"Go ahead and do it! It does have enormous benefits for the school, the children and you as a teacher."

• Start small and build up.
• Think of your link as enhancing the teaching and learning in your school not as an add on.
• Take time to develop relationships with staff from the other school.
• Keep in regular contact with the other school.
• Be open with the other school about what you want to gain from the link.
• Inform parents about the link.
• Have a display about the link on the wall where everyone can see.
• Make sure resources for link activities are available for when you need them.
• Make sure you have left enough time for planning your link activities, don't plan too many in a short space of time.
• Make sure you have support from the head teacher and other staff.
• Be patient developing a link between schools takes time.
• Use initiatives and grants available

Top tips from teachers:

• Identify a key theme you can work on to share findings in order to enhance and enrich learning.
• Communication between staff, enthusiasm, shared values and common clear goals are essential in establishing and maintaining a link.
• Careful planning: taking time to build links up gradually and at all levels: governors, staff, pupils and parents.
• Bering honest about what each side wants to get out of it.
• Take time to make sure the link becomes longstanding and embedded in both schools.
• Raising awareness of all stakeholders needs handling with sensitivity, so you need to work with all stakeholders. You need to be as open as possible with parents about what you are doing and keep them informed through newsletters and items on governor's agendas.