services and agencies are usually based outside the school. They may see the learner for assessment and then follow-up with them and/or the family in the school, at home or in another location. Input varies depending on the nature of the learner’s needs and may involve consultation, assessment or advice only. Alternatively, there may be on-going work either inside or outside the school.
Working with Partner Services and Agencies
Responsibility for coordinating support varies from school to school but will lie with a member of your Pupil Support Team, who will ensure that information and recommended strategies are shared with staff through the school’s information management systems. Occasionally partner services and agencies may work directly with subject teachers and other staff groups regarding support for a learner.
Requesting assistance from Partner Services and Agencies
Below is an overview, please also refer to your local procedures
A request for assistance from a partner service and agency will usually be considered when strategies have already been implemented but are not fully meeting the learner’s needs.
Responsibility for initiating this request from the school will usually lie with a member of the Pupil Support Team (names of this team may vary across local authorities) who will have collated relevant information from a range of school staff through the 'Getting it right for every child' approach planning process.
Prior to a request for assistance, this person will liaise closely with the learner and their parents or carers. Agreement from the parents or carers and the learner must be obtained before a request is made unless it is a child protection concern (refer to your local procedures).
Request for assistance may be made to a partner service or agency by someone external to the school, for example the school nurse, GP or social worker. Some partner services and agencies also accept direct requests from parents/carers or the learner themselves.
An exemplar of the process of requesting input from, and collaborative working with, partner services and agencies in one authority can be found on page 95 in the Secondary CIRCLE Framework, which is available for download in the Useful information section. It highlights the importance of communication at all stages (through active dialogue, discussion and collaborative problem solving), where possible and appropriate, between the school, the learner, their parents/carers, and partner services and agencies.
6.4 Effective Collaboration
Collaborative working with partner services and agencies, and parents/carers is normally the responsibility of a member of the school management or Pupil Support Team. Collaboration is also required in school: within departments, between departments (including Support for Pupils, Support for Learning and school management), with Pupil Support Assistants and with learners themselves.
In order to support collaboration, clear lines of communication and agreement of roles and responsibilities need to be in place. This, together with a culture which respects and values the perspectives and contributions of everyone in the team, promotes effective collaboration.
Activity 16: Effective collaboration
a.
Shared understanding of the demands and expectations placed on the learner, particularly related to the curriculum
b.
Clear mutual focus on meeting learners’ needs
c.
A good personal relationship
d.
Sharing of specialist knowledge, skills, ideas and resources - consider joint training
e.
To reduce parental anxiety, the regular sharing of information about assessment, intervention, management and future plans is only shared between practitioners
f.
Mutual recognition of time constraints and other pressures
g.
Highlighting time constraints and other pressures
h.
Collaborative communication limited to the school management team
The correct answers are a, b, c, d and f.
Reflective Task: Effective collaboration
In your Reflective Log consider 2-3 of the questions below and note your reflections in your log:
- What works well?
- How could the reciprocal flow of information between all those involved in supporting a learner be improved in your school?
- How does communication and collaboration with partner services and agencies take place within your school? How do you contribute to this process?
- Consider a situation where you collaborate with others. Reflect on the features of effective collaboration and make a note of the strengths and the areas for improvement.
- What are the roles and responsibilities of any partner services and agencies currently working with any learners that you teach?
Optional Reflective Task: Effective collaboration
The following questions can be used when engaging in professional dialogue during professional learning opportunities and discussions with colleagues.
In your Reflective Log consider the questions below and note your reflections in your log:
- Consider a situation where you collaborate with others. Reflect on the features of effective collaboration and make a note of the strengths and the areas for improvement.
- What are the roles and responsibilities of any partner services and agencies currently working with any learners that you teach?
Next steps
For the final entry in your Reflective Log for this module you are going to revisit your response to Activity 1 where you were asked to rate your knowledge and understanding of inclusion within the classroom.
Activity 17 Your knowledge and understanding of inclusion within the classroom
You were asked to rate yourself using a scale of 1 – 5 (1 being poor and 5 being very knowledgeable) on your knowledge and understanding of inclusion within the classroom. The box below shows your response.
For the final entry in your Reflective Log consider your response to Activity 1 and consider how you would rate yourself now. And, in your log, complete the activities below:
Use the scale of 1 – 5 (1 being poor and 5 being very knowledgeable) rate your current knowledge and understanding of inclusion within the classroom.
Consider how this module has impacted on your professional practice.
Complete the self-evaluation wheel and compare this version to your initial one and reflect on any changes.
End-of-module quiz
Now that you have finished studying all the sections within this module and have completed the activities you can now take the End-of-module quiz. Your notes within your Reflective Log will provide support with the answers.
To pass this quiz 80% of your answers will need to be correct. If your answers are incorrect you will have an opportunity to try again. After 3 failed attempts you will be locked out for 24 hours before you can attempt the quiz again.
Feedback survey
Congratulations – now that you have completed all sections and the End-of-module quiz you have reached the end of this module.
Feedback
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Please post your views on our short survey – thank you very much in advance for completing it.