‘Put it there, partner!’ A case study of an organic partnership with a school

This paper presents the findings of a case study of an organically developing partnership between a Higher Education Institution (HEI) and a primary school. The paper gives a brief overview of the context of current partnership working and some of the challenges this presents. It also briefly explores the impact on partnership working of government initiatives such as School Direct. The paper goes on to present the findings of the case study where the author, a university tutor (teacher educator) has developed a partnership with a school over the past two and a half years. The partnership journey begins with supporting the student to engage a challenging class in literacy work and then continuing to support her through her NQT year. The paper discusses how a practitioner research opportunity brought several ITE stakeholders together in terms of impact on learning and development and how the partnership is developing symmetrically as a result. I have found that effective partnership can start this way and that a partnership that develops to the benefit of all stakeholders: school, HEI, me, NQT/RQT and current PGCE students is more effective in terms of sustainability, innovation and collaboration. The paper goes on to explore future implications in terms of School Direct planning and working.