INTERNATIONAL LINKING


With Comenius Week 2011 in full swing, we continue our


focus on schools’ work under the project. Alison Thomas reports from Hove Park, which has made good use of the Comenius in-service training grants


a Comenius in-service training grant and his objective was to see how the administration of a Spanish school compared with his duties in an English 11 to 18 language college. He discussed key issues with relevant members of


I


staff, toured the premises taking pictures of the fabric and fittings, supported English lessons and interacted with staff, both professionally and socially. As a member of Hove Park’s governing body, he was also interested to find out about the equivalent organisation in the partner school. He explained: “There were some significant differences, including the way the budget was organised and a much slimmer school structure. That said, I was surprised to discover how much we had in common.” On his return, he disseminated his findings to


interested parties, including the governors, his colleagues in the finance and facilities team and their counterparts in local schools. He has also extolled the virtues of his trip to the school training officer in the hope that other non-teaching staff will follow his lead.


T IS not every day that a finance and facilities assistant gets the chance to undertake professional development in a foreign country. But that is what Kevin Major did when he left Hove Park School in East Sussex to spend a week in IES Alba Longa in Granada. He was on a job-shadowing visit funded by


Crossing Europe


Charmian Hartley, international director at the


school, said: “He is so enthusiastic, he wants to repeat the experience in another country. In the meantime, he has done everything he can to ensure that other people gain the benefit of the work that he did. That is very important.” Ms Hartley is the person responsible for the school’s


impressive international dimension, which has earned two British Council International School Awards (ISA) and an International School of the Year Award. In addition, she herself is an ambassador for both the ISA and Comenius, which is an EU-funded programme that is managed in the UK by the British Council.


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Fundraising for Schools is a monthly magazine, containing essential information on all the available sources of extra school funding from which YOUR school could benefi t.


A subscription to Fundraising for Schools will enable you to:


• Find out all the awards and grants that are available, and the criteria for application;


• Formulate the best fundraising strategies for your school;


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• Keep up-to-date with the latest fundraising stories; and • Increase the level of funding for your school.


Yet when she first took up her post in 2003, international links were few and far between. To get the ball rolling, she explored the British Council website, which prompted her to attend a Comenius contact seminar. This, in turn, generated her first Comenius school partnership, a bilateral project with a school in the Netherlands, which combined maths and art. As with all bilateral projects, it included foreign


language learning. By a stroke of good fortune, a Dutch native speaker was on hand to help. He was the first of six Comenius assistants who


have served the school. Each has made a unique contribution, from the Slovenian special needs specialist to the multilingual Italian with an interest in drama and geography to the Dutch pioneer himself, whose training as a history teacher enabled him to step in for a term when the history department lost a member of staff. Ms Hartley continued: “It’s a wonderful resource


and it costs the school nothing apart from a little of my time. As their mentor, I find them accommodation and see them every day for the first two weeks. After that we meet on a weekly basis but I’m always available.” When designing their timetable, she goes out of her


way to be flexible. “When I ask them to do something, I emphasise that if they don’t like it, I will change it. If they feel they are choosing what they want to do, that’s when you get the best out of them,” she explained. That is certainly true of the latest recruit, Betul Onal


from Turkey. Besides offering after-school classes in her native language and culture, she teaches in the food technology department, runs a Turkish cookery club, and supports drama and geography lessons. In addition, her fluency in German has benefited modern languages students of all ages. By coincidence, a Turkish school was involved in


Hove Park’s third and latest Comenius partnership, a multilateral project, which also included Slovenia, Lithuania, Poland, Austria, Sweden and Germany. LOOR (Living with Our and Others’ Religions –


Together in Diversity) brought together young people from widely differing religious backgrounds. The Turkish participants, for example, were universally Muslim, although not necessarily devout, while the vast majority of the Polish students practised Roman Catholicism and their Swedish counterparts tended to be fairly detached from faith in any form. The pupils of each school undertook research and conducted interviews to establish the nature and


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Running until Monday (May 9), Comenius Week is a chance for schools to raise the profile of their work and maybe do something a little different. At Hove Park, the Comenius Assistant will visit feeder primary schools to speak about her life and culture and teach some Turkish. In addition, she will give secondary pupils Turkish cookery lessons, both in-class and after school. The week will also be celebrated in the school canteen, where each day’s menu will include at least one dish from a different European country. For more information on Comenius Week, visit www.britishcouncil. org/comenius-week-2011


Learning together: Hove Park pupils with assistant head Simon Paul and teacher Tanya Gorton during a visit to Turkey for the LOOR project (main image); and work- ing on their LOOR presentation (above)


importance of religious belief, both locally and in their country at large. This was shared through a written report and a calendar of religious festivals, annotated with explanations of the symbolism and ceremonies. Their final assignment was to design a model of a


communal place of worship or reflection that could be used by everyone, including people with no religious beliefs. These representations, and the rationale behind them, were displayed at a public exhibition entitled the Village of Tolerance and Understanding. Assistant headteacher Simon Paul was fascinated to


see the different interpretations: “Some of the models were ornate works of art. In contrast, our students wanted to remove all obvious signs of traditional religious imagery. So they created a simple dome onto which you could project images, so that it changed character depending on the religion or the occasion,” he said. The Village of Tolerance and Understanding was the


climax of the final project meeting, one of four that took place over the course of the two years. In Austria and Slovenia, staff got together to strengthen relationships, discuss pedagogy and participate in the life of the host school. In Germany and Turkey, pupils came too. “They benefited from the experience in different


ways. Some of them grasped the full intellectual implications of the project, others lived its aims by making friends across borders and religious beliefs,” said Mr Paul. “Making presentations to the whole group and coping with the other challenges they encountered had a big impact on self-confidence. One of the boys had never been abroad before. He was very shy and over the course of that trip we saw him open up and flourish.” The project came to a close last July, but teachers


are still communicating with their partners and there are future projects in the pipeline. They have also adapted schemes of work to incorporate resources gathered during the project. In fact, religious education is no longer a discrete discipline but part of a broader study, which includes philosophy and ethics. In other words, the students’ research has helped to shape the curriculum. That is quite a legacy.


SecEd • Alison Thomas is a freelance education journalist.


Further information For details on Comenius, which is managed in the UK by the British Council, visit www.britishcouncil.org/ comenius, email comenius@britishcouncil.org, or telephone 0161 957 7755. For more on in-service training grants, see www.britishcouncil.org/comenius- in-service-training.htm and for eTwinning, visit www.britishcouncil.org/etwinning


SecEd • May 5 2011


awards and grants PRIMARY/SECONDARY Kelloggs Active Living Fund


The Kelloggs Active Living Fund will give small grants to projects and activities that directly lead to people taking part in sustained physical activity. The aim of the fund is to help remove the barriers which stop people being active.


Award criteria The Kelloggs Active Living Fund is keen to fund activities that enable adults and children to exercise together. The fund is open to applications from charities and other voluntary and community organisations. Schools can apply but the fund will only consider contributing towards extra-curricular activities that promote sustained physical activities.


Kelloggs will make a grant of up to £1,000, but will only fund activities or projects where the grant makes a signifi cant impact. For example, Kelloggs would consider a grant of £1,000 for a £2,000 project, but would not consider a grant of £1,000 for a £10,000 project.


Applications will be judged against two key criteria: Project type and benefi ciaries.


You are more likely to receive funding if your project meets the top priority in both criteria. These are, (a) innovative ways of getting non-active individuals active, and (b) family units, children and adults, undertaking physical activity together.


Three good examples of high priority applications are: n A project that establishes exercise classes where mums and kids exercise together.


n A walking project designed for adults and families.


n A project which enables adults and children to learn to swim together.


The Active Living Fund will not make a grant: n To individual athletes, sportsmen and women.


n For costs associated with salaries or posts.


n To profi t-making organisations. n Towards transport costs, as all projects should be accessible to ensure sustainability.


PRIMARY/SECONDARY The BBC Wildlife Fund


The BBC Wildlife Fund is a grant-giving charity set up in May 2007 to distribute money raised by donations to help support projects protecting the world’s endangered wildlife.


Award criteria The remit of the BBC Wildlife Fund is: n To support projects that are working to protect endangered wildlife and biodiversity – animals, plants and the wild places they need.


n To help protect and improve the natural habitats that wildlife and humans share.


Once the total amount raised from appeals in summer 2007 is known, the fund will work with a wide range of


wildlife charities to assess how and where the money can make the most difference.


The fund will welcome grant applications from groups working internationally and in the UK. However, it can not do so until the total amount raised during the Saving Planet Earth season is known.


BBC Wildlife fund Deadline


Likely to be sometime in December 2007


Amount of award As yet unknown


Contact details BBC Wildlife Fund PO Box 60905 London W12 7UU


web: www.bbc.co.uk/savingplanetearth/ aboutus/index.shtml


Fundraising for Schools September 2007 7


n To applications where the request does not directly support the activity being undertaken, for example the fund will consider a request for equipment, but not for maintenance on a building being used.


n To retrospective applications, where the activity has either taken place or has commenced at the time an application is considered by the Kelloggs panel.


Kelloggs Active Living Fund


Deadline Ongoing


Amount of award Up to £1,000


Contact details email: darren@communityfoundation.co.uk web: www.kelloggs.co.uk/company/ corporateresponsibility/activelivingfund


The Ford Britain Trust supports local projects based near its main manufacturing plants, Andrew M


The Ford Britain Trust was created by Trust Deed on 1 April 1975 for the advancement of education and other charitable purposes benefi cial to the community.


In making donations, the trustees pay particular attention to those organisations (including schools) that are located in and operating in areas where the Ford Motor Company Ltd has its present activities and a long standing association with local communities in the UK. Particular consideration is also given to organisations and projects that support the principles embodied in the company’s policies on diversity.


The trust makes donations to undertakings concerned with the advancement of education and other charitable purposes. Preference is given to registered charities (or similar) located and working in areas in close proximity to the company’s locations in the UK. These are Essex (East London), South Wales, Southampton, Daventry and Leamington Spa (although this latter plant is closing).


Special attention is given to projects concerned with education, environment, children, the disabled, youth activities, and projects that will provide clear benefi ts to local communities. Applications coming from, or relating to, projects based outside these geographical areas are generally not considered.


National charities are assisted rarely, and then only when the purpose of their application has specifi c benefi t to communities located in close proximity to Ford locations. An example of one support that could also be relevant to schools is contained in the sidebox.


Applications for sponsorship, individuals, research, overseas projects, travel, religious or political projects are not eligible.


Grants made by the trust are usually: n One-off donations for a specifi c capital project.


n Funding for part of a project, typically items of furniture and equipment.


Applications are rarely considered for:


n Core funding and / or salaries. n Revenue expenses. n Major building projects.


Grants usually range between £100 and £5,000. Applications for funding for new Ford vehicles are considered when two- thirds of the purchase price is available from other sources. Any subsequent grant is unlikely to exceed £2,000, but in the case of registered charities, it may also be possible to arrange a reduction from the recommended retail price. Grants are not available for the purchase of second-hand vehicles.


The trustees meet in June and November each year. Applications are considered in order of receipt and therefore it often takes several months, for an application to be processed. Although each application is considered carefully, the number of applications the trust receives far outstrip its resources and, because of this, the number of applicants that it is able to h limited. The decision of the trustees is


The following guidelines should be considered when making an appli to the trust:


n Applications should be by let is no application form) to th below, setting forth the pur project; whom it is intende and how; why the project and necessary (how were done before?); how it is the project will be carri it will start and fi nish; of the project; how mu raised so far towards


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Fundraising for Schools


December 2007 Issue 84 Your practical guide to raising money


On the agenda: Creating chances


arning about the arts is part of a good education. We want all children to e the chance to develop their creativity,’ said culture secretary James Purnell.


urse there is absolutely nothing l in this. It is well-known that and the arts are important for ping social skills, self-confi dence, y, empathy, imagination... and the d go on ad infi nitum.


ignifi cant is the huge cash Government has committed to cation (page 2). This funding local authorities to provide music tuition. It will also be


s brand new instruments, – a programme led by Youth ned to get primary-aged ing regularly.


he largest sum of money nt has put towards music atives. It is a positive ers are listening to t the arts are fi rmly at


ssue etition


s


g s


the top of the educational agenda, where they belong.


Carrying on with this theme, pages 4, 6 and 7 contain information on funding for arts education. On pages 10 and 11, Shari Baker looks at some ways schools can access quality provision from creative industries. She examines what support there is – in terms of both funding and training – to help schools increase creativity within their curriculum.


In keeping with this, Fundraising for Schools is offering readers the chance to win a Literacy Software pack, designed to develop creativity and encourage story- telling skills. Turn to page 3 for more details...


2


3 4 5


6-9


10-11 12-13


14-15 16


Also in this issue... In the latest instalment of his series on Gift Aid, Barry Gower takes a detailed look at how it can be gained successfully from charity auctions (pages 14-15). He fl ags up some of the pitfalls to be avoided and considers a few of the best items to put up for sale.


And finally... As the winter term gradually draws to a close, many schools will be holding Christmas fairs. If your school has a fundraising event planned, please write and tell us about it: amy.g@ markallengroup.com. Therewill b for the most inte id


All about Fundraising for Schools


Fundraising for Schools is a monthly (11 issues per year) newsletter which keeps the school fundraiser up-to-date with possible extra sources for funding. A subscription will save hours of research at the library and on the phone.


Subscription details: One year £49.50. Two years £89.00. Please complete and return the subscription form on page 16 or call freephone 0800 137 201 and ask for the subscriptions department.


Fundraising for Schools is the leading source of information on grants. It will help you apply for money to the appropriate places at the appropriate times. You can be sure that the content will be: n Relevant to schools. n Useful for schools. n Benefi cial to schools.


Fundraising for Schools is written for the head or deputy with delegated responsibility for fundraising, school development offi cers and interested chairs of governors and PTAs.


Whether your school is seeking funding for a specifi c project or just raising funds to aid its development then Fundraising for Schools is for you.


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