North Lincolnshire LA
North Lincolnshire LA
is working in partnership with Dalian City Education Bureau in
north east China to form links between all 83 schools in the local
authority and schools in Dalian. Jo Moxon from North
Lincolnshire LA describes how the partnership came about and the
benefits for the schools, local authority and wider
community.
Partners
North Lincs, UK; Dalian City, China
Project
World Links -
Area Linking – DCSF programme managed by the British
Council
Background
Our partnership developed from a visit to Dalian in 2003 by a
group of head teachers and two education officers from North
Lincolnshire LA. The aim of the visit, which was organised by the
British Council, was to form partnerships with primary and
secondary schools in Dalian.
One head teacher was so inspired by the visit and keen to build on
his new links with Dalian that he contacted us upon his return to
discuss the possibility of an area link. With the help of the
British Council in Beijing, we got in touch with our counterparts
in the Education Authority in Dalian and the partnership has
developed from there
Aims
Our partnership with Dalian City Education Bureau has four
broad aims:
- to grow in friendship with the officers of the
education bureau and welcome them to share best practice
- to explore opportunities to share training and
resources with professionals at all levels
- to return the hospitality of friends from Dalian
and welcome them to spend time in our schools
- to work together to share inspiration and
creativity in many aspects of education.
Through our school links we aspire to
- expand friendship links between the partnership
schools of North Lincolnshire and Dalian
- develop a deeper understanding of each others'
cultures and education systems
- celebrate the achievement of students.
What we have achieved
Sixteen schools in North Lincolnshire have already formed
links with schools in Dalian. Many teachers and classroom
assistants from these schools have visited their partner schools
and some of our pupils are now learning Mandarin.
The Dalian link has encouraged schools
within the LA itself to work together more and the benefits for
teachers and pupils alike have been numerous. We also anticipate
long-term benefits for local employers, the main one being the
steel works which is already trading in China and will look to
employ an increasing number of Mandarin speakers in the
future.
The British Council has acknowledged the success of our
partnership and the Chinese authorities are keen to receive
training from North Lincolnshire in a range of subjects,
particularly early years education.
The future
We hope that our partnership with China will continue to
grow. The aim is for more head teachers to visit and form
links with schools in Dalian and for these visits to be
reciprocated by delegations of education officers, head teachers
and teachers from Dalian in the near future.
Last year experts from North Lincolnshire provided training in
Dalian for 140 teachers on teaching methods in the UK and the
success of this visit has opened up links with further education
colleges and businesses in North Lincolnshire.
In 2005 the LA were successful in applying for the HSBC Area
links grant, this has secured them three year's worth of funding to
help develop the link.
Main benefits
LA – the link has brought local infant,
primary and secondary schools together cross-phase and built
networks that might not otherwise have existed. These networks have
also extended into the wider community, including the main local
employer.
Teachers – have found the link refreshing; it
has helped to renew their interest in teaching and inspired new
teaching materials for established areas of the curriculum.
Students – students who are learning Mandarin
will have improved employment prospects, particularly with the main
local employer.
Classroom Assistants and Child Support
Assistants – have found the link empowering as they have
been able to travel to China and work on projects, such as
producing a DVD of the Dalian group's reciprocal visit to North
Lincolnshire, which they would otherwise not have had the
opportunity to do.
Find out more
Take a look at
North
Lincolnshire's Teacher Zone to find out which
schools in our area have already got a partner school
in Dalian, to view more photos, and to find out more
about what the links involve.
