Sunderland educators unite to strengthen collaboration and improve outcomes for city’s young people
More than 50 teachers and senior school leaders from schools across Sunderland came together on Friday at the Stadium of Light for an event focused on strengthening collaboration and improving outcomes for young people across the city.
The event, titled “Making Sunderland an even better place to teach and learn: connecting teachers across the city to drive better outcomes everywhere”, brought educators together to share ideas, celebrate progress and explore how schools can work more effectively together.
It was organised as part of SHINE Sunderland, a 10-year partnership investing more than £11 million in the city’s secondary schools to help improve GCSE attainment and expand access to future opportunities for young people.
Bringing together SHINE, talented teachers and local partners, the initiative aims to address the barriers to success that many Sunderland students face. SHINE Sunderland works closely with schools to design bespoke projects that unlock student potential, while building a city-wide network to share best practice and drive collective success.
At the event, representatives from the first SHINE Sunderland projects shared updates on the progress of their initiatives and their ambitions for the future.
A panel discussion, led by Dr Thomas Cowitt, explored “What effective collaboration looks like when the goal is better outcomes for children”. The panel featured Louise Quinn of the North East Learning Trust, Marie Beale from Whitefield Primary School and Sean Harris of Tees Valley Education.
Leanne Marquis, SHINE’s Senior Programme Manager, who organised the event, said: “Days like this are a powerful reminder that meaningful change in education doesn’t happen in isolation. It happens when teachers, leaders and colleagues from across schools create space to collaborate, share practice, challenge thinking and learn from one another.
“As we look forward, we’re excited to continue working with schools to build on these opportunities to develop meaningful collaboration opportunities across the city.”
After the event, Donna Walker, Headteacher at The Link School, wrote on LinkedIn: “The event celebrated the incredible projects happening across Sunderland schools, highlighting innovative and inspiring experiences being created for children and young people across the city.
“It was also a fantastic opportunity to connect and collaborate with others who share the same passion for supporting young people.”
Joanne Maw, CEO and Headteacher at Aspire North East Multi Academy Trust, described it as “a great opportunity to learn from others and build lots of excitement for the future”.
Panellist Sean Harris, from Tees Valley Education, added in a LinkedIn post: “What SHINE and partners are building in Sunderland is impressive. But so too is the intentionality behind it. This isn’t just a set of projects or initiatives, but a movement of change makers understanding local issues and how to tackle them through the work of schools and other settings.”