In an increasingly interconnected and intercultural world, it is essential to bring global issues to life for young people and promote understanding and respect for the similarities and differences between countries and cultures.

School Partnerships works to bring students and teachers from different cultural and economic backgrounds together.  Through ongoing and direct communication, it provides an effective way of breaking down barriers, tackling mistrust and building future understanding between societies.

provides professional development for teachers, school leaders and students to build capacity to introduce and integrate international working in schools.

Teachers, school leaders and students can take part in targeted training and get access to support materials to prepare them for working in an international context and help them develop partnerships that achieve the best possible outcomes for everyone involved. We could provide Leadership, ICT and Class management training for head teachers and school teachers.

The British Council is conducting Student Leadership Training Workshops for more than 80 students, teachers and head teachers from 20 schools across the country.

One of Afghanistan’s great successes in education since 2001 has been the large increase in student enrolment, especially among girls. But, as a consequence, schools are often over crowded and under resourced. The British Council is working closely with the Ministry of Education on a number of initiatives to support the new reforms, all of which contribute to cultural relations and development work. One such initiative is a programme developing school student councils.10 participating schools are girls’ schools, 8 are boys’ schools and 2 are co-educational.

Empowering students is an increasingly central part of the British Council’s schools work here. By giving them more opportunities to get involved in local issues we are also helping students develop ideas around global citizenship, which is an important outcome in our Education and Society work. School councils are a great way of doing this as students get the chance to articulate problems and share their solutions.

Social Action Projects bring together schoolchildren from Afghanistan and the UK and promote a deeper understanding of the cultural and social issues that affect people around the globe.

Social Action Projects, a part of the British Council School Partnerships programme, help young students see how people all over the world are connected to each other on such common grounds as playing sports and preserving natural resources.

When engaged in a Social Action Project, the participating school in Afghanistan and its counterpart in the UK collaborate on a project that lets students figure out how they can create a better, more harmonious world. Along the way, the children learn how to be leaders, how to work together as a team, and how to participate so that everyone feels they made a difference.

The first batch of Social Action Projects was launched in July 2009. So far, 6 projects have been successfully completed. We plan to start some more social activities within the schools soon.

Collaborative curriculum projects are activities that are planned and delivered jointly by all schools within a partnership to bring a global dimension to learners’ education. Projects are relevant to the curriculum of each partner country and focus on areas of common interest.

Collaborative projects enable learners to communicate and work directly with their international peers. This interaction builds their understanding of different cultures and societies, and develops the skills necessary for employment in the global economy.

Collaborative curriculum projects also provide opportunities for teachers and school leaders to benchmark their practice against the standards and approaches of educators in other countries.

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We ask partner schools to develop projects that are specifically designed to enable cultural exchange between learners and which focus on particular themes that are closely linked to the curricula of all countries in the partnership. The most effective and far-reaching projects have themes that work across different curriculum areas and age groups.

For all collaborative projects, achieving a common understanding is critical. Agreement on project themes must be reached before work begins, and regular cross-reference should take place to ensure that activities remain relevant. Partners are also advised to consider the socio-cultural context of all schools in their partnership, respective areas of educational expertise or need, and the resources available.

The scheme provides recognition for teachers and their schools working to instill a global dimension into the learning experience of all children and young people.

The ISA supports schools to develop the following:

• An international ethos embedded throughout the school
• A majority of pupils within the school impacted by and involved in international work
• Collaborative curriculum-based work with a number of partner schools
• Curriculum-based work across a range of subjects
• Year round international activity

Involvement of partner schools and the wider community in the UK

In 2011 two Afghan schools received this prestigious award. Mariam Girls High School in Kabul and Towhid Private High School in Herat presented documents and evidence to prove their strength in international activities. More Afghan schools have applied for this award this year.

British Council Schools Online enables teachers around the world to find partner schools in other countries, network with one another, seek and share advice, and join or form clusters of schools that want to work together on international projects. The site can be used to work on collaborative projects with partner schools, to discuss curriculum development and potential links with other teachers globally and to access guidance from our support staff about School Partnerships and other schemes and how these could work best for a school. The site also provides information about professional development opportunities and other resources.

The website is a free resource, accessible to teachers in schools that are not participating in School Partnerships as well as those that are. During the recruitment period we are looking for more schools to participate in funded School Partnerships - the site and its customer support team at the British Council can help you to find other schools in your area to work with you in a cluster.

British Council Schools Online combines the school partnerships support of the former School Partnerships Online Community with the services of the Global Gateway, e Languages and the International School Award. If you already have a login for any of these sites you will be able to sign in and start connecting right away. Alternatively, you can register on the site by filling in a simple online form.