The East West Schools Programme
Following the Good Friday Agreement of May 1998, David Blunkett, MP, then Secretary of State for Education and Employment and Micheál Martin, TD, Irish Minister for Education and Science, announced a new initiative to strengthen school partnerships and to encourage friendship and understanding between young people in Ireland and Great Britain.

NOTE : The East West programme will be withdrawn in England at the end of the 2009/10 project cycle.

Who can I contact for more information about other ways of working with Ireland?

Schools in Northern Ireland : Telephone  +44 (0)2890 248220 (British Council, Belfast)

Schools in England please consider the opportunities listed on this document. This is not an exhaustive selection.

Working with Ireland 2010/11

What were the aims of the East West Schools Programme?

			to promote school partnerships and opportunities for international cooperation and mobility
			to focus on young people and their teachers
			to contribute to the professional development of teachers
			to bring added value to the learning experience
			to target the school in the widest sense

What activities were supported?

			Contact seminars for partner finding
			Grants for preparatory visits, enabling teachers to meet in order to plan and develop projects within the partnership
			Funding for joint curriculum projects to include project-related field trips for pupils
			Job shadowing opportunities for teachers from schools involved in a current East-West Joint Curriculum Project

What were the benefits?

			to enable teachers to share experience
			to offer insights into differing methodologies
			to bring a new dimension to the classroom
			to provide access to new resources