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School European Professional Development
Start date: Oct 1, 2016, End date: Sep 30, 2018 PROJECT  FINISHED 

St Andrew's is a single form entry, smaller than average church primary school in a suburb of Warrington, which has strong ties to its community. The proportion of pupils disadvantaged and, therefore eligible for pupil premium is above average. A large proportion of our children enter school displaying skills that are well below the national average which results in a low starting point. Recently, there has been a dramatic change to the staff and staffing structure at the school. Many experienced staff left the school and were replaced by teachers at the beginning of their career.In a drive by our Leadership team to increase standards and improve outcomes for all, there is a commitment to seek new and innovative approaches to teaching and learning. Through the innovative and creative teaching practices of our European counterparts, we aim to implement shared experiences that will result in our children understanding that they are part of an international learning community. The project's objectives are to:1. Gain knowledge of successful leadership models. 2. Develop staff confidence to gain innovative and creative approaches. 3. Improving standards. The newly formed leadership team have highlighted the need for all staff to become immersed in the creative and innovative teaching approaches that the international training courses provide. It is our intention to continue our teachers professional development in order to improve teaching and learning across the school. With this in mind, we aim to send four members of our Leadership Team to Sweden and Finland to look more closely at the successes of each individual country's education system. It is our aim that ten of our staff will take part in mobilities linked to creativity and innovation. The expected impact of the mobilities will be a staff that are more confident in their own abilities, have raised self esteem and increased enthusiasm for delivering innovative and creative lessons that address the needs of our children and the school. Furthermore, the children will benefit from an increased knowledge of European countries and how they compare and contrast to their own country. As a result of improved self confidence our staff will use the pedagogical methodologies, gained during their training, to inform planning and deliver lessons that inspire and motivate the children. This will happen across the curriculum. In order to maximise the training undertaken, staff will disseminate their learning to other members of staff during staff meetings and Inset training days. Through these mobilities we will create strong partnerships with teachers and schools, which the staff encounter abroad. Partnerships will be further developed upon our return by creating curriculum links that will raise the children's awareness of our European counterparts. It is hoped that our experiences will provide us with opportunities to apply for and be successful in obtaining the International Schools Award. Our Senior Leadership team, upon their return, will discuss their findings and look at ways in which these can work towards achieving the priorities of our school development plan. Actions will be created and shared with staff on how we can move our school forward. The impact of the training will be monitored to ensure that the full potential of the training opportunities are not overlooked. Our Head Teacher is involved with clusters of Head Teachers and schools, of similar characteristics, that meet on a regular basis to discuss successes and improvements that can be made to teaching and learning within our schools. It is hoped that by sharing what we have learned we can benefit the other schools in our clusters, creating impact beyond our own school. The longer term benefits of this project are envisaged to be an upward trajectory of the standards achieved by the children from their entry point into school. Through an exciting and inspiring curriculum we would hope to increase demand for places at our school, making it the school of choice in our area.

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