About the OISSP
History
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 more collaboratively together.
The newly elected government published a white paper, “Excellence in Schools”. This heralded the beginning of DfES funding for independent/state school partnerships.
In 1999 the OISSP was awarded a grant for a project looking at Post-16 partnerships through Key Skills. A project co-ordinator was appointed and a project board, represented by business and education was established under the chairmanship of Hugo Brunner, Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire.
The Key Skills Project was successful, involving 46 secondary schools across both sectors. Since then the OISSP has co-ordinated two one-year Citizenship focused projects and is in the process of running its fourth project called ‘Learning through Creativity’, which will run for three years.
The project board is now chaired by Paul Bradstock OBE, DL and is established as a company limited by guarantee with charitable status so that it can widen its income sources and carry out partnership activities beyond the remit of special projects.
The project director for our latest project 'Securing Our Future' is Tom Kempton.
