The programme, financed by the Department for Children, Schools and Family Departament for Children, Schools and Family (DCFS) and by the Department for International Development  (DFID), offers British teachers the possibility of getting to know best practices in different countries around the globe, through international short term visits. These visits also have the objective of establishing valuable connections among schools, facilitating international partnerships and the exchange of information on a global level. The programme was launched byt the DCFS in May 2000 and, since then, it has enabled thousands of school visits. Teachers of fundamental, high school and special needs schools in England are invited to participate. From 11 to 18 August 2009, the British Council has welcomed in Recife the first group of British teachers to visit Brazil. The theme of the visit, in which 11 teachers participated, was “Schools Overcoming Challenging Circumstances” and the principal objective was identifying efficient strategies for dealing with issues in schools that face challenging circumstances and that those strategies could be shared between British and Brazilian schools, allowing each country to apply them according to their situation.

Schools were selected by SEDUC-PE for welcoming UK teachers and each one of them focused on a specific issue: Escola Luiz Rodolfo – Violence and Drug Addiction; Escola Tabajara – Violence against Women and Escola Frei Jaboatão – Children and Teenagers Violating the Law. The programme offered a seminar in which teachers, education specialists and local authorities took part.

In October 2009, the British Council will welcome 15 teachers to Rio the Janeiro. The group will visit schools in challenging circumstances. The focal point of the visit will be addressing the theme of Teaching and Learning in Challenging Schools and understanding how it is dealt with in Brazilian schools. The group will observe, learn and exchange experiences in the school environment and in visiting social programmes that have proven to make a difference in terms of social equality and students’ attainment. The teachers’ main objective is getting a wider understanding of the roles of students and teachers in succeeding in underprivileged and diverse areas.