In discussion of policy and practice on partnership between higher education providers and other stakeholders in initial teacher education (ITE), one significant approach has been to stress the desirability of developing models which are truly collaborative. This paper first discusses the "collaborative" model within a range of "ideal typical" models. The authors then draw on a commissioned literature review of models of partnership in ITE to analyse the recent policy contexts for partnership developments in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, arguing that these have presented very significant barriers to the development of collaborative models. The paper concludes that, while the collaborative model may remain a very attractive "ideal typical" approach to partnership, it may be necessary to consider alternatives unless the principal barriers to its progress can be addressed.