Schools acting alone cannot achieve the greatest possible improvement and transformation under the conditions that currently prevail. There is a growing appetite among senior leaders in schools for fresh approaches and fresh thinking around the national schools agenda - linking standards, future visions, community engagement and the implications for leadership.

This practical book aims to help senior leaders re-imagine and transform the partnership between their school and its community, and develop the capacity to lead that change. There is now the need for a step-change in emphasis from the school as an institution with sole focus on institutional improvement to the school as an agency able to lead community transformation.

By focusing on and improving relationships, schools can begin making a significant contribution to developing the entire community's capacity to learn, including those for whom it has a statutory responsibility.The purpose of this book is to explore what this means in practice, how those benefits could be achieved without losing focus on the need to raise attainment for all and what the implications are for school leaders now and in the future. Central to this approach is a concept of schools as agents of regeneration for themselves and for their communities.