“Why we became a co-operative school” from Headteacher

19 November 2013

The Guardian has featured an interview with a UK Headteacher on how their school came to be operated with a co-operative structure.

Why did you decide to become a co-operative school?

“I had read a lot about the co-operative schools movement and thought it sounded really interesting. The governors and I looked at what it would mean and we felt becoming a co-operative school fitted in with our vision for the school as being a place where the development of young people into active global citizens was at the core of our philosophy.

The whole process took a couple of years and we moved at the point when the Labour government was actively supporting this – but increasingly the current government is exploring and supporting the ways schools can work collaboratively as local authorities lose funding and staff. There are more than 600 co-operative schools in the UK with more joining almost daily. I definitely feel the strength in numbers and being part of a movement is really interesting and supportive. It’s very difficult for any school to work on their own now.”

Read the full interview in The Guardian, Talking heads: why we decided to become a co-operative school