Partnerships for schools, businesses and communities

Educating our young people is the responsibility of the entire community, not just schools.

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Schools, businesses, and communities form partnerships because they wish to improve outcomes for young people and recognise that by working together, they can achieve far more than working alone.

Partnerships can take many forms. Some are focused on students, such as supporting them with reading, helping them prepare for work, or providing a relationship with a business mentor. Others focus on broader areas, such as supporting school leadership and teacher development.

Partnerships can lead to better morale among teachers and the better use of resources within schools, leading to improved education outcomes for young people. Business can also experience improved staff morale, better awareness of their industry and community recognition.

Partnerships help communities work together to solve local problems.

Want to know more?

Guiding principles for school–business relationships

The guiding principles for school–business relationships were developed in 2012 in response to a recommendation of the Business–School Connections Roundtable, along with case studies and an A3 poster.

Evaluation guide for school–business relationships

Evaluate to grow is a guide to getting the most out of your school–business relationship through evaluation. It was developed in 2012 in response to a recommendation of the Business–School Connections Roundtable.

Business–School Connections Roundtable

The Business–School Connections Roundtable held in 2011, publishing Realising potential: Businesses helping schools to develop Australia's future in 2012, which was followed by the Australian Government response.

General research on school–business relationships

Unfolding opportunities: a baseline study of school business relationships in Australia was published in 2010: