Happy ICT – Happy Wellbeing Erasmus Project

Project Title

Happy ICT – Happy Wellbeing

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 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Health and wellbeing; ICT – new technologies – digital competences; New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses

Project Summary

Our project ‘Happy ICT – Happy Wellbeing’ will focus on three areas that are very important to our pupils’ future lives:

1) The project will help pupils to develop new ICT skills such as coding, robotics programming and use of Google Classroom;
2) Pupils will be equipped with knowledge to make them more aware of negative online issues and will be provided with effective strategies to remove and deal with cyber risks;
3) Pupils will be provided with a variety of wellbeing and mindfulness strategies to allow them to reduce stress, anxiety and anger and to achieve positive mental health.

All schools are concerned that as their pupils get older they will be faced with more complex online dangers. We want to provide our pupils with a clear understanding of the future dangers they may face. We want to equip them with essential strategies for coping with and minimising opportunities for harm when faced with these risks.

Many of our pupils are currently experiencing difficulties with self identity, self worth, social relationships, stress and negative mental health. Many of our pupils find it difficult to understand and control their own emotions, self soothe when faced with stressful situations, persevere with challenging work or social scenarios and form close and trusting relationships . We want to use this project to share good practice in strategies we can use to help our pupils build their emotional literacy, communication skills and limit future stress and anxiety.

Most of our pupils come from families that are economically disadvantaged. We want to improve our pupils’ future employability by teaching them new skills in important areas of ICT. For example, the project will focus on introducing or further developing ICT coding skills in all schools. In this way pupils will be provided with the opportunity to become the ICT programmers of the future.

The project will have a direct impact on the futures of at least 800 pupils fully involved in activities in the six schools. In addition, important information will be disseminated to other classes and to other local schools, ensuring that thousands more pupils will be equipped with essential support. Approximately 40 teachers will be fully involved in new teaching experiences, but project results will be fully shared with hundreds of other teachers in local schools. We want to provide staff in all schools with opportunities to observe and become involved in varied learning strategies that can be effectively adopted in their schools.

The main objectives of our project are to increase:
– pupils’ ability to deal with negative online issues;
– parents’/carers’ ability to ensure online safety of their children;
– teachers’ ability to provide support and guidance to pupils experiencing online issues;
– pupils’ wellbeing, emotional literacy and social skills;
– teachers’ knowledge of pupil wellbeing strategies;
– the focus on specific UNICEF Rights of the Child articles in all schools;
– pupils’ ICT skills and digital competences;
– pupils’ understanding of diversity and other cultures;
– pupils’ appreciation of Islam;
– teachers’ ability to teach new ICT activities.

The main concrete results of the project are:
– Formal training for participants from each school on how to use consistent online collaborative platforms (i.e Google Classroom)
– Formal training for participants regarding the various online issues that schools need to be aware of;
– Guidance provided for pupils and parents/ carers to deal with online issues;
– Creation of resources, including a website section explaining the various online issues that children can be exposed to and guidance as to how to combat such issues;
– Formal training for participants from each school regarding Growth Mindset ideology;
– Formal training for participants from each school regarding the UNICEF Rights of the Child programme;
– Guidance provided for pupils and parents/carers about various wellbeing strategies, including mindfulness techniques;
– Creation of resources, including a website section providing information about various pupil wellbeing strategies, including mindfulness techniques;
– Sharing good practice amongst schools in pupil wellbeing to enable each school to introduce at least two new wellbeing strategies;
– Sharing good practice amongst schools in ICT to enable each school to introduce at least two new ICT curriculum focuses;
Involve the pupils in each school in collaborative ICT projects.

The new knowledge and understanding of effective ICT activities, online safety measures and various pupil wellbeing strategies will continue to be used by all schools for many years after the project ends. Each school will trial and adopt chosen activities that will become important future features of their whole school curriculums. Thus, the sharing of good practice will have a long term impact on school improvement and will continue to be shared with future cohorts of students.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 124820 Eur

Project Coordinator

Bigyn Primary School & Country: UK

Project Partners

• Istituto Comprensivo San Salvo 2
• Escola Básica e Secundária da Calheta
• Gaelscoil na Lochanna
• St Mary’s Catholic Primary School, Llanelli
• Evrenseki Ahmet Koseoglu Ilkokulu