International School Award 25th September 2007

Course Focus:
John Rolfe from the British Council will set out the requirements of the award and its relevance to all schools.

Reasons for Attending:
As we will be applying for the full award this year—it is important that we are clear as to the requirements and also how evidence can be submitted.


Full ISA accreditation lasts for 3 years. There are already 23 schools across Plymouth who have the full award. The South West seems to be leading the way in International / global work.

The work of the school in developing the International dimension of the curriculum is an area which can attract local / national media coverage. The work should highlight a sense of staff and pupils as ‘global citizens’.

To achieve the Full International School Award – it is important that a portfolio of evidence to collected. It has been agreed that we can submit an e-portfolio as evidence. This could be the first one that the British Council accepts and if we get it right could be used as an exemplar for schools in the future.


We must:
have an international policy and co-ordinator (with a job description) / committee
ensure that the majority of activities are curriculum based ( recently the British Council panel discounted activities which were after school clubs)
there must be at least 7 activities with at least 75% of the children involved
ensure that arrange of year groups and subject areas are involved in international activities
ensure that the activities are all year round.
evaluate the impact of the international activities ( this needs to be a light touch)
include collaborative work with partner schools in other countries – there must be evidence of this
use arrange of opportunities and programmes ( e.g TIPD Comenius, World links, IPH)
consider how the wider school community can be involved

The timescale for the full application:-
September 07 – December 07 – schools apply online
September 07 – July 08 – activities undertaken with evidence collated
July 08 – portfolios submitted to the British Council panel
October 08 – awards presented

The target is that by 2012 that all schools will be involved in international activities

“One can’t truly educate young people in this country without the international dimension being a very significant and real part of that education.”

ECM – Put the World in your Class

In collecting the evidence – even when activities fail include supplementary activities.

Jill Bailey introduced me to John Rolfe (British Council). Both are impressed by the work (Tohatoha BLOG) we have with Meadowbank and also my initial e-portfolio. (Jill has set up a BLOG for her work with China after seeing our work!) We also discussed the possibility of obtaining funding for my visit to Prague, should the presentation that David Kinane and I propose, be accepted.

It is important that as the first school to present their work as an e-portfolio that we get it right. I can collate the portfolio and present but I need everyone to support me in this by providing electronic copies of their work and evidence of children’s work and photos. This should not be an onerous task as the “Portfolio Evidence” folders are set up on the network and all I request is that planning, flips (where appropriate), examples of children’s work, photos, audio and video recording are uploaded to the relevant files. The International element is not just another curriculum subject but seen as the way forward in ensuring that our children are prepared for the world in which they are growing up in an ever shrinking world. It can and should be an integral part of the curriculum and afford us ways to think more creatively in the way in which we plan. The recent Geography Conference – see previous Blog- highlights how an international element can be integrated into key themes of water, recycling, climate change, environmental issues. Certainly something for us all to think on!

Follow up actions:
· Apply for Full ISA by December 2007
· Collate evidence and resources and update e-portfolio
· Maintain contact with Jill Bailey and John Rolfe re funding
· Continue to look for partners—eTwinning etc—liaise with Julie Downs
· Consider how to get staff fully on board for the International dimension in our curriculum?

Ensure that the e-portfolio contains the elements required as outlined in an e-mail from John Finch