Achieving more together
Published: 1 September 2020
“It is so pleasing to look at the impact the partnership has had on the children we teach. I can’t wait to develop it further!”
Matt Crook, Halton Partnership Co-ordinator
As part of an Ogden partnership, you will have access to five years of funding, opportunities and teacher CPD (from EYFS through to Key Stage 3). A partnership co-ordinator will be awarded a one-year teacher fellowship to help establish the partnership, which will bring together a group of schools within a local area who want to enhance the teaching and learning of science (particularly physics and the physical processes).
“Teacher CPD and raising students’ science capital and career aspirations are at the heart of our school partnerships programme,” explains Head of School Partnerships, Wendy Cox. “We encourage cross-phase partnership applications so schools can better support the transition from primary to secondary science, sustaining and building on a strong primary science foundation, and raising student aspirations to take physics further.
“We welcome applications from any schools in England,” continues Wendy, “but we are especially keen to work with new partnerships in rural and coastal areas, as well as schools based in areas of social deprivation.”
Thirty-three new partnerships officially joined the Ogden network this month after making their application last year. The Halton Partnership was one of 15 new partnerships who started their four year funding cycle in September 2019.
“At the heart of the Halton Partnership is a desire to help pupils to develop critical scientific thinking, learning to work scientifically and think scientifically so they can bring those skills to bear in their future studies and longer term in their work,” explains Matt Crook, co-ordinator for the Halton Partnership. “We strongly believe that the scientist who is going to solve the world’s current problems – such as climate change or plastic pollution – is currently sat in one of our partnership schools. It is our responsibility as teachers to engage and inspire them to be able to solve scientific problems; giving them the passion and love to go further into the subject.
“As a mixed partnership, we have great opportunities to develop young technicians in secondary schools and to better support the transitions from Year 6/7, Year 11/12 and also sixth form to HE, using the Ogden university links,” continues Matt.
“Eighteen months ago, I started off on a journey to inspire the future generation of scientists at my school, Lunt’s Heath. With support from The Ogden Trust, I have been able to reach out to more schools across Halton,” concludes Matt. “It is so pleasing to look at the impact the partnership has had on the children we teach. I can’t wait to develop it further!”
Partnerships normally comprise four to ten schools and can be a mix of maintained schools, academies, free schools and independent schools, across the primary and secondary sector. A partnership can apply for up to £2,500 per academic year for the first three years and £1,000 in the fourth year for activities to enhance the teaching and learning of physics. In the fifth year, partnerships continue to access support and coaching.