History of OISSP
A Brief History of Oxfordshire Independent/State Schools Partnership
In 1997 The Chief Education Officer for Oxfordshire and a handful of secondary heads met to discuss how the independent and maintained sector schools' could work collaboratively for the benefit of schools, pupils and the local community. Guidance was provided within the Government white paper, “Excellence in Schools” and DfES funds made available for partnerships. OISSP was able to appoint a project co-ordinator and board in 1999 under the chairmanship of Hugo Brunner, the then Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire. The successful Key Skills Project (1999-2001), funded by a DfES grant for a partnership, focused upon Post 16 Key Skills and combined the efforts of 46 Oxfordshire schools.
'The Young Citizen’s Charter' (2001-2002) brought together 6 schools in the development of citizenship projects. The November 2001 launch was attended by local dignitaries, heads of school, teachers, parents and students. The Young Citizens Charter’, an interactive web based resource is made available at: www.youngcitizenscharter.org
The following Young Solutions Project (2002-2003) enabled 18 schools take part in additional citizenship projects and to investigate areas for environmental development which would strengthen local community cohesion. The celebration event was held in June 2002. In 2003-2006, Learning through Creativity (2003-2006) provided opportunities for26 schools organised into 5 clusters, to work alongside artists during a series of workshops. These enhanced the planning and pupil and teacher development of existing and potential creative talents. The memorable extravaganza, performance took place in 2005 and was documented within the project evaluation lead by The Westminster Institute of Education. Oxford Brookes University.
OISSP’s Securing our Future (SOF) Programme (2007-2009), supported science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) awareness in schools. This DCSF funded project aimed to encourage the flow of well-motivated young people into science and related careers. The programme of innovative inset, conferences and celebration events were supported by OISSP’s key partner, Science Oxford. OISSP, now chaired by Paul Bradstock OBE, DL, and lead by Project Director Tom Kempton, consolidated its activities by becoming a company limited by guarantee with charitable status.
SOF Projects included: The SEEP-2 project conserving energy in schools; MFL Conference on applied languages (June 2008); Earth from the Air Exhibition at Oxford Castle (Oct 08-Feb 09) and Schools Programme; School launch of six Science Cluster Projects (Oct 2008); Schools’ Science Teachers Festival (June 2009). A full evaluation of SOF was completed by The Westminster Institute of Education. Oxford Brookes University .This fed into the planning of future OISSP activities along with the outcomes of OISSP’s Head Teachers Consultation (June 2009) which was hosted by University College Oxford.
For 2009-2010the Securing our Future Extension Project, funded by a DCSF sustainability grant has enabled the continuation of SOF projects and in the short term, secured the continuation of OISSP’s science awards , local STEM careers website (Life Lab), Café Theatre Project (MFL through Drama) and Sciencebook, an online STEM enrichment resource.
OISSP Partners
Science Oxford
The Association for Science Education
The Carbon Trust
The Engineering Development Trust
The Hamilton Trust
Oxford Brookes Environmental Information Exchange
Oxford Climate-X-Change
Oxford Inspires
Oxfordshire Education Business Partnership
The Royal Society of Chemistry
The Science and Technology Facilities Council
The Society of Chemical Industry
The Specialist Schools and Academies Trust
University of Oxford, Museum of Natural History
University of Oxford Institute of Environmental Change
University of Oxford Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment
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