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Partner Story: James Aldred, The Garibaldi School

James Aldred, Headteacher of The Garibaldi School, Nottinghamshire, spoke to us about the school’s experience of partnership with Challenge Partners, including the Quality Assurance Review (QAR).

Please can you give an introduction to your school, its context, and yourself?

I’m James Aldred, head teacher of The Garibaldi School in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. We're an oversubscribed, growing 11 to 18 school and Mansfield is an ex-mining town. The school’s grown quite significantly over the last  6 years and now there are just under a thousand students. We are on the DfE's list of schools that are potentially going to be rebuilt in the upcoming future. Hopefully, as a result of that, we can increase the capacity of the school to cater for the needs and wants of the local community.

When did you first hear about Challenge Partners, and why did you join?

The Garibaldi School has been part of Nova Education Trust since 2019 and the trust has grown over a number of years. We weren't one of the first schools in, but we joined midway when the Trust changed from being Torch Academy trust to Nova Education Trust. Through the trust we were introduced to Challenge Partners and joined in 2022. As part of Nova trust we have a yearly Quality Assurance Review. So, in year one schools undertake quality assurance reviews of each other within the trust and then in the second year we have a Challenge Partners Quality Assurance Review (QAR). This year was our first year hosting a QAR, however, in year one, myself and other members of the leadership team did go out and review other schools in the network so we have been part of the process for the last 2 years.

Can you talk us through your experience hosting a QAR at The Garibaldi School? What worked well for you?

The communications were very clear right from the start - the Lead Reviewer (LR) made contact with me quite early on. It was also very much a done with process rather than done to, and it felt like that right from the very beginning. The LR was very open to whatever we wanted it to be, and however we wanted to shape it. The central thing that came from the LR was that the process is to help and support the school to improve even further, and to look at where we thought we were. We could shape what we wanted the review to look like, what we wanted them to see, how we wanted judgments to be made, and how we wanted statements to be made. It was very much about the development of the school. Therefore, it was focused on how the review team could support us so that we could truly justify where we think we're at but then continue to support that journey even further.

How was working with the LR/visiting review team?

The visiting review team and LR came in as if it was a partnership. They wanted to support us to improve and also wanted to take things away that we did really well, and take that back to their school. Right from the get go when they arrived on that first day it was very collaborative. All of my leadership team were really involved so had an opportunity to contribute as well. The whole review wasn't that there was a team doing something to us, it was about how we can work together so that we could all benefit from the people around the table, and how we can take from you things that will benefit their own schools as well.

Do you have an example of an action that you have taken as a result of hosting a QAR in your school?

One of the best things is that there's an ongoing partnership that's been made as a result of our QAR. Both people that came in and undertook the review here have been back since the review, and we have been to their schools. This has been really beneficial in itself - we've been out and supported with some ideas around sixth form provision and we've taken some work in relation to continuing to develop our personal development provision. 

What has been the impact on you/your colleagues' professional development as leaders after going out on reviews?

Sometimes you can get a little bit indoctrinated with how you do things in your own school, and almost have a fixed mindset. Going out on reviews has enabled staff to have a look at how things are done at another school. The leadership team spends a long time in school delivering on their own strategies and can get in the habit of just doing the same thing. To go out and have their eyes opened to different approaches and other ways of doing things, or listening to how other people do things has been really beneficial for them.

Is there anything else that you would like to add?

For me the whole QAR process is really beneficial and I advocate to the team that they need to get out and have a look at other schools. I've got an expression about going out and seeking a ‘golden nugget’, so if you can just bring one thing back and do that one thing well, that's gonna have a real impact. I think that's really important. Likewise, if we can just do that with somebody else at another school, then then that will help generally improve the education sector and the students that sit within it. We all have that common purpose to improve the life chances of pupils.

We thank James Aldred for taking the time to talk to us. If you are a partner with Challenge Partners and would like to share your story, contact partnershipsteam@challengepartners.org and we would love to talk to you!