The Southwark Schools’ Learning Partnership (SSLP)

The Southwark Schools’ Learning Partnership (SSLP) is a unique collaboration between local schools based in, and around, the London Borough of Southwark.
The partnership comprises both independent and maintained schools. The schools have a common desire to provide academic and vocational opportunities both for students and for teachers, where each can learn with and from their peers.

Aims

Connecting Schools
The SSLP welcomes schools with an ambition to work in partnership for the benefit of students from Southwark, and also their classmates. All schools aim to share and to learn from each other in equal measure.

Connecting Teachers
The SSLP aims that teachers in our schools are in touch with one another and able to share their passion for their specialist subjects, exchange views about educational issues and share good practice.

Connecting Students
The SSLP provides a diverse programme of opportunities that aims to inspire the aspirations of every student. By working together, and harnessing the student voice, we offer interactive opportunities.

Background

The SSLP was established as a DFES London Challenge project in 2003.

It followed an initiative to promote the participation of independent and maintained schools in the challenge of raising the standards of all pupils across the capital – breaking the correlation between economic disadvantage and achievement.

Two headteachers, Marion Gibbs of James Allen’s Girls’ School (JAGS) and Dr Irene Bishop of St Saviour’s & St Olave’s CE School (SSSO) founded the SSLP as the South London response, with funding from the DfES. The SSLP was also invited to participate as an informal associate of the National College for Schools Leadership’s Networked Learning Communities programme.

In 2015, when both Marion Gibbs and Dr Irene Bishop retired, the co-directorship moved to Dr Joseph Spence of Dulwich College and Grainne Grabowski of St Michael’s Catholic College (representing the independent and state schools respectively). In 2017 Catherine May of St Saviour’s & St Olave’s, assumed the role of co-director for state schools, taking over from Grainne Grabowski.

The Partner Schools involved have changed over the years as schools have faced their own challenges.  In recent years the SSLP has introduced the category of Associate Partner as we welcome actively interested schools from outside the borough who, by means of public transport, offer good links with Southwark.