LITERACY AT THE CHILDREN’S HEARTS Erasmus Project

Project Title

LITERACY AT THE CHILDREN’S HEARTS

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 : Strategic Partnerships for Schools Only

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2017

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Key Competences (incl. mathematics and literacy) – basic skills

Project Summary

The schools in this project were drawn to each other as they each had identified similar needs and goals around the theme of Literacy. Each of the schools are primary schools with similar profiles. Among the student population each has migrant children, refugees, children not speaking the mother tongue, children with special needs and children with learning difficulties. Each school had, through self evaluations, recognised that standards of literacy were of a concern, with several children not performing at a satisfactory level and so the schools had set out to tackle this issue and seek to improve the learning outcomes of all its students. A TCA Contact Seminar in November 2016 brought together the partners from Ireland (Portlaoise & Macroom), Iceland (Kópavogur) and Malta (Marsa) who immediately began planning a project that would meet the common goals they shared. The partner from Slovenia (Maribor), from its cooperation with the Portlaoise partner on a job shadowing activity in 2015, also joined the project. The partners devised a project in which new and innovative approaches to the teaching and learning of literacy would be developed in each school through the sharing of the good practice in this area. The aim of the project is to increase the knowledge, skills and competences of the teachers in the teaching of literacy skills. This would give them the confidence and competence to introduce new and innovative methodologies in their own schools. Each school already has a different approach to teaching literacy and by the 5 partners sharing each other’s methodologies, it will allow each other’s methodologies to be acquired and introduced into the 5 partners schools. This, then, will impact on the students who will be exposed to new methods of learning and whose standards of literacy would improve. Schools will become more inclusive and all children, no matter what their background or circumstances are, will have equal access to educational outcomes. On moving to secondary school it is hoped that these students will remain in the education system and early school-leaving will be prevented. In the longer term these students, due to satisfactory educational outcomes, will be able to join the workforce as disadvantage and exclusion will have been tackled.
In order to achieve the project’s objectives each partner will provide a short term training activity for the other partners. Each partner will send 3 teachers (4 in the case of the coordinating school) to each of the 5 training activities. At these the participants will learn about the host partner’s strategy in literacy. They will have the opportunity to observe the methodology in action in the classroom and also be able to work alongside the class teacher to gain experience in delivering it. There will also be an opportunity to visit local education centres and libraries in order to learn how they assist the schools in the teaching of literacy skills. On returning home the participants will introduce the new strategies into their own schools. To do this they will follow the methodology used in carrying out the project which is that of collaboration through peer mentoring, peer tutoring and team teaching. The impact of this is that teachers will feel empowered and, with increased job satisfaction and motivation, will embrace the new strategies. It will also impact on school policy as the new strategies acquired will feed into the schools’ development plans in the area of literacy and will address the needs each partner school has identified.
3 transnational meetings will also be held, the purpose of which is to plan the project activities in detail as well as to monitor and evaluate the success of the project as it progresses throughout its two year timeframe. Two project coordinators from each school have been identified and they will attend these transnational meetings so as to lead and drive the project. Dissemination plans and sustainability as well as keeping oversight of the budget will also be on the agenda of these meetings. Common activities for the students to undertake which will allow them to put their newfound literacy skills into practice will also be agreed. The sharing of these activities, along with all the project activities, will take place on the eTwinning project that will run in conjunction with this project.
At the end of the two years, each school will have teachers who have been upskilled and who have increased competency in literacy teaching and learning, a workable literacy policy in place and students who will have their own standards in literacy improved.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 103400 Eur

Project Coordinator

Holy Family Senior School & Country: IE

Project Partners

• Osnovna sola borcev za severno mejo
• Theresa Nuzzo School
• Saint Colmans BNS
• Salaskóli