Traditional school rivalries are being set aside in a new era of co-operation as schools seek to give every pupil the best start in life.

The Government has made it clear that failing schools needs to team up with successful counterparts - called clustering - to drive up standards.

This is taking place across Essex.

One firm believer in this concept is Andrew James, headteacher at Chase High School in Westcliff.

Mr James, who was deputy headteacher at St Michael’s School in Brentwood, is a big believer in schools joining forces as part of the academies system to share ideas and resources.

Chase, in Prittlewell Chase, Westcliff - a school in special measures - was taken over by the Brentwood Academies Trust, which is responsible for St Martin’s School, Brentwood and Larchwood Primary School, Brentwood.

Mr James, who has served more than three decades in teaching, said: “The academies model works when there’s a support line.

“It’s a shame this model of support wasn’t done earlier because schools found themselves in a position where they were in competition with each other, not helping each other.

“When a teacher here says to a parent their child is working on a D at the moment we can get a subject leader in from another school to see if that prediction is the correct one, as accuracy of predictions has been an issue here.

“That is key as that support allows other teachers to come in and look our marking and say whether it is accurate or not.

“We also have the support of other schools that have been in a similar situation to Chase, such as Maltings Academy.”

This idea of working together stems from Labour’s flagship academy policy, where schools were made responsible for their own finances. The Tory Government has told failing schools they must be taken over by a sponsored Academy Trust (a group of schools) as part of that process.

Today, 11 of 12 secondaries in Southend are now self-regulated, either through choice or being forced to.

Some schools, which have chosen to covert, such as the grammar and faith schools, posted better grades after becoming academies, while others have still remained under scrutiny from Ofsted.

Anne Jones, Southend councillor responsible for education admitted she has some concerns over clustering schools, but said judging by the results of the likes of Belfairs Academy, and Shoeburyness High School, the model works for them.

And this clustering model could be here to stay.

Last month, nine schools in Essex went to Southend’s Tickfield Centre for a training day hosted by the Association of Secondary Headteachers in Essex, in which they were trained to work in groups of three schools called “triads”, to support each other.

Mrs Jones, a Labour councillor, said: “The original reason behind academies was to give the school more autonomy, but it’s different now to when they were first started up.

“Not every school converting to an academy in a cluster with other schools might work. How connected is a school in an inner London borough to Southend?

“If a school becomes a sponsored academy, the expectation is that members of staff are transferred to that location.

“But if a school chooses to become an academy, like the grammars, and the faith schools, then they don’t have to go through that, which can cause tensions.

“Look at the results of St Bernard’s and Belfairs – I imagine they would say being an academy works for them.”

 

"I'd be amazed if people weren't concerned"

The headteacher of Chase High School admitted he would be “amazed” if people were not concerned about the academy.

It comes after Southend Council reported the academy to the Regional Schools Commissioner over concerns about the school’s progress in its provisional 2015 results.

But Mr James says he understands the council’s concerns, but is confident the plans he has in place, and the support the school has from the academy trust it is governed by, will see it improve.

He said: “I’d be amazed if people were not concerned. The school has seen a lot of change in the last 12 years and parents are always wondering if upheveal works, but things are going to take time to work.

“Results last year are not good enough, our ability to predict children’s attainment isn’t good enough, and there is too much disruption in classes.

“But were are taking a hard-line with disruptive pupils. Exclusions are up at the school.

“As a parent of a child in Year 10, pupils want to learn and they don’t want to be disrupted.”

A meeting with the heads of the school and council directors took place last month to discuss the school’s plans to improve.