The key needs and goals we wanted to address in this project for St Vincent's clearly linked o our School Development Priorities 2018-2021 and are based on the following areas: • Development and provision of Outdoor Learning, use of outdoor spaces and Reading across the whole school, including EYFS, Forest School and curriculum areas such as Geography, Science, PE. • Project Based Learning (critical thinking & cross curricular learning with a driving question); • CPD opportunities for all staff. The overarching aim for implementing the project using the ERASMUS funding / grant was to enable St Vincent's Primary school to provide staff with opportunities for curriculum development, CPD competencies - to observe new teaching methods, develop skills and deepen subject knowledge with our European counterparts in order to strive for excellence in providing enrichment opportunities for our staff, pupils and community. It would provide increased contact with EU partners and increase our engagement with the European & International dimension of our school. The aim is to use the learning and course experiences to further develop creativity in teaching and learning; improve subject knowledge and understanding in identified areas for training and CPD purpose; further enhance the outdoor learning opportunities in the green space which we have available on our school site and to share our practice with local schools.
St Vincent's are a Catholic Voluntary Aided school for 320 pupils (mixed gender) from the age of 5-11. Pupils come from a wide range of socio-economic backgrounds. There are 22% of pupils in the school with special educational needs or disabilities. Our workforce is diverse in terms of age, gender and ethnicity. We applied for Erasmus+ KA101 funding because as professionals we are always looking for opportunities to improve our practice and inspire the learners, young and old, in our school community. There have been significant cuts to Education funding across the UK over the last 5-10 years. The demands on School Budgets have increased exponentially and the impact financially has meant there has been a disadvantage for staff positions and training opportunities. This Erasmus funded KA1 project offered all staff opportunities to participate in Continuing Professional Development (lifelong learning) - including NQTs, future Leaders, teachers, teaching assistants and office staff, as well as to observe excellence in other EU countries. We aimed to further develop skills and competencies in areas of development identified in our School Acton Plan as well as share good practice with colleagues. It allowed us to foster collaboration with EU partners and develop curiosity and dynamic experiences in attended courses that we could feedback and share with others whilst increasing awareness and support the role of developing and improving mental health strategies in our children, workforce and community.