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Can a global school partnership make learning more fulfilling for students and teachers? It certainly can, according to headteacher Gloria Stone. She tells us how;
It’s all the fault of the parish! At least, that’s what I like to say when people ask me how our school, Thorner Church of England Primary School in Leeds, came to be linked with a school in Sri Lanka. The contact was initiated through an existing link between parishioners of St Peter’s Church in Thorner and those of St John the Baptist in Kegalle, Sri Lanka. Through one of our teachers, Jane Curran, and the parish, we made contact with Walagamba Vidyalaya, a government school for students aged five to 16. After some further contact we applied for funding from the Department for International Development (DFID) Global School Partnerships Reciprocal Visits programme. And we were successful!
A programme was planned for 2005: I was to travel to the school in Kegalle in February 2004, and my counterpart, the Walagamba School Principal Weerasinghe Dharmapala, to visit Thorner in June, accompanied by teacher, Kumudini Herath. During the first visit, personal relationships were established and the strategic view for our school partnership. Soon came the June visit and that’s when all of the real curriculum and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) work began.
We travelled to a workshop in Esh Winning, Durham, entitled ‘A Global Dimension in the Curriculum’, run by DFID Global School Partnerships and One World Network North East. This provided the bedrock for our curriculum project. Walagamba Vidyalaya students enjoy a human rights-themed board game Goal-setting across the world So what are our aims for the global curriculum project? Well, firstly to develop the global dimension in the curriculum and the ethos of our schools by introducing key elements of global education to all pupils. We also wanted to widen the experience of teachers so that they can deepen their knowledge of the global dimension goals.
In practical terms we are undertaking four joint activities during the year, with the outcomes shared between the two schools.The first units have been planned to fit in with the existing events and curricula in both schools in order to allow staff to feel their way gently into this new project. For example, the unit ‘Developing Democratic Leaders’ has been chosen as it is based around annual elections that already take
As soon as the curriculum plans were drawn up, special staff meetings were held in both schools. Now that the curriculum projects have been started at Walagamba, Kumudini is having to work hard to keep the teachers motivated and must do this with minimal resources. Access to CPD opportunities is limited in government schools in Sri Lanka, so it was very useful for her to have attended the workshop in June, where she learned that the British Council had an office in Colombo. Kumudini – through the contacts made in Durham – has sought further CPD for herself by attending the same professional development session, ‘A Global Dimension in the Curriculum’, at the British Council, Colombo.
We have begun gently by taking small-but-achievable steps and basing all of our work firmly on what is already in place in both of the schools. At its very inception, our partnership placed CPD for our teachers high on our list of priorities, and this has proved to be crucial. We have provided high-quality CPD for the leaders of the initiative and given all teachers involved the chance to participate through school-based training and development. This has ensured that they understand the importance and benefits of work on the global dimension.In the next phase, we hope to extend the curriculum activities into areas that will deepen awareness of the wider issues involved. By doing this, we’ll help to ensure that the next generation of global citizens really does understand the interdependence and diversity of all individuals in the world, and will consequently make informed, rational and responsible decisions throughout life.
Teachers can attend some or all of the sessions. The programme is being developed and delivered in collaboration with the regional Enabling Effective Support (EES) networks and development education providers. Please contact 0131 524 5780 or globalschools@britishcouncil.org for any future professional development opportunities in your area.
THE DFID GLOBAL SCHOOL PARTNERSHIPS PROGRAMME promotes partnerships between schools in the UK and in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. Funded by the Department for International Development, it is a consortium initiative of the British Council, the Cambridge Education Foundation, the UK One World Linking Association and Voluntary Services Overseas. For more information, visit www.britishcouncil.org/globalschools
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