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Connecting Classrooms is a global programme that creates partnerships between clusters of schools in the UK and others around the world. These partnerships bring an international dimension to young people’s learning, to improve their knowledge and understanding of other cultures and prepare them for life and work as global citizens.
Connecting Classrooms partnerships are supported by local authorities/federations of schools in the UK and district education offices/ministries of education in other countries. This endorsement, in all countries, provides a platform from which broader, strategic links can be formed between areas or districts in the partner countries.
To ensure sustainability, clusters of schools participating in the programme are also co-ordinated by their local authority/federation of schools, district education office, or other co-ordinating body. Read more about roles and responsibilities (in the UK).
Partnerships last for two to three years, initially, depending on the countries involved. There is no joining fee, and participating schools and co-ordinating bodies can receive grants to support activities that sustain their links during their involvement in the programme.
All schools involved in Connecting Classrooms:
- work with partner schools on collaborative curriculum projects, which enable learners to interact across geographical boundaries to enhance their understanding of each other’s societies, languages and cultures.
- receive professional development for teachers and school leaders, which builds capacity to support international partnerships and to lead the school in an international environment.
- are supported to work towards full International School Award accreditation, which recognises the school’s commitment to forming international partnerships and developing global citizens.
- become part of a global online community that enables teachers to network with one another in a range of teacher forums, and offers guidance in the use of ICT tools that develop and sustain partnerships. (The Connecting Classrooms Online Community is also open to teachers in schools that are not participating in funded Connecting Classrooms partnerships. Click on the link above to find out more.)
Additional opportunities are available in some regions to address the needs and priorities of different education systems around the world. For example, schools in Bangladesh and England might work together on social action projects, which are designed to enable the schools in Bangladesh to champion social inclusion in their communities, and to help the schools in England to meet the goals of Every Child Matters.
In the UK and many other countries, a local authority/federation of schools or other co-ordinating body applies to the programme with a cluster of schools that want to work in an international partnership. The number of schools in the cluster depends on the country(ies) they choose to work with.
The co-ordinating body identifies a partnership co-ordinator to complete the application and help the schools in the cluster to develop and manage their international partnership. In the UK, if the local authority/federation of schools is not the co-ordinating body, the partnership co-ordinator must also obtain the support of the local authority/federation of schools at the time of application.
If the application is successful, the partnership co-ordinator, or a representative of the local authority/federation of schools, and a representative of at least one school in the cluster will be invited to attend a contact seminar. Contact seminars allow cluster representatives from different countries to meet face-to-face and discuss what they hope to gain from their international partnerships. By the end of the seminar, all representatives will have identified partner schools and started to plan projects together.
In some countries, Connecting Classrooms works directly with ministries of education or district education offices, which in turn invite schools to get involved in the programme. If this is the case, these schools will also be asked to send representatives to a contact seminar to meet prospective partner schools and begin to plan projects.
In general, the programme is open to any school in any participating country, although there are some variations. Contact us for more information.
Schools do not need to have experience of working with international partners, but there does need to be a firm commitment to the programme, particularly from the head/principal, and from the supporting body, i.e. the.local authority/federation of schools in the UK, or district education offices/ministries of education in other countries.
We offer grants to schools to support the development of partnerships and to cover project-related costs. We also offer grants to local authorities and other co-ordinating bodies to cover the costs of co-ordinating the project for their cluster of schools.
In both cases, the level of funding available depends on the countries involved in the partnership.
Please note that schools that already receive funding for existing work with their chosen partner country, or have applications pending for funding from another source, are not eligible to participate in Connecting Classrooms.
No – Connecting Classrooms is free to all schools and local authorities/federations of schools, and other co-ordinating bodies, that participate.
Connecting Classrooms is currently available in the UK and over 60 countries around the world.
Connecting Classrooms is central to our work in intercultural dialogue. We have designed the programme in consultation with education bodies, practitioners and policy makers around the world to embed an international dimension in education systems worldwide.
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