BRAINTREE SCHOOLS BEGIN PARTNERSHIP WITH EDISON

Initiative Designed to Raise Achievement and Develop Links with Community

Colchester, UK: June 28th, 2004 ­ Alec Hunter High School, Great Bradfords and John Bunyan Infant and Nursery Schools have begun partnerships with Edison Schools UK, a leading provider of school improvement services.

The schools, based in Braintree, Essex are working with Edison to develop and augment the quality of the education they provide, by raising achievement levels and improving pastoral support. The package supplied by Edison includes continuing on-site consultancy, professional development, and technology for diagnosing and assisting the learning process.

Stephen Wyatt, Headteacher at Alec Hunter High School, said 'This is an innovative and exciting partnership which will help the school to build on the steady improvements made in recent years. The advantage is that we will be working with a team of credible practitioners over a long period who will know the school well and respond to our particular needs. This will give the school added capacity to achieve the improvements set out in the Development Plan agreed by Governors and staff. Edison's approach is one that many schools will want to embrace and I am delighted that Alec Hunter is able to be in the forefront of this development.'

'Great Bradfords is already successful and enjoys a good reputation but we don't want to rest on our laurels,' said Headteacher Jacqui Green. 'We want to build on our strengths by teaching children the skills needed to take an active part in their own learning, and increasing the involvement of our parents and carers in this process. Because the Edison project is 'tailor-made' we can maintain our own sense of identity while moving forward in a cohesive way. It's logical that if the entire staff undergoes professional development, supporting our aims and ethos, the impact for the children will be far greater than it would be with isolated individual training and feedback. We're very confident that this project will be of enormous benefit and we're looking forward to working with our advisors.'

'John Bunyan Infant and Nursery School is recognized for our success with children across the spectrum of abilities,' added Headteacher Yvonne Hunter. 'The staff and governors chose to build on this by becoming an Edison partnership school and making use of the extensive expertise, consultancy and professional development available specifically to support our school development. This incorporates our individual school ethos and aims to maximize each child's achievement and further extend our family/carer involvement. We are very much looking forward to working within this cohesive structure supported by our advisors.'

'It's a pleasure to be involved with these schools as they continue their progress toward greater achievement,' said Edison's Tim Nash. 'They are joining a growing number of schools taking the next steps to sustainable improvement with Edison. By providing the expertise, support, tools and techniques to develop their potential we are helping them to make the most of their skills, and provide a better education for their pupils.'

Edison Schools UK works with partner schools through a process of consultancy, coaching and innovation, to provide a complete package of services and technologies to assist with raising achievement. With its research-based school design, diagnostic assessment systems, continuous professional development, and integrated use of technology, Edison provides an all-encompassing school improvement programme that tackles every aspect of a school's operation in pursuit of a more effective and satisfying learning experience. Edison advisers provide training and professional development to the school teaching staff and continuous support and consultancy throughout the programme.