Local 4 Global

BECOMING A GLOBAL SCHOOL

Redlands Primary School is the heart of Reading, a prosperous town with a thriving university, adjacent to our school that welcomes students from all over the world. We also have a huge hospital in our catchment area which attracts medics from other parts of the world. We have approximately 240 pupils from 3 - 11. (One class per year) Our building is Victorian and has an extremely small outside play area. Some staff have been at the school for a good many years, so strong is their commitment to the school and the community. We have some new and younger staff who have been attracted by the schools reputation as a successful community school. Our Intake ranges in socio economic background and we have at present 26 different languages in the school. Two excellent part time teachers support the pupils in their early stages of acquiring English, but all staff are experienced and involved in this process.

We have an active and thriving PTA and governing body, who support and work well with both the school and the community.
We are very close to Reading School which takes very able boys from 11- 18. We have strong links with the school and the boys themselves provide after school, Latin, French and maths clubs for our pupils. Many of them also do community service in our school.
Our links with the university enable many students to train and Redlands and for Redlands to benefit from the expertise if the university eg poetry projects and working with pupils to paint murals.

I was careful to title this article" Becoming a global school" because we recognise that we are indeed on a journey with our children and our community which is challenging, enjoyable and fulfilling.
Long before we had even heard of the term "Global school", we had an ethos that strongly believed in respecting all our children for whoever they are and wherever they come from. And we have always believed that a valuing and welcoming of different cultures, languages and beliefs enriched not only the every day life of our children, but also their future lives. It has always been almost impossible for children to leave Redlands without a greater knowledge and understanding of the wider world. We've always welcomed parents into the life of school and learning, at parents mornings, reading mornings, social events and to enrich the curriculum with their own special experiences and knowledge. This parental partnership was probably the first firm step that was taken on our road to becoming a global school, and it was initiated and embedded into the ethos of the school a long while ago by some very special and committed people. Those of us who are here in Redlands today, bought in and subscribed to this and have built on that ethos in the subsequent years.

So having this well established ethos and parental partnership, it seemed both hugely relevant and an honour, when back in 2003, we were asked to join a group of schools under a government scheme to establish centres of excellence and expertise in global education.
It was at that point that we needed to seriously consider the purpose of becoming a global school and encouraging our children to become global citizens. Despite our commitment it did seem a daunting prospect. It was a new venture and with all the other pressures on us in education, we knew that if we took this on, it would need to be a commitment from all staff and that the work would not be easy.

We have chosen to describe the importance of becoming global citizens rather like the concentric circles or ripples in a pond.
First and foremost we would like our children to feel strong about themselves as individuals with their own opinions and thoughts, and to have confidence and self esteem. Then they all belong to a family group as the next circle of belonging and then they are part of Redlands school and learn to be responsible and reflective citizens of their school. We teach them that they are part of a local community with an important contribution to make.
The next ripple of the pond is that they are all currently citizens of the United Kingdom and so the children learn about society and the role they can play.
Finally the global dimension means that the children understand that people all over the world are to be respected and valued and that we can learn from each other and cooperate to make a fairer and safer world.
Issues such as fair Trade, human rights, equality, managing resources, sustainability and stereotypical thinking are all part of the learning about becoming a global citizen and we feel that a child is never too young to begin to think about these things in an appropriate way.
We are tremendously fortunate at Redlands to have a very rich diversity of families, so we have been able to build and develop the strong links that we already had. At every opportunity in the curriculum and school life we seek to value the knowledge, experiences and skills that all our members of the community have.
We do have focus days and events to raise the profile of aspects of global citizenship, but we are now very much at the stage of embedding all the issues in our curriculum and school life. All staff have a commitment and we actively identify links and opportunities. We are beginning to embed an explicit global dimension into all our teaching.

The involvement and support of RISC has been crucial to our journey. Staff have had targets in their Performance Management related to global teaching. Insets and training supported by RISC, increasingly either focus on a global dimension or it is underpinning what we are developing in school. RISC have helped us to set targets for our School Development Plan and have come into school to monitor progress towards these, to provide and suggest resources and to celebrate progress.

We are fortunate enough to have links with a school in Ghana which has presented real learning challenges for both staff and children. We can learn huge amounts from a school that in many ways is so different from ours but we have to work hard to find uniting features and ways of sharing friendship. We hadn't foreseen that embarking on the journey of becoming a Global school would enable us to link and learn from another school in the county of Berkshire. This friendship has been extremely profitable not only in fulfilling parts of the curriculum, but also in forging friendships between staff and pupils.

So now in Redlands we are in a strong place to be able to plan and move the learning on. Staff and children are able to recognise growth and development as in other subjects and the global dimension is firmly here.
And we are now at a point when we do feel that we can share our progress and developments with other committed educators
Like us at Redlands I'm sure you recognise that our world is changing fast. With technology developing so quickly, our world is becoming an increasingly smaller place. With easier travel and movement, people from different parts of the world are increasingly living side by side. None of us can ignore the fact that world is in a fragile state needing immediate attention and action.
It seems to me that our responsibility to prepare our children for the world they are to inherit is crucial. I am sure that you are reading this because you too believe in the importance.

So you are someway on the road and recognise that you are already creating citizens of tomorrow. You may feel that your school like Redlands has a commitment that comes from the top and that you are in a strong position to build on existing practice. However you may be feeling convinced and inspired but feeling that this is not at the moment a priority for your school. I feel that you can do a very important and worthwhile job as a class teacher and your enthusiasm and the children's can be catching!

In your PSHE teaching, your school ethos and in behaviour management I ‘m sure you are all endeavouring to give your children strength and belief in themselves as the first ripple.
Do you already draw on your families as much as you can? Many schools now benefit from families from other parts of the world, but you may feel that your school is not as rich in cultural diversity as Redlands. I think you can still draw on all families, where have they been on holiday, what are their skills, what are their occupations, what are their childhood experiences? See your parents and the local community as a resource that will widen the children's experiences.
Look to your teaching plans and see how you can meaningfully include a global dimension. Resources that can really help are obtainable from RISC which has everything from stories to teaching packs to artefacts. In fact if you are feeling even just a little inspired I can recommend that a visit to RISC will increase your motivation simply by seeing the quality and range of excellent resources. They have a loan service, can provide insets and training and some staff are here tonight and can help you.

Focus weeks while they shouldn't be bolt on stand alone events are ways of raising a profile and generating interest, I'm sure as teachers you will know how to build on these events and use them as starting points. You could start with a focus week on Africa. Music around the world, food, art, whatever is appropriate for your strengths and your pupils interests and curriculum.
At Redlands we use assembly to share and highlight aspects of our global learning. We often ask classes to share a short focus from their learning on a theme e.g. fair-trade, art, speaking and listening. Can you bring a global dimension into your assemblies?
And then of course you will have personal experiences that will enrich your pupils learning. Must teachers enjoy holidays and travel so capitalise on your time away and build what you learn and find out into curriculum. Of course you don't have to necessarily go somewhere exotic; any experience away from your normal environment can be of benefit.
We are fortunate in Redlands in having staff whom have travelled widely

I said at the beginning that we were careful to call this event "Becoming a Global school" as we are still somewhat reticent to hold ourselves up at experts. Becoming a global school is in our view a gradual organic process so you need not think I have to do this all tomorrow. However I do hope you will resolve to prepare your children as the global citizens of tomorrow.

There is some helpful guidance on the contributions and responsibilities in the DfES publication "Developing the global dimension in the school curriculum".
The Oxfam handbook is worthwhile obtaining. See Global Dimension.

Remember RISC - Reading International Solidarity Centre, their resources and expertise.
Remember us at Redlands.
Remember that you yourselves can be the inspiration and motivation that moves your children and your school forward on the road to becoming the global citizens of tomorrow.

Good Luck and enjoy your journey!

Headteacher, Redlands Primary School, Reading, January 2008

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