What are collaborative curriculum projects?

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 should be 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.

Project themes

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.

Schools in some countries can participate in existing projects that provide a structure for working together with their partner schools. Projects that are running at the moment include Chatterbooks, a partnership project with The Reading Agency, and Rivers of the World, a Thames Festival project delivered in partnership with Connecting Classrooms and with support from HSBC Global Education Trust. When schools join the programme we let them know about any existing project structures, like these, that they can participate in.

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 should also consider the socio-cultural context of all schools in the partnership, respective areas of educational expertise or need, and the resources available.

Further information

Schools are given guidance on how to plan a collaborative curriculum project, and information about existing projects that they can join, after being accepted onto the programme.

In the meantime, for advice on how to plan a project, or inspiration for possible project themes, see the DCSF Global Gateway.