The Norfolk Learning Collaborative

Within the Learning Ambition, we have worked with the education system to identify and agree some core themes. Each of these has work currently underway, and is based around collaboration with schools, colleges and settings to achieve its aims.

These themes are:

Capacity and Expertise of the Education workforce

This Task Group has been set up to explore ways that education providers can work together to maximise Teacher and Teaching Assistant recruitment and retention. Their initial aims are to create a 'Teacher Future-proofing Framework', which would cover:

• Apprenticeships
• Teacher talent Pools
• Leadership
• Training & CPD
• ITT
• Recruitment Campaigns

Additionally, the intention to create a 'Teaching Assistant Career Framework', covering:

• Apprenticeship
• TA Talent Pool
• Job Descriptions
• Training, CPD & Induction
• Recruitment Campaigns

Ensuring Effective Transitions

This Task Group builds on learning achieved through the Norwich Opportunity Area transition group, including work on a Common Transfer Document. There is also a focus on Post-16 transition with the Education and Training Strategy group, and alignment with SEND transition.

Improving Data and Information Sharing

This Task Group  works in line with Education Data Authority workstreams within Norfolk County Council, with the ultimate aim of sharing more responsive, interactive data dashboards, which will enable leaders to benchmark their education setting against local & national data. This task group currently develops School and Community Team-level data, and provides a Universal 'data training' offer, with the ultimate aim of being better able to use data analysis to identify issues for system to address collaboratively.

Supporting Resilient Families and Communities

This Task Group is responsible for the introduction of and alignment with School and Community teams, Start For Life and Family Hubs. They also have a role in signposting parents to sources of support, alignment with Local First Inclusion and Attendance outcomes within the county. They aim to establish communities of practice, working with schools and settings to enable parents and families to understand and manage expectations and perceptions of schools and settings.

Enhancing the self-improving system through a Norfolk Collaborative Standard​

This groups primarily focuses on partnership projects, and aims to provide a platform to celebrate, capture and promote successes across the system. It will support the production and publication of case studies, and develop and publish materials to support effective, robust collaboration between education providers. It also has a role to support the Education Investment Area, by learning from, promoting and replicating impactful projects across the wider county. Their longer-term aim is the establishment of a Norfolk Collaborative Standard, to support education providers to work together.

School, Colleges & Settings Communication and Engagement​

To ensure that all of the above themes are as effective as possible, we are committed to redesigning the ways in which we communicate with schools, colleges and settings. This includes how, when and to whom we communicate key information and updates, support engagement and information sharing between providers, and how we make access to collaboration opportunities easier. This work is carried out with a reference group made up of representatives from across the education system in Norfolk, but we are always looking for more voices to contribute to making it as useful as possible; if you would like to join, or find out more, please get in touch.

Update, March 2024

Work is currently underway to redesign the current eCourier/Management Information system, to make information and updates easier to access and share.

Key stage 2 Outcomes

Last year, the Norfolk Learning Collaborative (NLC) identified KS2 outcomes as a priority focus. At their meeting in June, the NLC considered the issues around KS2 and agreed to use the meeting in September to agree a set of priorities that the NLC will focus on and determine the actions that will be taken to tackle them.

This sector led focus on KS2 follows on from the system-led event, New -Horizons- Meeting the KS2 Challenge in Norfolk which took place in July. The conference saw over 150 colleagues from across Norfolk come together to share in the learning from DfE's Priority Areas initiative's writing projects and consider how collaboration and a shared Learning Ambition for Norfolk can improve outcomes at KS1 and KS2.