International link for New Era School

I spent 30 minutes this morning talking to Mrs. Elizabeth Wilson, Head Teacher of the Green Way Primary School in Hull. Since 1980 Hull has been twinned with Freetown and the Freetown Society of Kingston upon Hull was established in September 1981 with the support of the council. Recently six schools in each city have been linked through the Global Partnership Scheme operated with the British Council and the Department for International Development. Now a further ten schools are to join the scheme and Liz Wilson was given the first chance to choose one and picked the New Era Primary and Secondary School, because she had read about it on this blog!

She is due to visit Sierra Leone with other teachers from 14th to 24th October and will be staying at the Hotel 5/10 where teams from Derby have stayed on the last three visits. I was able to tell her about the school and the hotel. Our school is within walking distance although some parts are a steep climb.

Hotel 5/10 is owned and operated by the Teachers' Union of Sierra Leone. The figure of teachers in the courtyard holds a sign showing their calling.

A recent OFSTED report describes the Green Way Primary School as approximately double the size of the average primary school. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is considerably above the national average. The majority of pupils are of White British heritage. There are a few pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds who speak English as an additional language. More pupils than average have special educational needs and/or disabilities. The school holds various awards, including Healthy School status, Arts Mark Gold, the Eco Schools award and the Basic Skills Quality Mark.

The school wishes to add the Rights Respecting Schools Award (RRSA) to this list. This award recognises achievement in putting the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) at the heart of a school’s planning, policies, practice and ethos. A rights-respecting school not only teaches about children’s rights but also models rights and respect in all its relationships: between teachers / adults and pupils, between adults and between pupils. The relationship with New Era will deepen the children's awareness of the difficulties faced by African children such as lack of basic teaching materials, clean water, adequate food and medical care. Pen friendships could develope and various forms of support.

I am delighted by this news. A three year qualitative study by researchers at the Universities of Sussex and Brighton found that "The RRSA has had a profound effect on the majority of the schools involved in the programme."

Funding is provided in the programme to bring the headteacher from Freetown, currently Mr. Jeremiah Cole, (on far right of this photo) to visit his partner school in Hull.

The inspection of Green Way said that "led by its inspiring headteacher, the school is a highly-inclusive community where mutual respect and consideration for others are very much the order of the day." We wish Liz Wilson a very successful and enjoyable visit to Freetown and look forward to great benefit for both schools from this link.