Our schools cater for pupils who generally leave school at the age of sixteen and begin an apprenticeship. We were however aware, that they were often not well prepared for the world of work awaiting them and were not always well equipped to make wise career choices. During past joint projects, we had noticed that each of our schools has a level of expertise in some area related to careers education. In this project we exchanged best practice in order to learn from each other. Our schools in Germany, Italy, Finland and the UK cater for 10-16 year olds of mixed ability. The Finish school has excellent practical training facilities. The German school has an extensive system of careers education. The UK school regularly carries out an entrepreneurial challenge. The Italian school emphasizes soft skills. In the first phase of the project, we created an online compendium of job portraits (artwork, interviews, reports, videos, etc.) This work was integrated into regular lessons and involved research conducted amongst families, friends and local businesses. We shared our work on the Twinspace. Our aim was to broaden our pupils horizons concerning the job opportunities available to them. We considered the practical skills needed in the workplace. At our meeting in Finland pupils had the opportunity to discover where their own practical skills and interests lie. The second phase concentrated on developing soft skills. We worked on this topic in our lessons and created an online compendium of soft skills on the Twinspace. At our meeting in Italy we carried out activities designed to establish and deepen such skills. Our results were published online and in print. The second half of the project took a closer look at teamwork and entrepreneurial skills. At our meeting in the UK, we considered how people work together in the world of work, the different roles they assume, and the stages leading to the sale of a product or service. Forming small teams, our pupils planned and designed products within our schools. They intended to produce, advertise and market the products, but this was not entirely possible due to Corona. The completed stages were shared on the Twinspace and the teams were judged on their performance. The products were to be sold within our schools and communities - and at a Spring Festival during our meeting in Germany. This has now been postponed to the coming year. By the end of the project, our Twinspace has become a learning resource which can be used beyond the end of the project. It contains a compendium of careers and a compendium of skills. It also contains surveys designed to help pupils recognise their own skills and aptitudes and methods to help them develop their skills. Finally, it contains examples of best practice gathered from all partner schools. The brochure which we produced present the content and results of our project to a wider audience in our local communities and beyond. Throughout the project we worked together with local businesses and strengthened our links with them. By sharing with and learning from our European partners, our institutions are now better equipped and motivated to prepare our pupils for the world of work. Our pupils have developed their key skills and are able to make wiser career choices. Both online in the Twinspace and face to face at our meetings they have developed friendships across Europe and thereby broadened their horizons and increased their knowledge and understanding of their European partners.

context/background of project; objectives of your project; number and profile of participants; description of activities; methodology to be used in carrying out the project; a short description of the results and impact envisaged and finally the potential longer term benefits.School is about more than just the subject matter we learn in lessons. It is the place where our students and staff spend the major part of their day. We want to do more in this area in order to make school a better place to be. Our playgrounds and classrooms are somewhat uninviting, our students are not as happy or motivated as they might be, we do not do enough to respect our environment. In this project we plan to work on measures to improve our schools. We will undertake activities designed to improve:- the appearance and sustainability of our school buildings and grounds- the physical and emotional wellbeing of our students and staff.To achieve this, we will collaborate with our partners across Europe. We will share best practice from our schools, analyze our current position and collect suggestions on how to make improvements. We will then take concrete steps to carry out improvements within our schools. There will be a meeting of students from all schools, aged around 12-14, at each partner school as well as a training event for staff at each school. At our student meetings, we will work in international teams to complete practical tasks such as creating a school garden, decorating a classroom or collecting and recycling litter. We will include physical activities in the open air, both on and off the school sites, designed to promote both physical and emotional health and encourage respect for the environment. At our staff meetings we will job-shadow our partner colleagues and learn from their best practice in areas relevant to our project. We plan to involve a wide number of students within our schools during the course of the project, particularly including those who are generally likely to feel less happy at school, for example those from disadvantaged backgrounds, with special educational needs or from minority groups. We will consider ways to strengthen the student voice and encourage democratic participation. This project will strengthen the partnership between our schools and the quality of school life in general within our schools. Our pupils will improve their physical and emotional wellbeing and also their practical and social skills. Working with schools in other countries will broaden our students perspectives and improve their language skills and their intercultural awareness.

Most pupils at our schools use mobile devices and modern media outside school all day, every day. But they are often blind to the risks involved. Neither do they realise the full potential of these devices for learning: most probably see the main purposes of these devices to be a) for keeping in contact with “friends” and b) for playing games. However, we are convinced that the mobile devices in our pupils' pockets and the computers in our classrooms and homes can be put to much better use for teaching and learning. At the start of our project. many teachers at our schools were very cautious in their use of digital technology in lessons and did not take advantage of the many opportunities the digital age brings into the classroom, often because because they felt unqualified to do so. The main aims of our project were a) to train the staff in our schools to make the most of digital technology in their lessons, thereby enhancing the use of ICT in the teaching / learning process and increasing the quality of education and b) to educate our pupils to use digital technology safely and discover the potential their devices offer for learning, using innovative and learner-centered pedagogical approaches thereby developing their digital skills as well as their basic skills.We realised during our last project that each of our schools had experience in a different field of digital technology. The English partner had a well equipped media suite for filming, photography, green-screen, stop-motion and digital editing; the German school used mobile devices for teahcing and learning; the Finish school used eBooks and materials; the Spanish school used Moodle as a virtual learning environment; the Italian school had begun to teach coding. During this project, we exchanged examples of best practice with our European partners, placing the emphasis on one of these specialist areas each term. Through blended learning, our pupils worked together online putting the the methods learnt into practice. Each phase culminated in an international meeting at which staff were trained by their hosts in their specialised area and the pupils worked in international teams, teaching their partners and putting the newly learned skill into practise. The main topics of our project were: digital citizenship; digital multi-media film productions; the use of mobile devices, the creation and use of interactive eBooks, the creation and use of courses for learning platforms. We tested modern, learner-centred techniques such as video tutorials, blended learning and project-based learning and encouraged our pupils to take more responsibility for their own learning. Throughout the project, we considered how these elements could improve teaching and learning , so as to better meet the needs of individual pupils, increase their motivation and improve their basic skills. We visited each of the five partner schools during the project with a team of around 40 visiting pupils and staff. They worked together to teach and learn from their partners. Four transnational project meetings for staff allowed for planning and evaluation as well as providing time for staff training for the upcoming activities. A final visit to England provided an opportunity to share examples of best practice in all areas covered. Throughout the project we used eTwinning and the Twinspce to collect our work and document our project as well as for online collaboration. The website contains examples of best practice from all areas covered and lists of tools and methods used. The project brought benefits that could not be achieved without the element of European collaboration: A reduction of prejudice against other languages and nationalities by getting to know international students; opportunities to travel, become more independent and self-confident by visiting or hosting partners; Improved social skills, intercultural skills and life skills through being hosts and guests and through working together. Pupils experienced and embraced differences, made new experiences by participating in activities and visits. This also improved their language skills. The visits enabled the teachers to receive an unprecedented view into the school systems, methods and traditions in other countries which broadened their horizons and motivated them to re-think their own practices. The visits improved their language skills and their teaching skills in the area of digital media. This project has encouraged pupils to change the way they see and use their phones and computers and to become more responsible digital citizens. It has begun to change the way the staff at our schools use modern media. They have aquired knowledge and experience in using computers and mobile devices as a way to make lessons more learner-centred and learners more independant.