Co-operation and partnership between French and English schools has existed for a long time. The benefits of enabling students to broaden their horizons and to develop inter-cultural awareness have long been recognised. Very often though, the durability of school-based partnerships has depended on the goodwill and motivation of individual teachers who can find it difficult to maintain the energy to drive the partnership forwards.

In the experience of the British Council and French Ministry of Education, links at education authority level can improve sustainability and productivity of educational partnerships. Strategic linking of a group of schools in a local region with a similar group of schools overseas facilitates the initiation and development of long-term links at both macro and micro level. Local Authority and Académie colleagues and teachers also benefit from a ready made support network in the local area to share experiences and ideas. Area linking has the potential to draw on existing civic links and scalability is another impetus for this initiative.

Is my Local Authority eligible to become an area links partner?

The single most important criterion to become an area links partner is enthusiasm for developing and sustaining links with an educational authority in France

The emphasis is on sustainability and the LA needs to be committed to a long-term relationship of ongoing benefit to teachers, pupils and parents in the authority. A desire to make the partnership work, which will sometimes include compromise and imaginative problem-solving, is also critical.

The LA does not need to have a proposed area link partner in place before applying, but if contact has already been established perhaps through town-twinning or an existing regional liaison this is an excellent way of developing partnerships.

How to apply to become an Anglo area link partner

As the designated area links co-ordinator you should send am emial, stating your interrest to our team at world.links@britishcouncil.org

What is the best kind of partner for my Local Authority?

It is usually possible to find a good match between LAs in England and Académies  in France but this will be easier if:

•You are clear about what you need and what you can offer

•You are open-minded and flexible

•You have a sense of key practical issues (such as ease of travel between the two regions).

•You are aware of any existing civic links

What are the roles and responsibilities in area linking?

The British Council offices in London and Paris and the Bureau of International Relations in the Ministère de l’Education Nationale, work together to match French Académies with English Local Authorities and to provide ongoing support to the area links partnerships. All three organisations can supply ideas and models of good practice to inspire and motivate area links partners.

For the complete guide on getting your area link started please refer to the Are Link guide

How can we consolidate our partnership?

The area links partnership initiative was devised to support LAs to develop long-term relationships with French Académies to enable fulfillment of authority-wide strategic goals in the arena of language learning and the international dimension. Experience has shown that authority-to-authority relationships provide a valuable framework within which school partnerships can prosper without being dependent upon the motivations and enthusiasm of individuals. The overview perspective of a Local Authority can often overcome obstacles that may seem insurmountable at institution level.

Engaging with schools

Setting up the area links partnership and developing a strong relationship with your overseas colleagues is a large part of the task but the partnership won’t work unless you can also draw in and motivate the schools in your area.  Existing partners have suggested ways of bringing schools on board in the most effective way.

Building bridges at home

Sometimes having sole responsibility for links, as many of you with responsibility for the international dimension do, means that you are encouraged to ‘just get on with it’. But communication within your authority is also an important part of the bid to sustain area links partnerships. Existing partners report that there is much to be gained from involving colleagues from across your authority in developing the partnership. Senior officers in the authority need to be convinced of the benefits of the partnership. In France, indeed, without the express support from the Recteur, a partnership and any activities that ensue will be simply impossible.  

How can we evaluate our area link partnership?

An essential aspect of the area links partnerships initiative is the allocation of time to review individual activities undertaken through the partnership and the effectiveness of the partnership itself. Partners are asked to carry out evaluations among participants of CPD, contact seminars, school partnership activities and other events and to present this to the funding agency (i.e. British Council London or Paris). Partners are also required to evaluate the area links partnership both unilaterally and bilaterally on an annual basis. The expectation is that this evaluation activity, which could take place via a videoconference, will inform preparation of the area links partnership action plan for the following year.

For  the complete guide on suggested ways to engage with schools on area linking, building bridges within your authority and reviewing the effectiveness of your area links partnership, please download the Area Link Guide here (pdf file 2326326KB)

Follow on activities for your partnership  

What happens after the first year of an area links partnership?

Pump-priming is available for the set-up of Anglo-French area links partnerships, normally over a three year period. Following this, there is an expectation that partnerships will be self-sustaining.

Follow-on activities

After the initial activities to set up and establish the partnership (area links visits and action plan creation) there are a number of joint projects in which area links partners can engage.  In the first instance, partnerships are likely to undertake projects which are funded under the area links initiative for new area links partnerships.

What funding is there for follow-on activities?

New area links partnerships are entitled to apply for funding for one joint activity in addition to the area links visits.

Funding for follow-on activities may be available. For English LAs there are full details on how to apply for funding for joint curriculum projects, teacher and student fellowships and vocational partnerships among others on the British Council website.www.britishcouncil.org/schoolpartnerships

Other sources of funding also described are on the British Council, Global Gateway and the DGESCO websites and these include:

• Comenius
• Teachers’ International Professional Development Programme (TIPD)
• Lefèvre Trust
• Leonardo da Vinci
• eTwinning

For the complete guide on sustaining your partnership and ideas for follow on activities after the initial agreement please download the Area Link Guide here (pdf file 2326326KB)

Frequently asked questions – Learning about your partner

1. What is an académie?

The Anglo-French area links partnership initiative matches local authorities in England with académies in France. There are 30 académies (regional education authorities) and they broadly correspond, with some exceptions, to the geographical regions of France.

• Académies: National to local - decentralisation and devolution

Decentralisation of powers previously held by the state to local government has been happening over the last twenty years in France with the effect that regional and local administrative authorities, under the responsibility of the Minister of Education, have greater jurisdiction. In each of the académies under their authority, the rectorats (education authorities) are able to apply nationally defined education policy, taking the local context into account, in partnership with collectivités territoriales (local government bodies).

Académies are led by Recteurs, (equivalent for the purposes of area linking to Directors of Children’s Services in English LAs but responsible for a much larger geographical area as well as for Higher Education provision in the area). They are provided with resources from the administration centrale (the Education Ministry), which they are responsible for sharing among schools and educational activities.

Each Académie is sub-divided into départements. At département level, Inspecteurs d’Académie, (effectively local government Directors of Education), oversee the management of schooling and staff, principally in primary education, and the organisation of examinations.

Départements consist of communes which, under the auspices of a mayor, are responsible among other activities, for construction and maintenance of infant and primary schools.

2. In the académie, who’s who in developing Anglo-French partnerships?

The key players are the Recteur, the DAREIC, the Inspecteurs d'Académies-DSDEN and the Inspecteurs Pédagogiques Régionales among other influential authority staff.

• The Recteur

Appointed by the President, the Recteur represents the national Ministry of Education at académie level. He/she is responsible for the entire delivery of public education in the académie from nursery school to university and also has remits for aspects of independent education in the region.

The Recteur is supported by a Secrétaire Général de l'Académie (general secretary), a directeur de cabinet, the Inspecteurs d'Académie (for each département), specialist advisers, the inspection team (including the Inspecteurs Pédagogiques) and his/her administration.

NB English area links partners: the Recteur plays a highly significant role in the successful development of partnerships. Financial and other support cannot be committed to activities emanating from the partnership without the specific approval of the Recteur. It is essential that the administration rectorale is approached early on. The action plan must be signed off by the Recteur to facilitate release of funds by the Secrétaire Général de l'Académie. It is also desirable for the English LA signatory to be of equal stature within their own administration.

• The Délégués Académiques aux Relations Européennes et Internationales et à la Coopération (DAREIC)

Each académie has a DAREIC, appointed by the Recteur, whose role is to promote the international dimension in schools. This includes co-ordination of international activities in schools, school partnerships and support for foreign language learning. DAREICs can come from a variety of backgrounds, and may or may not have teaching experience.

NB English area links partners: this is the post holder with whom LA staff are likely to have most interaction in development of the area links partnership.

• The Secrétaire Général de l'Académie

All administration services for the académie are under the charge of the Secrétaire Général de l'Académie. This includes budgeting and financial services.

• The Inspecteurs d'Académie (IA-DSDEN)

Appointed by presidential decree, the Inspecteurs d'Académie represent the académie at département level. The IA represents the Recteur and is responsible for primary and secondary education in the département. The IA has a management role rather than a responsibility for subject disciplines and does not carry out teaching inspections.

NB English area links partners: as most académies are geographically much larger than English Local Authorities, case studies of existing partnerships show that for school partnership and continuing professional development purposes, links with the LA tend to be concentrated within a single département. The Inspecteur d'Académie represents the Recteur in each département and therefore needs to give the green light for any links and activities. The commitment of the relevant Inspecteur d'Académie to the partnership is therefore of paramount importance and this individual should normally make up one of the delegation during the official area links visit.

• The Inspecteurs d'Académie - Inspecteurs Pédagogique Régionaux (IA-IPR)

They are responsible for several functions including school and policy evaluation and inspection of secondary teachers within a specific discipline. The IA-IPR works under the Recteur in liaison with the Inspection Générale de l'Éducation Nationale at the Ministry of Education. The IA-IPR for English is likely to be involved in Anglo-French area partnerships. Conseillers Pédagogiques are advisers who have a role in initial teacher training and continuous professional development in the primary sector. They work alongside inspectors. The Inspecteurs d’Education Nationale - Circonscription (IEN-CC) operate at primary level and have a role which can be similar to that of a head of a primary school in England but they are often responsible for a large number of schools and they do not recruit teachers. They work closely with the directeur/directrice who is the teacher in charge of the school on a day-to-day basis.

3. What is DGESCO?

DGESCO (Direction Générale de l’Enseignement SCOlaire) is the schools directorate in the Ministry of Education. One of its divisions is the Bureau des Relations Internationales which also includes the Anglo-French section. This section is responsible for promoting the principles of the Memorandum of Understanding/Accords du Touquet and offering guidance and support to colleagues in the académie in the arena of Anglo-French partnerships.

Contact Seminar

This is usually a face-to-face seminar allowing teachers (or sometimes headteachers) to meet to set up a partnership between two schools.  Usually it would be held in a venue which would not require the hosting teachers to need overnight accommodation.  If held locally to the participating schools, it also allows for at least a one day visit to the partner school which can be extremely valuable. Usually a contact seminar would take between 2-3 days and a number of workshops would be incorporated on themes such as building successful partnerships and developing joint projects. Partners can either be “pre-matched” if sufficient information is provided about the school and the nature of the partnership desired, or matched through a “partner fair”. The usual grant for a contact seminar in France £5000, which can normally support approximately 10 participants on each side.  For hosting a contact seminar, grants of up to £1500 can be requested, to cover the participation of the English teachers.

Project Development Visits

This is an opportunity for a teacher or group of teachers to visit their new partner school to develop their project work.  It can often be part of the follow up to a contact seminar. Grants are usually £275 per person and the teacher would be expected to spend a minimum of 2 days in the partner school.

Teacher CPD /Primary Teacher Project

This activity can take many forms.  Under the area linking programme, the CPD should be organised for a group of teachers. Please note that there is funding available through Comenius, primary teacher jobshadowing, for a two week CPD opportunity for primary teachers to develop their language and pedagogical skills.  For further information please visit  http://www.britishcouncil.org/comenius-primary-teacher-project.htm for the primary teacher project or http://www.britishcouncil.org/learning-tipd.htm for information on Teachers International Professional Development visits.

Other CPD

Within your partnership you may want to consider CPD for other staff members, such as leadership or specialised sectors, eg SEN co-ordinators. Please be aware that the IPH programme can support some headteacher CPD visits.  Please visit http://www.britishcouncil.org/learning-international-placements-for-headteachers.htm

Student Fellowships

This highly successful national programme has enabled a number of Y12 or Y13 pupils to spend two weeks researching a subject of their choice at a partner secondary school in France, Spain or Germany. We hope that it can now develop within the context of area linking. Grants for students are usually £600 depending on the accessibility of the partner area.

Student Conferences

Student Conferences can bring together a number of students (our experience to date has been with 16-18 yr olds) for 2 days to work on a specific subject. This activity could be organised within the context of an area partnership. The level of grant available would depend on the number of students involved and location. Both the English authority and French partner would need to request a grant for this activity.

Immersion Courses

These courses enable students (usually KS3) to spend between 7-10 days in the country of the target language, for language tuition and cultural/sporting activities with their French partner school. The level of grant available would depend on the number of students involved and the location

Other

Area linking activity is not solely prescriptive. If you have particular activity to propose, please contact the Anglo French team at world.links@britishcouncil.org