Our most established link is with Pelican Park Primary School. We found our partners, based in Cape Town, through Afritwin. Four staff members on two separate trips have visited the school and were hosted warmly. A fantastic experience. We have welcomed three of Pelican Park's staff on two trips. One of these trips was funded through a Reciprocal Visit Grant from the British Council.
For a time last year we worked with a school in Ethiopia. Unfortunately this link did not work out. A Connecting Classrooms Grant from the British Council was used to try to build this but there were logistical problems. This year, with the help of Afritwin, we are developing a trilateral link with People's Primary in Windhoek, Namibia. With the help "on the ground" that Afritwin can provide, I know that this partnership will go further. We have already secured a Connecting Classrooms Grant to meet together later this year.
Our European links were forged through eTwinning and Comenius. We are half way through a funded project titled Playground Games. So far we have welcomed teachers from Greece, Poland, Turkey and Spain for a planning meeting. We have also taken children to Spain and Poland this academic year as part of the project. Further visits are planned to Turkey and Greece over the next academic year, as well as students from the partner schools visiting us in February.
We also have a strong link with Youfu School in Nanjing, China. For the last two years we have taken Year 5 children to visit the school, along with another Manchester school. Students from Nanjing have also visited us. Through the Chinese connection we welcomed a delegation of Mathematics teachers for a tour only last week.
Whilst in China initially we were able to forge links with Tyabb Railway Station Primary School in Melbourne. Our Head and Deputy have visited the school. Last week staff from Tyabb visited Moorside.
How do you go about setting this up and covering costs?
ReplyDeleteFirst step is to register with Schools Online - it's a free site run by the British Council and a way to find partners. I would advise starting with email contact, maybe do a few small projects to connect a few classes. Once you are happy that the school you have started working with are in it for the long haul, then look into funding through the British Council. The forms are pretty detailed, but once you get the hang of the buzz words to use then the funding is there.
DeleteThe British Council also run free training events to support applicants.
Summer is a good time to set up links if you are UK based for long haul partnerships. Bear in mind, though, that European schools finish before we do.