This project has been established within the context of the twinning of Valencia and Glasgow. It is the result of careful negotiation and discussion by both schools as well as the International Office of both city council's.The pupil population of the schools involved in this partnership come from a socially disadvantaged or migration background. John Paul II school has been identified as a high tariff area of deprivation 202 pupils out of 241 are within SIMD bands 1 and 2 and therefore accounts for 84% of the school population. There are currently 351 students at Colegio Hernandez. 65 students are entitled to free school meals and 85% get free materials. The socio-economic level of the families is medium-low. Both Primaries in this partnership have identified the need to promote Equity for All within a European dimension. All pupils being able to work independently to access education in a positive environment, being able to work independently to improve their life skills and future employability within a local or European wide network. This strategy will attempt to address the key issues of Social inclusion and Social and educational value of European cultural heritage, its contribution to job creation, economic growth and social cohesion, through a more engaging and innovative approach. Both Primaries in this partnership have identified the need to promote Equity for All within a European dimension. Equity in education is the means to achieving equality. The partnership will allow pupils in both schools to discover part of a different European Cultural heritage in all its shapes as they both come from completely different backgrounds. We will also focus on the languages spoken by their communities because the opportunity to learn other languages is an essential condition for intercultural communication and acceptance of cultural differences. By working on this inclusive project, teachers in both schools will have the opportunity to develop their teaching skills and abilities. They will also benefit from working collegiately with international colleagues and share their ideas with them. 60 pupils will be given life changing opportunities to communicate with pupils from Valencia and Glasgow. Many of these children require additional support needs and come from socially disadvantaged backgrounds. The majority of these pupils are living within areas of extreme deprivation with regards to income, employment, health, education / skills, housing, geographic access and crime rankings. Pupils in both schools will be invited to join the activities planned over the two year partnership and will also be able to enjoy the sustainability of this project as it will be guaranteed by the implementation of projects like European Language Portfolio, new methodologies in acquisition of foreign languages, HWB in terms of outdoor learning, good example in STEMS and how to embed technology in to the curriculum. This project will culminate in a short exchange visit to each of the schools. Pupils will have formed a close relationship with pupils from another country and better understand the cultural differences within these communities. Their knowledge of each other’s language will greatly improve due to the use of digital resources for learning and teaching and the ELP. Teachers will be up skilled in their use of Spanish within the curriculum. With digital resources they will have used and prepared lessons that will be sustainable within the school curriculum. A programme of annual activities will be part of the each schools annual calendar and will become a focus for future school improvement planning. The learning and teaching will also become a focus for the transition from primary to secondary to encourage continuity and sustainability. Pupils within both schools will be speaking in each others language during this week. This will give them the opportunity to actually build upon their class work within their modern languages programme. Learning aspects from the various activities within the weeks programme will impact on furthering their language development. The children will also gain an insight into the cultural heritage within the local area of both Valencia and Glasgow. Within the educational context for pupils there will be array of different cultural and community perspectives. Language acquisition is achieved through practical immersion and enhanced interest in global issues as well as a broader general knowledge. There will be a personal focus on self development and awareness leading to enhanced self confidence and self esteem. Maturity and social poise fuelled by the necessity to confront challenges outside their comfort zone.
This project has been established within the context of the twinning of Valencia and Glasgow. The pupil population of the schools involved in this partnership come from a socially disadvantaged or migration background. John Paul II school has been identified as a high tariff area of deprivation 202 pupils out of 241 are within SIMD bands 1 and 2 and therefore accounts for 84% of the school population. There are currently 351 students at Colegio Hernandez. 65 students are entitled to free school meals and 85% get free materials. The socio-economic level of the families is medium-low. Almost 80 children across both schools were given life changing opportunities to immerse themselves in a different culture and communicate with their peers from differing countries. This is all the more worthwhile considering the serious obstacles and challenges that many of these children face; neuro-diverse conditions, complex learning needs, socially disadvantaged backgrounds, etc. Activities included the implementation of projects like European Language Portfolio, new methodologies in acquisition of foreign languages, HWB in terms of outdoor learning, STEMS projects and how to embed technology in to the daily curriculum. This project culminated in 2 short exchange visits over 2 years at each of the schools. (However, Colegio Hernandez were only able to visit Glasgow on one occasion due to the effects of COVID-19 on the project implementation). The children also gained an insight into the cultural heritage within the local area of both Valencia and Glasgow. Language acquisition was achieved through practical immersion and enhanced interest in global issues as well as a broader general knowledge. There was a sustained focus on self development and awareness which led to improvements in the self confidence and self esteem of the majority children. A programme of annual activities remain part of each schools annual calendar and will become a focus for future school improvement planning.