East End talking School Linking

Our Community Schools Linking

Tower Hamlets
Schools Linking Project

The Schools Linking Project enables schools that are located in different areas of Tower Hamlets to link with one another to promote active citizenship and community cohesion. The Schools Linking Project has been running in primary schools in Tower Hamlets since 2006 and in 2008-9 the project ran in 16 primary schools, including a Special School. The Schools Linking Project began in Bradford in 2001 and is now running on more than 30 Local Authorities across England.

How does the Schools Linking Project work? Classes from participating schools are paired with another class from their partner school in another part of Tower Hamlets (this is usually with Years 4/5). During the school year the classes meet approximately six times. These meetings take place at neutral venues around London and school to school visits, when linked classes take it in turns to visit each others schools. In between the meetings classes exchange information via letters and emails sent via the London Grid for Learning.

What are we trying to achieve? We are using the framework of the Schools Linking Project, to embed learning and teaching around the global dimension in schools in Tower Hamlets, to enable the schools to begin to look at whole school change. What this means is that the work that teachers do with their classes as part of the link with their partner school is focused around the global dimension. This work is then shared with other classes and members of the school community. We choose to focus on the global dimension as the central theme of the Schools Linking Project because it links well with the idea of active citizenship and encourages whole school change and community participation which are key elements that contribute towards community cohesion.

The aims of the Tower Hamlets Schools Linking Project are: • To provide opportunities for children, their families and carers, from different ethnic, cultural, social and religious backgrounds to work and play together. • For adults who work with the children, to meet to share ideas and broaden perspectives. • To develop the children's skills of enquiry, communication and participation. • To increase the children's knowledge and understanding about the diverse nature of Tower Hamlets communities. • For children to develop good relationships and respect the differences between people. • To provide shared learning experiences which celebrate diversity, dispel stereotypes, remove barriers which cause racism, and which promote a cohesive community. • For children and adults to work with relevant local experts on sustainability issues in collaboration with venues in Tower Hamlets and across London.

How is learning organized? Work on the Schools Linking Project is split in to different themes over three terms Autumn Term: Who am I and who are we? Personal - looking at issues of identity, community, diversity and human rights Spring Term: Where do we live? - The global in the local - looking at the diversity local areas -this work covers questioning the values and perceptions we have about where we live and those we live with. Summer Term: Where do we live? Looking at what it means to be a global citizen and what we can do to create a more just and sustainable world.
Over the past three years Tower Hamlets Schools Linking Project schools have completed work on: Migration and the diversity of London, commodity trade from London Docks to countries around the world, growing plants, taking action to improve improving the environment in and around the school, making toys and kites, from re-used materials, debating and voting on local issues around sustainability at Tower Hamlets Town Hall and participated in citizenship ceremonies at Bow Road registry office, amongst other collaborative and creative activities. How do we check that we are achieving our aims? - Evaluations with the teachers and the students about their experience of participation in the project - this will be through: - Feedback from teachers on the success with integrating the global dimension into the curriculum as part of the project - Questionnaires completed by teachers - Focused discussions with children - Teachers' evaluation of children's response - Discussion with head teachers about impact on the whole school community - Consultation with Tower Hamlets Primary Strategy team about the overall impact of the Schools Linking Project.