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New Dimensions, Open Borders
New Dimensions, Open Borders
Start date: Jul 1, 2014,
End date: Jun 30, 2016
PROJECT
FINISHED
Highters Heath Community School serves a diverse and changing community. Over the last few years the ethnic mix of the area has altered considerably from a mainly white indigenous population to a community of many ethnic origins. The impact of this change has been huge in this community. In recent local elections the community has recorded the highest percentage of votes for right wing candidates than in any other ward in the city. The socio economic background places our families in the highest multiple deprivation groups in the city.
The school tackles the factors of high unemployment, low aspirations and lack of community cohesion in many ways. One of the main strategies used is restorative justice as a means of increasing a sense of community and responsibility within our pupils. We are constantly seeking and finding ways to improve our practice in this area, and indeed have many links with schools both in our immediate area and beyond. The idea of working with another school in the international arena, whose ethos and belief in community cohesion is similar to ours is extremely attractive.
The main objectives for this project are:
- Developing the European dimension within the teaching and learning in our setting.
- Improve the quality of education through sharing of experiences.
- Develop new strategies and tools using Information Technology and Communication
- Encourage a climate of respect and conflict resolution, applying emotional intelligence through restorative practices.
There will be a total of sixteen staff involved in the mobility. Their job specifications vary. There are a number of teachers and teaching assistants who will be observing and shadowing colleagues in the receiving school. The head of our pastoral team, together with our senior learning mentor will be a part of this project. These are key people as it is their responsibility to instill and maintain the sense of responsibility, tolerance and community within our school. There will be a member of the school senior leadership team to ensure the smooth running of the project, and to ensure the longer term sustainability of the link.
Our project aims to build a shared learning. The job shadowing activities are aimed at developing the pedagogical skills of teachers and their expertise in research methodologies. We can all learn from each other , share experiences and exchange views and ideas . Before mobility we will prepare various consultation activities with our Spanish counterparts , including their culture , language, customs and educational system. During mobility we will participate in different activities, workshops and seminars during the days of the visits. We will need to make two visits to the school. The first, early in the project to make the initial contact and another in the second year in order to make the exchange of experiences and learning , implement the necessary improvements and internalize the methodology , teaching and learning strategies, and strengthening the links between the schools.
As a result of this project, the staff involved will be subject to new and different ideas to support the needs of the pupils in our school. They will disseminate these ideas to their colleagues, ensuring that all staff have exposure to them and will demonstrate the strategies through informal observation and team teaching. There will be a wider aspect to our curriculum, based on the international dimension, which will ensure that our pupils are constantly working with this in mind, therefore embedding the wider community idea in their lives. There will be a sustained link between the two schools, with regular communication between pupils using email, skype video conferencing and any other new technologies available. Longer term, our pupils will will become more aware and tolerant of the wider community and cultures. Their aspirations for travel and work will be raised, and as a result, the current climate of worklessness and low income reduced.