21st Century IT Teaching for Primary Schools is a collaborative project involving a range of partners with distinctive expertise in primary and adult education, teaching and learning, robotics and information communication technology (ITC). The overarching theme is the development and dissemination of a common pedagogy based on the rapidly changing developments and requirements for ICT including computer programming and robotics. In response to developing economic and social needs of countries across the EU, elements of computer science have entered primary school programmes of work. These new curricula aim to provide a high quality education in the burgeoning field of Information and Communications Technology (ICT), empowering pupils to use computational thinking and creativity to understand and change the world. Engagement with this new discipline ensures that pupils become digitally literate, i.e. able to use and express themselves and extend their ideas through ICT, to become competent for their future workplaces and as active participants in the digital world. Although in the near future, we can expect the first ‘digitally native’ teachers, the present situation is that there is a discernible gap in confidence and competence between current teachers and their pupils. This has created a challenge for the professional development of teachers and so the overarching aim of this project is to provide some resolution to issues of curriculum implementation in the fields of information technology in general and robotics and programming more specifically. The project aims to support current teachers and influence the content of initial teacher education, whilst at the same time making positive impact upon the developing interests and skills of pupils within the primary age range of 4 -11/12 years. These skills are based upon the ‘4Cs’: Collaboration, Communication, Creativity and Critical thinking.We aim to provide evidence for effective:• development of 20th Century teachers’ professional knowledge for preparation and delivery of 21st Century skills in learning and ICT for pupils;• coverage of new elements of ICT curricular content in computer programming and robotics; • provision of new subject and pedagogic knowledge to support the use of robotics and programming in the primary age range;• enhancement of programmes of study to produce age-relevant resources, schemes of work and skills progression;• exploration of ways of combining and generating creativity with logic;• understanding from pupils’ viewpoints of the purpose of learning these new skills;• development of both independence and cooperative learning and teamwork: the 4Cs.OBJECTIVES:1. To develop and enhance primary school teachers’ skills and understanding within the emerging field of robotics and programming.2. To enable primary school pupils to use and apply their acquired skills to become responsible, confident and creative users of ICT.3. To create appropriate pedagogy and detailed schemes of work, including continuity and progression for development of specific skills.4. To develop effective partnerships with the 'world of work' to contextualize the pedagogy/learning.5. To utilise and enhance the relevant European Key Competencies associated with this project e.g. Digital Competence, Learning to Learn, Communication in mother language and that of another country and to introduce the concept of entrepreneurialism.6. To explore and elaborate the cooperative, transnational nature of the project to develop the European dimension across all the participating schools, their pupils, parents and staff.7. To provide evidence for the impact of the outcomes of the project through dissemination to the teaching profession, school parents/carers and governors, educational administrators and policy-makers across the participating countries and beyond.Number and profile of participants:There are 10 participant partners from a range of primary schools and adult education establishments from the UK, Spain, Denmark Lithtunais and Malta. Description of activities:Experiences and activities will offer different models of expression that will be disseminated through multiplier events and through models of good practice to be adapted to the needs of individual participants. Activities will include an exchange of good practice, curricula ideas and professional dialogue including the use of digital technologies.Methodology:The project will use a blended approach to generating and developing best practice including case studies, action research, face to face meetings, training events and transnational project meetings.Results and long term benefits:In addition to MEs and IPs, partnerships will be developed and strengthened with participant schools and adult education establishments, and multi-relational cooperation, there will be an open training course to continue the partnership and develop links with other users.

The SPACE Award has been developed as a response to the concern that young people are becoming increasingly disenfranchised in Europe today and that the turnout at elections is especially low in 18 - 24 year olds across Europe. In many European countries including Britain, there is a sense that young people are disengaging with the political process. Young adults are less likely to vote, there is a lowering of the registration to vote in some countries and movements are growing to encourage young people to abstain rather than engage. If left to continue, this lack of engagement has the potential to destabilise countries. In the current political climate, therefore, there is a clear imperative to tackle this problem to ensure young people see the importance of participation in the political process and are able to use their voice positively and become active citizens.The six project partners will all be working with a range of other partners locally, regionally and in later stages of the project, also nationally and transnationally, meaning that there will be a very large number of indirect participants due to the multiplier effect planned into the project.The SPACE Award is a student citizenship package that aims to develop young people's understanding of democratic processes. It offers an accessible framework for student councils and committees from which young people can learn how to create and build an effective student council. This project aims:• To promote young people’s active participation and understanding of the democratic process • To develop effective student councils.• To embed young people's understanding of council roles and responsibilities • To enable young people to articulate their own point of view and understand others’ points of view• To promote understanding and respect • To develop student leadership• To give young people an understanding of their place in the world as a member of their own country and as a European citizen• To develop transferable skills to prepare young people for the work place The project will develop a set of criteria to allow students to develop a range of skills over time. The criteria builds from Bronze, to Silver to Gold so that students can refine and develop their skills. The criteria builds from basic skills in terms of running and leading a student council to more far reaching skills that include the local community and beyond. Once Gold is achieved students can then train to be assessors of other schools and colleges working towards their Award. This allows for a roll out of the Award to partner schools and encourages links between schools as well as links with International Partner schools. The Award will develop student leadership skills. As more schools achieve the Gold Award, Award ceremony events will take place to further promote the Award. Assessments would be undertaken again after three years to ensure that students continue to monitor and evaluate their practice and to allow for a change in student membership as well as ensuring sustainability. There is also potential for a Platinum Award at a later stage of development.The SPACE Award is a complete package with interactive tools that can be utilised by schools and colleges and tailored to individual organisations; for example, all materials will be written in the home language. Materials will be reproduceable and can be shared with other colleagues.Schools will develop effective student councils therefore;• Students will be empowered to lead their own councils • Students will be supported to deliver training to partner schools/colleges/institutions on the programme• Students will be trained as assessors for other schools/colleges/institutions• A set of measurable common criteria will be used to measure and recognise the work of effective student councils. • Students will have a greater understanding of the democratic process and how to actively engage to effect change• Students will develop their leadership skills The Award is closely linked to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and meets the requirement to inform all children of these rights.