For several decades, educational researchers have been advocating the benefits of partnership between schools, families, and communities as a means of promoting student achievement (Cummings & Dyson, 2007; Epstein & Sanders, 1998; Davis & Johnson, 1996). Multi-agency partnership is one of the vectors in the current British government educational policy. Professionals from education, health, social services, youth organisations, community and voluntary organisations have to work together in partnerships to address the Every Child Matters agenda (DfES, 2004). This raises important questions about what forms of leadership “work” within multi-agency partnerships and how to create a collaborative culture of schooling.

This paper presents some selected findings from a study for a PhD. Through an interpretive-constructionist’s epistemological paradigm, the research project investigated leadership practices within a multi-agency context. The following research questions were developed to realise the purpose of the study:

• What leadership practices have been developed within a multi-agency environment?
• How does the presence/lack of trustimpact on leaders’ practices in a multi-agency partnership?
• What leadership strategies can best promote and sustain a collaborative culture of schooling?

The study’s conceptual framework is based on Huxham and Vangen’s (2005) theory of collaborative advantage, and on the theoretical concept of social capital (Bourdieu, 1986; Coleman 1988; Putnam 2000). Relevant literature on multi-agency partnership, leadership, organisational culture and current educational policy in England is brought together and integrated to frame the research design and analysis.

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