<< Objectives >>This project seeks to create safer and healthier schools, and development of skills to achieve the entire state of physical, mental, and social well-being in harmony with nature.Objective 1. To improve the capacities in School Environmental Health.Objective 2. To promote behavioural changes in consumption habits and lifestyles to fight climate change and environmental degradation.Objective 3. To expand knowledge, appreciation, and respect for other regions of Europe.<< Implementation >>There are two educational organisations, three associations and nine primary schools from Spain, Portugal, Italy and Germany, involved in this project.Activities:Face to face:Transnational Meetings ( 2 in Spain and 1 in Portugal, Italy and Germany)Training Activities in each partner countryMultiplier Events (1 in each partner country)On-line:Participants organisations on-line meetingsWebinars with teachers and pupils.Online exchange of experiences with pupils.<< Results >>- An online Baseline Assessment for schools.- An online Baseline Assessment for staff, pupils and families. - A joint document on pedagogical methodologies and learning materials on key competences and green skills for teachers.- A joint document on learning materials for families with interactive participation of pupils.- A joint document on didactic materials and digital resources for pupils - A 'School Good Practice Guide'- A 'School Environmental Quality Seal'.

Alexander (2012, p.4) states:Pupils need for both learning and life, not only to be able to provide relevant and focused answers but also to learn how to pose their own questions and how to use talk to narrate, explain, speculate, imagine, hypothesise, explore, evaluate, discuss, argue, reason and justify. This project aims to develop quality discussion and debate in upper KS2 (pre-high school) through climate change and environmental issues.427BC is perhaps one of the ancient world’s best examples of an argument with something vital at stake with Diodotus arguing for clemency, and Cleon, “the most violent man at Athens”, opposing him. “The good citizen,” he insisted, “ought to triumph not by frightening his opponents, but by beating them fairly in argument.” We have seen the impact of arguments reflecting current agendas on the local, European and world stage: Brexit, Climate Change, world leaders and Social Media Intrusion have led to, not only heated arguments, but fights and even families and friends falling out. Have we lost the skill of debate? Can we not state our point of view without being insulting to those who hold a different belief? We want to create a positive learning outcome from recent public outbursts of anger and argument. We will, in this project, show children and young people how to debate fairly and to forge new skills to listen, explore other peoples' viewpoints and yet remain friends. This project will develop critical thinking, problem solving, public speaking experience (on a transnational stage), good oracy skills, conflict resolution, empathy, confidence and presentation skills. An independent evaluation of the first phase of The Plymouth Oracy Project proves that Oracy development improves pupil attainment, behaviour, confidence and attendance. Furthermore, disadvantaged pupils make significantly more progress and close the gap to their more affluent peers. This project will build upon the successes of the project to date and develop best practice materials and outcomes for discussion and debating in Key Stage Two and into Key Stage 3.

Context/background of project:The conception of the project stems from the Covid 19 world pandemic and the challenges (and opportunities) that everybody across the world is facing presently. 'The Face behind the Mask' idea was conceived as a creative means for learners to acquire skills and competencies that reinforce creativity in education, as well as boost quality, innovation and creative potential. Through international school partnerships with schools and creative partners, this project will foster innovative participatory and intercultural dialogue which links education and training with the cultural and creative sectors. These partnerships will in turn increase resilience through the creation of jobs, sustainable development and social inclusion through the arts.Schools and educational organisations have long recognised the importance and need for creativity in the curriculum and have ensured the delivery of rich, experiential learning opportunities to develop learners' knowledge and skills. This has been achieved through creative and forward thinking leaders and inspirational teachers who have had the vision to experiment with the curriculum and be innovative in their approaches through participation in action research. They have achieved this by making connections in different curriculum areas, choosing themes and topics that supports creative approaches, encouraging learners' independent thinking, engaging with their community and working in partnership with outside agencies and creative experts. Objectives for the project:The focus on creativity and the arts has never been more important than it is in today's climate. Learners need to find ways to deal with the challenges of Covid 19, to learn how to increase their resilience and what it means to have an identity in a fast changing society that has been hit by a deadly virus. More importantly, learners need to be equipped with the skills and competencies that will enable them to express themselves clearly, confidently and coherently and play an active part in society as 21st century global citizens. Learners need to understand that by going beyond the limits of geographical borders and developing a greater understanding of rights and responsibilities that can be shared collectively, they can fully appreciate what it means to have a common vision for humanity. 'The Face Behind The Mask' project will by its very essence, unite together schools and creative partners in an innovative action research project to explore what it means to be human, to develop resilience and to have a sense of identity both locally and internationally so that individuals can make decisions and know how to behave when faced with complex decisions and circumstances . This will be achieved through the process of sharing ideas in transnational meetings both virtually and physically, carry out research on creative approaches which focus on dance, drama and art, explore different cultures, languages and heritage and receive expertise from creative partners who will lead learning, teacher training events in three countries: Wales, Italy and Spain. Three intellectual outputs will be developed throughout the life of the project:IO1 - A good practice resource guide on creativity to support teachers with the development of effective strategies on the expressive arts across the curriculumIO2 - A Drama Performance Resource on the development of learners' creative and higher order thinking skills - This resource will be an online training resource for teaching drama, dance and experimenting with the use of masks for different scenarios accompanied by learners sharing their performances.IO3 - A good practice guide using action research and reflective practice for the development of creativity - This guide will set out the rationale for the project, the aims and the objectives, the methodology used to conduct the research, the qualitative and quantitative approaches, reflections from professionals (teachers and drama experts) and learners' responses to questionnaires before and after the project completion.The methodology which will be used to shape the project will include: questionnaires for baseline data at the start and end of the project, diaries and reflective journals, field notes and participant observations, peer assessments, photographic and video evidence, school data and interviews with teachers and creative agents.

Across Europe, the far right has been gaining traction, with movements in a wide range of European countries lobbying for more extreme policies in the face of global issues. Divides in our European society follow intergenerational, social/economic divides with each faction showing an unwillingness to engage positively with those they disagree with and the consistent increase of extreme views both in politics and social media (Evan Maudsley, 2018).This project aims to address the rise in extreme viewpoints and confrontation by helping pupils and their communities to develop skills in negotiation, critical thinking, social media literacy and ultimately a sense of diverse European identities. It will do this through supporting students to engage with their communities, interviewing and researching their opinions, and evaluating the results they get critically. Through generating evidence of the overriding attitudes in their locality and comparing them to the attitudes across Europe, and those presented in the media, students will be supported to create valuable qualitative research about European identity. They will also be empowered to challenge stereotypes and prejudice, using skills in negotiation to mediate the different viewpoints and take their findings back into the community.We will work in partnership with Spain, Turkey, Romania and the UK with a wide variety of backgrounds including some who have never had the experience of working with European people outside of their own locality. By giving our participants the opportunity to go out into their communities, to find out different attitudes and then bringing young people from these locations together, we will be able to generate a wide ranging set of resources that will be used by teachers/researchers for many years. The skills that young people and other stakeholders develop on this project have been shown to accelerate learning and will create better informed students, teachers and communities; less likely to be mislead by the media and more able to engage in open discussion for coming years.We will use a toolkit of methods to set a baseline to measure skills & attitudes/values of staff and students at the start of the project and at the end of the teaching and training sessions to see the impact on skills, attitudes and values related to the project theme of ‘Am I European’. We will refine these tools to develop a robust methodology to record attitudes and values and make comparisons between local, regional and European participants. We will hold a series of 3 Learning, Teaching and Training Events with teaching staff/officers from all partner organisations and a series of 3 students/teaching staff exchange events to trial the methods developed with our students/teaching staff. These joint events will also be opportunities to develop the theme in practical situations; observe in situ the impact of our methods.We will produce 4 Intellectual Outputs that will be transferable to use by other stakeholders interested in the development of Critical Thinking/Evaluation/Debate/Negotiation skills combined with active research by students. The IOs will include:•A teacher resource pack on teaching controversial issues/appreciative enquiry•Teacher/pupil resource pack•Teacher training handbook - content analysis, social media literacy/skills for debate and dialogue•EvaluationExpected results/impact expected:•impact on the people who have built it through allowing them to look critically at their communities, •to build a database of qualitative evidence shared internationally as a resource. •students will develop a closer link with their local community through greater curiosity for what is happening locally/regionally, and local/regional ‘actors’ that influence local/regional actions•greater interaction between schools & local/regional communities IMPACTING on closer networks of mutual support between local/regional communities, appreciation of the role of community in society.•The development of critical thinking/negotiation skills to support accelerated learning across international borders, with all participants showing an improvement of skills/designing tools that will enable others in their locality/region to do the same. •Several countries will compare the opinions of a wide variety of people within their communities which will be challenging/nuanced, with strong opinions needing mediation/discussion. •better understanding of a range of different cultures and communities. •the development of INTERCULTURAL dialogue between these students that will follow them into their life post project and more importantly post school into all aspects of their futures lives.The ultimate aim and expected impact of this project is to enable better international cooperation, as different countries challenge the stereotypes being levelled at them and students being able to take those experiences into their communities and share them

In 2010 the EU set an agenda to tackle early school leavers within Gypsy/Roma/traveller (GRT) communities across Europe by 2020. The target - rates should be below 10%. However, there is little evidence that any improvement has been made. The EU Youth Guarantee states all young people under the age of 25 should receive ‘employment, continued education, apprenticeship or traineeship within a period of 4 months of becoming unemployed/leaving formal education’. However, in 2017 the European Parliament’s assessment on the initiative showed that the programme did not reach all vulnerable groups, and this specifically included Gypsy/Roma/traveller (GRT) youth. Inspired by a group of Gypsy Traveller girls in West Wales, this project aims to look at education/opportunities/inequalities within the GRT communities in our schools. ILG will work with partners and GRT pupils to look at barriers that impact on them having equality of access/SOCIAL INCLUSION within society and within the communities themselves. Our shared problem across our three partner regions/countries is that less than 5% of GRT pupils remain in upper secondary education. Those who are mobile may face interruptions and a lack of continuity to their education, and whether mobile or not, children/young people from the GRT communities or any Traveller culture, may need support to overcome barriers to learning.Changing negative perceptions is central to increasing attendance; transfer rates to Secondary school; retention in Secondary education and attainment. To understand the ways in which these barriers can be minimised we will research and collect up-to-date accounts of good practice in engaging families across Wales. Many GRT girls are often denied the right to continue into further education by more traditional family members. This project will work with GRT families, their children and wider community to look at these issues from a gender equality angle. We recognise that other communities may have similar problems and this project is not limited to GRT communities. The sustainability of this project is using the guidance developed in IO 1 & 2 into other marginalised groups of school pupils.We will work with 350+ GRT pupils (direct beneficiaries) and 50+ teachers directly teaching/supporting pupils. Indirect beneficiaries, 1000+ school pupils in 4 partner schools and 50+ teaching staff/education professionals in 3 LA/Educational organisations. We will share effective practice across our schools/wider in two innovative IOs providing schools/GRT support services with recent/relevant good practice on developing strategies to reduce barriers preventing GRT children in engaging fully in education. IO 1 ‘A GRT pupil Approach to Gender Equality’ will raise the profile of GRT pupils in school and remove the often-biased perceptions of pupils/teachers towards GRT communities. IO2 ‘A School’s Approach to Gender Equality’ has the capacity to work with all pupils/staff in all 4 schools and has wider transferability. Improved understanding of GRT communities will contribute to the anticipated change in attitude of GRT families towards education reversing the trend of not sending their children to school beyond primary/lower secondary schools. Estyn reported (2019) ‘Nearly all GRT pupils/parents say that they would value their culture being reflected more in school. They believe that this could help to give pupils from the settled community a greater understanding of the GRT background/lifestyle.’ We will carry out a baseline assessment of GRT pupils involved in this project to measure the impact of the project on identified key indicators of project success and impact. These will include:•Increased confidence of GRT pupils to take responsible action/change attitudes/values of more traditional members of GRT communities•Improved attendance of GRT pupils particularly in upper secondary education and hence a reduction in early school leaving particularly disadvantaged groups•Reduction in barriers to education attributable to gender equality for GRT girls•Improvement in key competences/skills acquisition/overall attainment by GRT pupils•GRT families & communities have a better perception of support for their children in school through reduction in prejudices by pupils/teachers•Improvement overall in schools, with regard to Gender Equality and opportunities for all In carrying out this work we will contribute to the aims of many European policies directed at supporting GRT families/communities including:ET2020 – reducing early school leavers/improving competence in key skillsCouncil of Europe Strategy for Gender Equality 2018-2023 through supporting and empowering GRT females in improving their educational outcomes.Council of Europe’s updated Strategy for the Rights of the child (2016-2021) with a focus on the access of GRT children to inclusive/quality education, and reduction of school drop-outs/absenteeism, in particularly girls.