In her second article on Reconnect London, Director, Doctor Katherine Vincent explains how effective collaboration enabled schools to emerge from the pandemic.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, there was considerable media coverage about the negative impact of school closures on students’ mental and physical health and well-being. The impact of lockdown focused attention on the difficult circumstances in which some families were living, and highlighted the extent to which schools are a protective factor within young people’s lives. Many members of the public became aware, for the first time, of the gaps that have opened up within the UK’s social safety net and the extent to which schools have come to fill these gaps. Amongst the school leaders who are part of our network, there is both a sense of pride about this increased awareness of schools’ wider impact, and a sense of frustration that schools are often expected to do too much. Acting alone, with limited resources, they know that they cannot hope to address the dire consequences of poverty, inequality and persistent disadvantage. 

The pandemic response demonstrated that it is possible for organisations to work differently, and that we can achieve more when we work effectively in partnership with others who share the same goals. Reconnect London has evolved into a network which brings together school leaders with other professionals working to address key challenges facing young Londoners, including poverty, inequality and social mobility. We promote and facilitate collaboration, identifying role models and sharing good practice, trying to find ways of moving knowledge around the system and capturing the rich knowledge and expertise which already exists within London’s schools.

Broadening the role of school leaders

During the pandemic, school leaders across the UK became civic leaders, making significant contributions to local collaborative efforts to provide essential support to those in most need. They ran food banks, delivered care packages and visited vulnerable students while also running in-person and online educational provision. Remarkable resilience was shown by those working within the education system during this time, as they moved with speed to respond to the changing external environment and to solve problems that initially seemed insoluble. Now, as we move from the intensity of the pandemic into a climate of increased economic and political uncertainty, concern is mounting about the ability of the school system to retain existing leaders and recruit new ones.

In this context, it is crucial that school leaders have access to high quality support, strong role models and relevant professional expertise. One way of ensuring this is to invest in networks and partnerships. Participating in peer networks and professional learning communities is something leaders value and enjoy. It is also an important way for school leaders to make professional connections that they can draw on when crises arise. We know that school leaders will face many challenges throughout their careers; being part of professional networks helps make sure that they have access to the right kind of support at the right time. 

It is inevitable that we will face more uncertainty in the years ahead, whether that is from another pandemic or ongoing social, political and economic instability. In this context, it is more important than ever to create a school system which foregrounds collaboration rather than competition. If we want our schools to flourish, we must work together to create a more joined-up system, so that we can truly serve the interests and needs of children, young people and their families. 

Reconnect London welcomes new members who share its commitment to working collaboratively to improve educational outcomes and overcome poverty, inequality and disadvantage. For more information, please email info@reconnectlondon.org. 

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We would like to thank Katherine for her article and Vanessa Ogden, CEO of the Mulberry Schools Trust for allowing us to publish it.  It adds substantially to the evidence that we have already presented in this journal concerning the widening role education has taken on during and after the pandemic and how it interacts with other groups and professions. We intend to follow this with an article which will draw together all we have learnt on the subject during these difficult times.

Take care and stay safe

George

Reconnect London

Professor Sir George Berwick, CBE