Head urges partnership in school sectors

Political parties should include the pledge in their election manifestos, said Dr Anthony Seldon, Master of fee-paying Wellington College.

In a speech to an education conference in central London yesterday, he said that limited relationships between the two sectors is "the greatest wasted opportunity in schools today."

There have been efforts by individual schools to create partnerships, he acknowledged.

Calling for parties to commit 10m to the scheme, he claimed this was the amount the Government put into funding state/private partnerships in the past decade.

He told delegates: "Both sectors have so much to learn from each other and so much to give each other. Teachers, pupils, parents and governors have everything to gain from working more closely together, but it needs to have funding and it needs to have positive and active encouragement from government."

He says that whoever wins the next election, the Government should encourage state and and private schools to create "federations" with each private secondary school forming a partnership with six state schools.

"The independent sector has much to learn from the state sector about teaching and learning, and the state sector has much to learn from the independent sector about pastoral care, the house system and discipline, and developing the all-round talents of each child," he said.

"Over 300 partnerships have been funded by government since 1997 at a cost of 10m. This has helped greatly to break down barriers between both sectors and shown the potential of partnership. However, we need to go far, far further if we are to improve education for all and if we are to build a more socially inclusive nation."