How long does it take to turn around a school? And can it be done in isolation? Or can it only happen if the community changes too?
These are live issues in Brighton and Hove where school performance has come in for significant scrutiny, particularly at secondary level, over the past few years.
Some schools have been renamed and converted into academies. Some have new buildings. Some have new head teachers and others are trying new ways of working.
The Aldridge Foundation, for example, has converted schools in Falmer and Mile Oak into academies – the Brighton Aldridge Community Academy (BACA) and the Portslade Aldridge Community Academy (PACA).
BACA has new £28 million premises and PACA’s Chalky Road site has been undergoing a £12m revamp.
PACA has a relatively new head in James Fox and at BACA Dylan Davies took over the top job at the start of last month.
One of the new ways of working involves forming partnerships. Many in public life in Brighton and Hove regard partnerships as an important strand in our local DNA.
In school circles, they tend to involve the head of an outstanding or good school mentoring the head of a school that requires improvement or is inadequate.
The head providing mentoring and support sometimes becomes the executive head of both schools in the partnership.
One local example is Emma Lake, the executive head of Hangleton Infant School and Benfield Primary School.
She recently learnt that Hangleton Infants had maintained its outstanding rating in the eyes of Ofsted, the official education watchdog.
The achievement is particularly impressive because at the same time Mrs Lake has helped lead Benfield out of special measures after its inadequate rating by Ofsted.
Some are wondering whether Mrs Lake may be the person to convert Hangleton Infants and Hangleton Junior School into an all-through primary as has happened elsewhere in Brighton and Hove. The junior school has performed less well, according to Ofsted.
Another local example is attracting attention from far beyond Brighton and Hove.
Derek Trimmer, the head of Hove Park School, is working in partnership with Rachel Simmonds, the new head teacher at West Blatchington Primary School.
West Blatch has traditionally been one of the feeder schools for Hove Park. The secondary and primary partnership – also described as cross-phase collaboration – is still relatively unusual. It started in the early summer last year and has already earned plaudits.
