Page 17 - Easter newsletter

WOLSTANTON PUPILS WORK TO BANISH

CULTURAL AND LINGUISTIC BARRIERS

Wolstanton High School continues to be a beacon of community cohesion as part of the Erasmus+ ‘Do You Speak
Culture?’ programme.

The academy, which is part of the Shaw Education Trust, recently welcomed eleven teachers from across Slovenia,
Italy, France and Romania in a bid to promote emotional acceptance and active tolerance.

Clint Lakin, the lead teacher for the Erasmus+ programme at Wolstanton, said: “We were honoured to be the
host school and thoroughly enjoyed providing the delegates with an insight into the UK education system.”

With a growing proportion of refugee and EAL children entering UK schools, an innovative use of the
Erasmus+ scheme such as this can play an important part in increasing understanding of immigration
and raising cultural awareness amongst both staff and pupils of its positive impact.

The school has participated in the fully-funded European Union programme for several years, enabling
pupils in Year 8 onwards to visit other countries, learn different languages and experience a range of
cultures. During the latest activity-packed week, visiting delegates taught pupils about their
countries fascinating histories, gained a first-hand experience of school life and shared their
teaching practices with staff members.

The week provided Wolstanton leaders and the visiting delegates with the opportunity to analyse
the impact of immigration on schools and host communities, discussing methods of integrating
pupils cost effectively and in a culturally respectful manner.

Mr Lakin continued: “Everybody in the programme is the same, we all want the same things –
it is the essence of what education is – developing children as well-rounded individuals with
broad horizons.”

With a key aim of the Erasmus+ being to counteract existing negative portrayals, inclusivity is an
ongoing theme of the programme. At Wolstanton, pupils in receipt of pupil premium funding, are
in care or have English as an additional language receive an advantaged application as part of the
school’s ongoing pledge to provide disadvantaged pupils with the best education experience possible.

Commenting on the impact of the school’s participation, Mr Lakin said: “It provides children
with opportunities they wouldn’t otherwise have and develops friendships which affect people’s
lives.

“Pupils feel empowered. Staff feel inspired. It is a lovely network between the schools which enables
us all to take away a different point of view.”

The progress of those participating in the programme is monitored and the positive impact it is having on
pupils at Wolstanton is clearly evidenced in the increase in attendance, social skills and engagement.

With so many benefits, Mr Lakin urges other schools to get involved, saying: “It is a key driver for reducing
discrimination in UK schools and provides exposure to new practices. It may be extra work, but you get to see
the impact on individual lives.

“If the money is there, schools should try to get it to positively impact pupil’s education experience, and
potentially change their life.”