Description of the Project

​

​Friends across the water will be an innovative project that gives children and understanding and voice concerning a major issue affecting Europe in our time: the migrant crisis. History may see this event as a turning point for Europe and it is vital that children are aware of the issues and the possible impacts and have an opportunity to share their own concerns and feelings regarding a crisis in Europe. The objectives of the project will be all about the children, their learning and strengthening the profile of teaching profession. We aim to give children a voice with issues that concern them and Europe as a whole as is advocate in the UNESCO bill of children rights, to explore the issue of migration and link this with UN sustainable goals and particularly the role and the use of water, to develop values in each country and explore what are shared values for children, to help prepare schools and countries to deal with the reality of migration.

​

• To give children a voice with issues that concern them and Europe as a whole as is advocated in the UNESCO bill of children's rights.

• To explore the issue of migration and link this with UN sustainable goals and particularly the role and use of water.

• To develop  values in each country and explore what are the shared values for children.

• To help prepare schools and countries to deal with the reality of today, that is migration.

• To improve the teaching and learning of schools and develop aspects such as meta-cognition, feedback and research and the pedagogy associated with these.

• To strengthen the profile of the teaching profession by exchanging, sharing and developing good practice.

• To support teachers skills in dealing with an increasingly diverse community of pupils.

• To support staff in developing leadership skills to deal with changes at local, national and European level.

• To raise awareness about the impact of humans on their own environment.

• Target groups:

• Pupils across a range of educational settings aged 10-17 .

• Staff from both primary and secondary levels.

• Wider communities: parents, residents.

• Wider educational communities:  teachers form other schools.

• Politicians, local authorities.

• Increasing the students' awareness in the range of environmental and current affairs connected with sustainability and human welfare;

• Developing teachers and students competencies in learning strategies, languages, ICT, philosophy, ethics;

• Developing innovative methods and strategies;

• Developing, enhancing and strengthening new  individualised methods and skills in delivering feedback to improve and maximise learning and achievements (John Hattie's research);

• Developing shared European values;

• Understanding  and development of own country identities and values;

• Rationale:

• Pressing issue at European level;

• UN sustainable goals

• UN rights of the child

• Develop children's understanding of multicultural and democracy

• Assimilation of multicultural understanding of the ethical issues facing the world today

• Changing demographic geography in Europe

• Voice of the child  at local, national and European level

• Key documents used to inform our choice:

  • Erasmus + plus priorities to respond to crisis in Europe

  • New European mobilities

  • European Education and training agenda 2020

• Country specific:

• Each country has a differing perspective that will add to the project including sending and receiving migrant community.