Exploring how school trusts can work in partnership at local, neighbourhood, and regional levels
Schools cannot do everything. As we argued in Community anchoring, great schools are necessary but not sufficient if all children are to enjoy lives of choice and opportunity.
The solutions to the complex problems that face us are beyond the reach of individual people or single institutions (even the state actor). They require forms of radical, collaborative leadership in place. There is a particular opportunity for schools and trusts to increase the coherence of children’s journeys through their education and to contribute to strengthening the neighbourhoods in which they are growing up.
If we accept this premise, then we believe there is a partnership imperative. The only other options are to try to do everything, which is unsustainable, or to pull up the drawbridge and wish our children luck in all aspects of their lives beyond the school gates. This does not seem right morally or pragmatically; beyond school factors have a knack for finding their way into school.
This new paper, published with the Reach Foundation, builds on the original conceptual framework which we described in detail in Community anchoring, but it develops that thinking in a new political and policy context.
In part one, published in February 2026, we explored this new context and identified some leadership mindsets required for partnership working. This updated edition, published in July 2026, explores in more depth examples of how to realise the partnership dividend at the neighbourhood, local, and regional levels, drawing on case studies from across the country.
