The Learn Together Partnership is a collaborative of Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, St Helens, Sefton, Warrington and Wirral Children and Young People’s Services.

The Authorities have a long history of working closely together. In 2002 it was felt that there was a need to increase the level of joint activity to meet the challenges of high quality service provision within the emerging Children’s Services agenda. An existing partnership in the Greater Merseyside area was subsequently widened and the new partnership was branded ‘Learn Together’ and launched in 2004. In October 2005 Warrington was also welcomed as a full partner.

In its start-up phase, Learn Together was supported by the DfES Innovation Unit and a Co-ordinator was appointed from April 2004.

The partnership is strengthened considerably by the fact that the pace of change is broadly similar across partner organisations and this is reflected in a growing interest in committing to a measure of simultaneous change where possible. At the same time, it is recognised that specific initiatives will often be driven by sub-groups and sometimes by bipartite arrangements.

The Learn Together Partnership gratefully acknowledges the start-up assistance which it has received from the Department for Education and Skills Innovation Unit.