Photo: Hendri Lombard
With the ever changing nature of the world as we know it, socially, economically and environmentally, it’s vital that young citizens know their place in the world. Teaching them about global issues is imperative.
Our global education programme for schools, Connecting Classrooms, is specifically designed to help teachers do this.
We aim to give all young people the opportunity to succeed in a globalised society. Connecting Classrooms enables students and their teachers to:
- understand issues of worldwide importance
- gain a sense of social responsibility
- develop skills to succeed in the global economy.
Since we launched Connecting Classrooms in June 2012 we’ve supported more than 115 school links between the UK and Malawi, delivered courses and online training to 500 Malawian teachers, and developed the leadership skills of another 100 headteachers across the country.
How we're connecting classrooms
Classrooms are connected in a variety of ways, including partnerships, online collaborations, grants for teachers to visit their partner schools, professional development opportunities and the International School Award (ISA).
Partnerships
Is your school involved with a school overseas? If so, you could be eligible for funding from the Connecting Classrooms programme. Getting involved will help you develop your young people as global citizens and as a teacher, you will also benefit through sharing best practice with colleagues in other countries.
You can be part of this exciting initiative.
It’s free and simple to set up your first partnership, and we can help you incorporate global themes into your school’s curriculum and build lasting international relationships.
Grants are also available to help you set up visits with partner schools and to support projects.
If you’re interested or want to know more, visit the Schools Online website, or contact us.
Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
We also offer workshops and online courses to help you get the most out of school partnerships.
CPD online courses provide information on:
- international learning – getting started
- education for global citizenship
- inter-cultural and global awareness
- sustainable partnerships.
- information and communications technology for international collaboration
- English for international exchange.
You can also get involved with a face-to-face workshop, tailored specifically for Malawian teachers and focused on promoting global citizenship. The workshops are divided into two levels as Introductory and Intermediate and are designed to:
- enable you to share experiences and knowledge
- benefit you whether you have basic or extensive global citizenship and international experience
- renew enthusiasm
- generate new ideas you can implement at school
- encourage and equip you to strengthen the international nature of your school’s curriculum.
We also have another course designed to help school leaders make international education work in their schools. This is a modular programme of up to 20 modules that can be tailored to local need. If you would like to get involved, contact us.
International School Award
For the International School Award (ISA) we recognise schools that have shown a strong commitment to their partner schools or those which continue to enrich their students’ lives, inspiring interest in international cultures and global issues.
It’s free to apply and the two levels of accreditation (intermediate or full) are open to all schools.
Visit the ISA pages on the Schools Online website to learn more and find out how to get involved.