Our objectives for this project focused on increasing our awareness of mental health provision that can effectively support all students and staff to fulfil their potential. We were also keen to compare teaching and learning techniques for more-able pupils and ensure that as a school we teach our pupils about culture and ethos in a way that will prepare them for the diverse communities they will be part of in the future. By job shadowing in two countries, staff could compare and develop their understanding of Baltic and Scandinavian education systems.
At Sharples School, we have greatly benefited from our growing international scope thanks to our partnerships with a range of schools around the world. We applied for this project in order to enrich the teaching and learning offer at our school, and to provide staff with high quality professional development. Sweden has a renowned educational system we felt staff could learn a lot from to ensure that the education the school provides its students is as researched and groundbreaking as possible. We were also fortunate to send staff to Latvia, where a more skills and careers based approach to curriculum has been implemented in a revolutionary way. This has enriched our understanding of culture and ethos on a global scale which we are now able to confidently develop using our increased knowledge as a school. Mental health provision has been a focal point in our sharing of practice with our international partners. The Deputy Head at Sharples said ‘the unique activities seen in Sweden should be implemented in our school’.