Local4Global

This academy's subject specialism is humanities with global citizenship. The academy opened in 2007 and currently has class year groups from reception to Year 8. Each year the school will add a year group at the top end of the school eventually running to Year 13. Click on the link here [Word 26Kb] for more information about St. Mary Magdalene's Global Citizenship Subject Specialism.

For the past two and half years SMMA have been working with the Humanities Education Centre to develop a theme based curriculum for Years 7 and 8 which focuses on global issues. In the past year this has developed into wider curriculum aspects, including some input into KS4.
The collaborative work that SMMA and HEC have undertaken to embed the global dimension across all subjects has involved the following process:

1) YEAR 1 Planning and development: Initial meetings with the Head of Humanities (secondary) to discuss the best approach to integrating the global dimension. The outcomes of these meetings were to support that all subjects for year 7 and 8 should reflect the Global Citizenship specialism of the school. This subject focus would also be supported by the schools many international links and focused off timetable days.

2) Meetings with the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) of the school discuss the best way of integrating the global dimension: The outcome from these meetings was that the Primary schooll was to look at other schools in Islington using the Junior International Baccalaureate and the International Primary Curriculum. The decision was that the primary section would take on the Junior IB.

The approach chosen for the secondary section of the school was to choose four themes based on the eight concepts of the Global Dimension set out in the 2005 DfES/DfiD publication Developing a Global Dimension in the School Curriculum, (these key concepts are: Interdependence, Sustainable Development, Global Citizenship, Values and Perceptions, Social Justice, Conflict Resolution, Human Rights and Diversity). The four cross curricula themes chosen are: DIVERSITY. CONFLICT RESOLUTION, GLOBALISATION & INTERDEPENDENCE, and SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT.
Click here to read the proposal set out by the SLT >> [Word 14Kb]

3) Proposal to work around these four areas shared with teachers for Year 7 and 8 (Spring 2008). Follow up action was for staff to begin planning how to focus work in their subject areas around theses themes. This began with a curriculum audit in order to identify the places in which the global dimension was already been cover in exists schemes of work.

4) Supported staff meeting (May 2008)
HEC staff led the staff planning meeting at which planning for the four themes was developed. The outcome from this meeting and the pre and post planning work carried out by teachers was the creation of four curriculum units for years 7 and 8 that would be taught during academic year 08/09. Click here to see the Topic Planning>> [Word 32Kb]

5) YEAR 2: Implementation: September 2008
Delivery of planned global curriculum begins for years 7 and 8. Staff review and reflect on outcomes and pupils engagement with the global focus across all subject areas. The delivery is mainly through planned schemes of work for each curriculum areas which focus on a global theme. The curriculum units are planned half term slots, so, for example in the September half term each curriculum areas scheme of work will have focus on Diversity.

6) January 2009
Meeting between HEC staff and Head of Humanities to monitor progress and plan the carrying out of an audit of pupils' attitudes towards and knowledge about global issues using the RISC How Do We know it's Working Toolkit. Actions from this are to track 30 students from Year 7 and 30 Students from Year 8 in order to examine the effect of the global themed curriculum on developing students' levels of awareness. The evidence from these audits will then feed into future planning of the curriculum units.

7) May 2009
Meeting with School to discuss how to extend GD to GGCES years. As a result, the school decides to extend GD curriculum in to GCSE year (9 and 10). The school aims to use Global Dimension Website to locate suitable resources.

8) June 2009
HEC maps content of GCSE syllabi to 8 GC concepts. School reviews HEC mapping and agrees to continue with GD into GCSEs. Teaching of GC for year 9 to begin in Sept 2009. School to arrange resources staff planning meeting in preparation for Sept 2009 – when teaching will begin in year 9.

9) Nov 2009
Maintaining regular email and telephone contact with the school to monitor progress. School has staff meeting to reflect on teaching GD so far for Year 9 Staff collaborate on suggesting ways to develop teaching across diff subjects.

Staff were positive about the meeting and the GD focus in Year 9. Proposed link work on PE to Unit of Conflict resolution.

10) Dec 2009
Meeting with the school to discuss progress and next steps.Links made between unit on identity and work being carried our with international link partners the school work with. Evaluation time scale established.

School are keen to ensure the GD links are made relevant. School has requested support on social enterprise projects.

School would like staff to evaluate their experience of working with the GD curriculum.