The Summerhill PIP - ‘Partner In Poland’ – 2 year project is designed to bring new ideas into our school, to re-energise our staff and to develop everyone’s cultural awareness. We are a small, one-form entry community primary school in the suburbs of Liverpool with a large staff due to high numbers of children with complex special needs. A significant proportion of our staff have never worked in another school and some have never been abroad. This project, which will link us with a Polish school near Warsaw, will widen everyone’s horizons and open everyone’s eyes to new ideas and possibilities. The combination of a recent successful Ofsted Inspection (which celebrated many of our successes in raising achievement) and the introduction of the New National Curriculum has given us the impetus to look beyond the known and trusted and to seek new ways to build on our successes and to modernize and internationalise our curriculum. Through the PIP Project we aim to fulfil many of the aspirations on our School Development Plan. Specifically, through the project we want to: develop our community links; introduce new and innovative teaching methods; develop pupils as independent learners; promote staff well-being; develop capacity for modern foreign language teaching and learning; and finally to develop ICT capability. Twelve staff - teachers, support staff, and school leaders -will be directly involved in two visits to our partner school, but more staff will be involved in the preparatory activities, and all members of staff and children will benefit from the impact of the project and be involved in the reciprocal visits which our partner school is planning in a mirrored application. The PIP Project will begin by developing links with the Polish school through E-Twinning. Staff and pupils will begin to get to know each other and project leaders will together plan the mobilities via the internet, ensuring that both partners understand each other’s aims and contribute to each other’s success. There will be two types of activities in the mobility part of the project: teaching assignments and staff training. All participants will be involved in both types of activity. For teaching assignments, we will take innovative teaching practices, ideas and resources over to Poland and share these with staff and pupils there. Staff training will involve staff at every level job shadowing or observing their counterparts in selected activities and best practice situations. On returning to England staff will contribute to the PIP digitally produced Journey wall and share their experiences in whole school assemblies and staff meetings. New learning will be highlighted and integrated into daily practice. Senior leaders will share their experiences more widely with other schools in the Maghull and District Community of Schools Partnership (MADCOS), encouraging others to engage in European activities. We envisage that the project will immediately bring innumerable benefits both to staff and to the school as a whole. These will include enhanced knowledge and understanding of another European culture, language and educational system; knowledge of and ability to use new and innovative teaching methods and management approaches; and a highly motivated, more skilled, confident and reflective workforce. The PIP project will result in the school in the long-term being able to boast a modernized and internationalized curriculum and workforce as well as a community with a robust understanding of cultural and linguistic diversity. The project will contribute substantially to the school’s aim to raise the achievement of pupils so that all achieve their full potential.