Watch how eTwinning can support your international journey

Erasmus+ offers schools funding for life-changing international activities. €36 million is proposed for UK schools in 2019, up from €30 million in 2018. 

Through the funding:

• pupils can take part in international exchanges and study experiences to develop new skills, raise their aspirations and gain vital international experience
  
  
• staff can teach, train or job shadow abroad - to develop their professional practice, build relationships with international peers and gain fresh ideas
  
  
• schools can collaborate with international partners - to drive innovation, share best practice, and offer new opportunities to young people.

As part of the Erasmus+ programme, eTwinning plays an important part in giving schools access to this funding for life-changing international activities.

eTwinning is a free and secured online community, with over 600,000 schools and colleges from over 40 countries taking part. Through the eTwinning website, you can find partner schools abroad for Erasmus+ projects. The website also allows you to save and share your Erasmus+ project work for free! 

There are two key application deadlines: 

• Staff teaching / training / job shadowing abroad application deadline - 5 February 2019 at 11AM UK time.
• School partnerships and pupil exchanges application deadline - 21 March 2019 at 11AM UK time.

We advise you to get started as soon as possible! You can find out more, ask for support and search for a school partner here.

Watch these short films to see how UK schools from all education sectors have supported their Erasmus+ project through eTwinning.

Independent Thinking associate Lisa Ashes is part of a group of passionate educators who have just gotten back from their latest pedagogic trip to Nepal. Here, the Manglish author (Teacher in the Cupboard is out soon) tells us why she’s proud to be a part of Reach Out 2 Schools’ mission...

“At the end of the day, the most overwhelming key to a child's success is the positive involvement of parents.” - Jane D. Hull

The Open Doors programme is a cultural change we affected here at The Kindergarten Starters, with an aim to embrace the wider community and allow learning to flow in and out of our classrooms.

HUE's colourful cameras are instantly recognisable to any teacher who has come across them in the media, online, at an exhibition or - as is often the case - in the staff room via a colleague recommendation. Whether it's the striking shape, distinctive colours or the talk of how they are transforming lessons, these devices certainly demand your attention!

Next month, education worldwide will turn its eyes onto the Middle East. The free-to-attend Global Educational Supplies and Solutions (GESS) 2018 is set to take place at Dubai World Trade Centre from 27th February - 1st March, and will feature high-calibre speakers, collaborative sessions, and a wealth of exciting resources. What’s more, the organisers have also arranged for a special series of Innovate My School Speed Networking sessions, wherein delegates will meet a handpicked selection of international edu-innovators.

In conjunction with Lamar University, we present the ITEGS Report (International Test of Early Grade Skills). With a sample size over 290,000, it's the largest study of foundational reading and numeracy skills in the 5-9 age bracket across multiple countries. ITEGS offers a unique comparative snapshot across countries (and states/regions) during the very critical foundational skill acquisition period. It helps identify educational jurisdictions that are having greatest success with their students.

This article will look at my transition from UK Secondary SLT to becoming an international school educator. Having spent over 10 years working in UK education, with a wide experience-base of whole school, pastoral and SLT responsibilities in different school contexts, as well as two concurrent school governor roles, the following outline pattern may paint a familiar picture to many other senior educators out there:

Heading up a team of 20 people you’ve never met before and leading them into a world that you barely understand can teach you a lot about leadership. As we arrived in Kathmandu, ready to continue the training of teachers in Nepal, only a handful of our self-funded volunteers had any experience of teaching. Nobody knew who I was or why I was qualified to be running the show. The volunteers ranged from 17-year-old sixth formers to 60+ year old librarians. We also had well-established teachers, and one headteacher who I had viewed as a heroine and force of nature for quite some time. This was going to be a challenge.

My eyes were streaming as I walked through the streets of Kathmandu. Not because I was crying, but because it was so dusty! The lack of roads and volume of vehicles whip up air that is painful to breathe. Small children with no observable adult supervision are everywhere. I know children are small but this is a different kind of small. We’ve all done the child protection training that asks us to watch out for “failure to thrive”. It’s far more difficult to spot when the children are all in the same boat. They tug at you as you walk past. “Give money. Please. So hungry”. They cry at you in broken but well-rehearsed English that will rip your heart right out of your chest.

Have you ever wondered how your pupils would benefit from participating in an international exchange programme? How do you think your classroom would respond if you were to provide them with a more global approach to education? It is our most sincere pleasure and delight to invite hardworking teachers and school leaders to join us on our team’s next trip to China - with expenses paid - to experience the benefits of global education firsthand!