The first main objective of the project was to raise the quality of the institution’s work in order to approach the European institutions’ standards and the second to develop international cooperations with other schools of a similar profile. We intended to achieve this leading objective through implementing a more efficient „management of students during the classes” (more efficient motivation of students in their studies, recognising the oncoming conflicts between students’ and preventing or solving them, appropriate identification of the students’ needs and adjusting the school’s requirements to the students’ current capabilities. The objective was also realised through modifying and rationalising the teaching process in which the stress was put on improving the students’ key competences. The „strengthening” of the students was also achieved via „strengthening” of the Staff especially through improving soft skills of teachers and counsellers (mainly linguistic, ICT, multicultural, coping with stress, preventing a burn-out syndrome).
Zespół Szkół Ogólnokształcących Nr 9 (Secondary School Institution no 9) in Gdańsk is a hospital school providing education for children and teenagers suffering from various mental disorders. The currently dramatic situation of the Polish Children’s Psychiatry has inevitably increased school’s responsibilities making the institution’s working conditions exceptionally difficult. The school’s educational and didactic mission to the students patients has been expanded to a therapeutical role, as well. This shift demands the teachers not only to train professionally in their hard skills, which they continually do, but also to improve their soft skills. The implementation of the project was aimed to assist the institution in supporting the staff who persevere to realize the school’s newly acquired role effectively. The project “Soft Skills for Versatile Educators” has been a direct response to the school’s current needs: increasing the quality of the institution’s work and expanding the European dimension of the institution via developing soft skills of the teachers both in professional and private spheres.