Continuing a Culture of Learning Erasmus Project

Project Title

Continuing a Culture of Learning

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : School Exchange Partnerships

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2019

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Health and wellbeing; Quality Improvement Institutions and/or methods (incl. school development); Inclusion – equity

Project Summary

The Continuing the culture of learning project builds on and further develops a previous project (Culture of Learning) that has successfully developed greater social inclusion of pupils within schools involved. This project is designed to help teachers further develop a culture of learning to support pupils to achieve fully & prepared for work & life within a rapidly changing 21st century landscape. We will use 7 key areas to drive change that reflect ET 2020 PRIORITIES that young people will need a more skills based approach for successful living/employment. We will share our previous successes with more schools in particular the practices & methodologies developed between schools. Our project furthers the work on developing the OECD Nature of Learning document which uses RESEARCH to INSPIRE PRACTICE and as a catalyst to rethinking what is taught, how it is taught and how learning is assessed. It will underpin the more skills & competences based approach to education in 2019. We will create a learning culture in more schools based on these principles, using research methods/first hand observation to rethink how LEARNING is delivered for all learners with greater EQUITY.
Our project overall aims/objectives are to develop further a better understanding of how to develop a culture of learning in each school and community that promotes social inclusion for our pupils and their families/carers. We also aim to develop skills of all teachers involved in the project (directly & indirectly) to deliver a contextualised curriculum more sensitive to needs of pupils, reflective of the skills required for 21st century life and work, and responsive to the rapid changes in technology. This will strengthen the profile of teaching staff and give them the skills and competences to be ‘agents of change’ to react to future curriculum changes and developments in pedagogy.We have 6 main objectives we will develop and deliver:
1. To improve pupils wellbeing in schools in terms of engaging positively in all aspects of school life and improve their resilience
2. To increase the involvement of pupils in school decision making and strengthen pupil voice
3. To improve pupils confidence in skills development and transferring them to authentic and different learning situations
4. For staff to develop a culture of peer observation and support between teachers within and between schools
5. For school staff to have a toolkit of skills, professional practice and ideas to prepare them for developing changes in curricula in response to 21st century skills needs
6. To develop schools as Learning Organisations
We will hold 5 Learning, Teaching and Training (LTTs) events over the 2 years involving 75 teaching staff. They will jointly take part in the following LTTs:
-Peer Observation and Successful Futures Ideas to develop skills of useful lesson observations & feedback and observe more innovative lesson development using TOPIC based approach at KS2 & 3.
-Peer Observation and Innovative Methodologies – to observe the innovative use of ICT specifically robots.
-Peer observation in team learning and students’ participation – to observe the new Finnish curriculum in practice and use of student school board in action
-Peer Observations and Wellbeing and impact of participation in sport/physical activity on pupils engagement in school and grade achievement.
-Peer Observation and Successful Futures Ideas to develop skills of useful lesson observations & feedback and observe more innovative lesson development using TOPIC based approach at KS2 & 3. To share how we develop and strengthen ‘pupil voice’ within our schools.
Our LONG TERM impact on each school is anticipated to for each school to :
have a core of teaching staff who have participated directly or indirectly in project activities that will serve to embed the above overall aims and objectives of the project within the school culture and ethos.
develop all staff and engage them frequently in the important question of what teaching and therefore learning ‘is like’ to them? This question is the starting point to developing a SHARED understanding of the CULTURE of LEARNING in each school.
co-create a CoL that is more sensitive to the needs of the pupils/community served by each school.
develop in each school a shared ethos on how our pupils learn and support them better to acquire knowledge, skills and understanding required for 21st century life/work including Health & Wellbeing
Through this better understanding of the Culture of Learning we expect the long term impact on our pupils is for them to engage in their learning and to improve their health & wellbeing by providing support as and when needed rather than reach crisis point, when school based relationships break down. This supports the EU Youth Strategy that has Mental Health & Wellbeing high on its priorities specifically in schools.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 103162 Eur

Project Coordinator

St. Joseph’s Comprehensive School & Country: UK

Project Partners

• Aslandsskoli
• Lieksan Keskuskoulu
• IES Punta Candieira
• Greenway Primary School
• CPI de Atios