Building your link
If you've found
the right partner for your school you need to think about how to
develop the partnership and make the most of it.
Internationalism in the curriculum is something
that needs to be planned and supported by the whole school,
rather than individual teachers. Partnerships that start in a burst
of enthusiasm can dwindle without whole school support.
Teachers can plan lesson-based activities for the term
and arrange dates when information exchanges can take place. For
more reasons why established partners are better partners, refer to
the
Getting
started section.
Good partnerships need nurturing and school leaders or
teachers pursuing international professional development goals can
help by taking responsiblitiy for the ongoing good health of the
link. How do you ensure that your partner school is happy, and
likely to stay in a strong, collaborative relationship?
This is a crucial time for your partnership. Have you checked
out all the regional support that's available to you?
More>>>
If your partnership is in a developing part of the world the
Global
School Partnerships team at the British Council can offer
valuable guidance at this stage and answer questions.
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You apply as a cluster of three or more UK schools, usually through your local authority and your partner school is allocated to you. Visits are planned for you and structured - everyone goes to a joint contact seminar at the start of the three-year programme. Relationships based on mutual understanding and a genuine equality in transactions are of great importance in the programme. Through real contact, meaningful exchange and open dialogue, such relationships can flourish. Every part of the funding and the programme objectives has been planned to be of equal mutual benefit. |
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The funding lasts for three years. The amount varies but may be up to £5000 per group of schools per year. It could cover teacher visits each year and also support the development of joint curriculum projects. |
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To increase impact and reach, UK schools are usually asked to form 'clusters' of a minimum of three schools BEFORE they apply. Successful UK clusters will then be linked with corresponding clusters at one of the contact seminars. We've prepared a special page to offer more advice about clusters and if after reading this you think you may need help or advice to form a cluster, please get in touch with us directly as there are a number of ways in which we can help. |
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Schools need the support of a local authority or in some cases an organisation to apply. Look on the Regional Support contacts database to find a suitable person to approach for advice. If you get stuck, please get in touch directly as we can assist you to find a suitable support. |
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Schools can initiate their own applications and as long as you are registered on Global Gateway and at ISA Foundation level, we can help you to get a cluster together and find support for your application.
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| When you start to think about your objectives and future
collaboration, you can start to draft a Partnership
Agreement, useful for everyone to refer to. Then it's time to
plan an initial teacher visit. If you need help with
funding, first look at the Funding section, but feel free to email us for
further support.
- mutual objectives – it is
important to identify long and short term objectives for staff
development and pupil involvement.
- curriculum subjects – take
time to match classes together. Age is not necessarily the
most important factor: look at what they are studying, language
skills and ICT.
- communication skills – be
realistic and think what will be the most effective way to engage
pupils from both schools. Technology is a useful tool, but
traditional letters and pictures can be sent to a partner school
too. (Always photocopy or photograph what you send, so you have
evidence of international activities for funding and for the
ISA.)
- language needs – your partner
school may have children anxious to improve their English, or you
may have children learning the native language of your partner
school. Perhaps you need to pair a Year 6 class learning a language
with a Year 3 class that would like to read simple descriptions of
the land and people of the country.
Oxfam has free, downloadable publication called Building
Successful School Partnerships with a section, What does 'equal
partnership' actually mean?
More>>> |
"Among the English-speaking countries
the UK had felt quite distant to me because Japan has a closer
relationship with the US. But I changed my view completely thanks
to our exchange activities with the Chopwell Primary
School."
Amaji
Elementary School, Japan
All you need to plan and run international links in your
school!