International links through the Kwathu Project –

International links through the Kwathu Project – Norfolk Schools
The word Kwathuis Chichewa for home.The project is creating a wide variety of resources to describe the sights, sounds and issues of everyday life through the eyes and ears of children of both UK and Malawi cultures.Recommended resource: Check out our fantastic new book for international schools, International Mindedness: a whole-school development programme (published 2009) The Kwathu Project has had a profound impact on the lives of hundreds of teachers and thousands of students. The schools involved in the project have a fundamental belief that our teachers and students must develop a more sophisticated understanding of the wider world.The most effective way to do this is by enabling both teachers and students in both countries to communicate directly with each other about real issues and consequently breakdown their stereotypical views of life in other cultures. The project has achieved the following: Fortnightly email communication with everyone involved in the project for the last four years The first ever visit of Malawian teachers as part of a British Council Global Partnership project The training of the 40 ICT teachers from 30 schools in Malawi.Ten of which are now being used as ICT teacher trainers using a course created by Alex Savage.Two of the teachers are also assisting the Malawian Examination Board to devise the new ICT exam. Donated £2500 to the Malawian partner schools to buy teaching resources of their choice Created a link with two Norwich Rotary clubs leading to £10,000 donation to New Gift School to build two new classrooms Won the top prize of the Norfolk Environmental Award for our ‘exemplary activities raising awareness of environmental issues to students in the UK and Malawi' Linked the Malawian partner schools to the Wildlife and Environmental Society of Malawi (WESM).Using money raised by Notre Dame, the schools have set up projects to create a fish farm, and orange grove and improved sanitation Assisted the British Council in finding a further ten schools in England and Scotland to establish global partnerships with schools in Malawi Created an extensive digital library of stills and video of life in Norfolk and Malawi.This has been donated to the British Council in Malawi as the basis of a digital library to be accessed by people across Malawi Trained teachers in Norfolk and Malawi on how to take digital stills and video,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], then to create digital presentations and videos Curricular impact The project has benefited the curricula of the link schools in the following ways: Created extensive resources on the teaching of Macbeth and Julius Caesar to be used in Malawian schools. As a result the schools are teaching literature courses for the first time Enabled teachers to visit places and work with experts in their own countries as well as abroad such as the Forestry Institute of Malawi Enabled teachers in both countries to explore how to enhance the curriculum with global issues.These include: Citizenship: Studying rights and responsibilities by looking at photos of school life in another country ICT: Developing skills to effectively search the Internet by researching a Safari holiday in Malawi.Developing modelling and presentation skills by researching global water use Geography: Studying hydroelectric power production at Nkula. Studying the impact of deforestation in Malawi.Studying Wind Power at Ecotech in Norfolk.Comparing weather statistics between Malawi and Norfolk Economics: Using Malawi as a case study of a developing country in A level Economics Art: Creating masks using traditional Malawian masks as inspiration Whole school impact The partnership benefits teacher and students by enabling them to: increase student engagement with the curriculum promote and develop a wide range of learning styles enable students to explore a variety of global issues through the eyes of other children from different races and cultures give all students of both genders (especially those with Special Needs) greater access to the curriculum, specifically numeracy, literacy and ICT The partnership gives students real opportunities to explore and develop the following: spirituality and morality critical thinking,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], reflection and reasoning skills creative and communication skills collation, manipulation and presentation of ideas using ICT (when possible) team work and social skills literacy and numeracy investigation and evaluation skills The partnership continues to support each school’s individual development plan by: being a clear dynamic example of the school’s Mission Statement being put into practice promoting the school’s support and relationship with not only the local but international community to promote the importance and developing an understanding of Human Rights and Fair Trade enabling the new subject of Citizenship to be at the heart of the school’s curriculum and to be taught in all subjects enabling numeracy, literacy and ICT (when possible) to be taught throughout the curriculum to support the social,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], moral, spiritual and cultural development of every student to include all students whatever their age, gender or ability Wider impact Given several interviews on BBC Radio Norfolk and published articles in the Eastern Daily Press Enabled Alex Savage to give presentations at the following events: Eastern Regional Teachers Award Trust ceremony Celebrating Comenius conference at the British Council Norfolk LEA KS2 ICT Coordinators conference Norfolk GTP and SCITT training day Enabled Alex Savage to be invited onto the Editorial Board for the Global Gateway Website At the launch of the Global Gateway website at the Houses of Parliament, Charles Clarke mentioned the Kwathu Project as an example of exceptional practice. Kwathu Project 05 The project has the following aims for2005: To assist more schools to set up international links, not just with Malawi but Cambodia, Egypt and Australia To create a one day module for GTP trainee teachers on how to include global curriculum themes To create a CD rom of resources to be given to schools in Norfolk LEA To enable a Malawian Art teacher to be a resident artist for 3 weeks in three Norfolk schools To conduct an Action Research Project for the University of East Anglia on the motivational effects of providing a real audiences in other countries for students’ work
The exclusionThe head teacher wrote to the parents of R and F telling them that neither R nor F could come back to school, but that they would be given help in completing their course at home. He should, of course, have told the parents immediately, ideally by telephone followed by a letter, of their right to make representations to the governing body.

[link widoczny dla zalogowanych]

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