New framework for better school-NHS collaboration

A new national framework has been published which outlines how schools and the NHS can build stronger partnerships to improve the health, wellbeing and life chances of children and young people.

Developed by Windsor Academy Trust in partnership with six other school trusts, nine NHS trusts, the Confederation of School Trusts, the NHS Confederation and NHS Employers, the framework provides a practical guide to integrating education and health for better outcomes, which would support national priorities on prevention, place-based care and opportunity.

The framework positions schools and NHS organisations as anchor institutions with shared civic responsibilities. It identifies opportunities for joint commissioning, shared governance and data-informed prevention strategies that align with the Government’s Opportunity Mission, which aims to break the link between background and success, and with the NHS’s 10 Year Health Plan, which shifts focus from treatment to prevention and community-based care.

It sets out clear, evidence-informed steps for implementation, including establishing local gateways for collaboration between school trusts, Integrated Care Boards and Public Health teams, and using schools as neighbourhood hubs to co-locate services and improve access for families. It also suggests developing joint workforce strategies to grow the next generation of NHS professionals.

The framework can be used by school and trust leaders, Integrated Care Boards, public health teams and local government partners to design joint programmes that improve attendance, attainment and wellbeing while easing pressure on overstretched NHS services through earlier intervention and more accessible local support.

An example of this in practice is Goldsmith Primary Academy in Walsall, part of Windsor Academy Trust, which created an early years community health hub with Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust and Public Health Walsall. By hosting parenting workshops, health visitor drop-ins and wellbeing sessions on the school site, the hub makes parental support easy to access in a trusted environment. The initiative has improved attendance and engagement, strengthened family confidence in local services and provided early help for children.

Dawn Haywood, Chief Executive of Windsor Academy Trust said: “The wellbeing and future success of children depend on a holistic approach that connects education and health, because where we see educational inequalities, we also see health inequalities: they coexist.” 

“Schools and health providers both serve as vital anchor institutions within their communities. When we work together across sectors and systems, our combined efforts become a powerful force for public good. This framework captures that spirit of collaboration, offering a shared roadmap for creating healthier, fairer and more hopeful futures for every child.”
 
Leora Cruddas CBE, Chief Executive of the Confederation of School Trusts said: “This framework shows what it truly means for our public institutions to act as civic leaders rooted in place, working together across boundaries and committed to the wider common good.

“This is a blueprint for how civic collaboration can help renew our communities and strengthen the fabric of public life.”