The West Partnership Evaluation Report 2018-2020 was carried out by the Network for Social and Educational Equity (NSEE) team and partly covered the period in which the global pandemic took place.

However, the evaluation was not initially designed to encompass, nor could we have foreseen, the consequences of such a prolonged phenomenon on education in general, and specifically on the West Partnership

The evaluation resulted in a West Partnership Interim Evaluation Report and a summary report, Progress & Challenge: Reflections of the development of the West Partnership 2018-2020  in 2021.

The report’s appendix, A Focus on the Learning System provided details of the impact the pandemic had on the West Partnership’s Collaborative Learning Networks and the corresponding bespoke professional support from the NSEE team.

In sum, the key themes highlighted in our findings centred on traction regarding the concept and practice of collaborative learning as a driver for improvement; developing an effective internal architecture for change including the role of lead officers; knowledge mobilisation; adding value to the local authorities; capacity building and increased personal agency and professional capital.