NEC joins Ghanaian Academy in Global Schools Partnership
Staff and children in North Edinburgh Childcare’s nursery first made contact with Larbec International Academy in Kumasi, Ghana, through the British Council’s Global Schools Gateway in June last year. A joint partnership was set up between the two organisations to provide opportunities for all of the children to learn and develop as global citizens. The partnership started with children and staff in both organisations getting to know one another through occasional phone calls and by sending letters, drawings, photos and emails. However it was felt that more could be achieved through direct face to face contact, and steps were therefore taken to explore the possibility of reciprocal visits.
The cost of travelling between settings would have been unaffordable for either organisation had it not been for a grant secured through the British Council’s Global Schools Partnerships programme, which provided each centre with almost 50% of the travel costs. The remaining costs for the visits were raised through a wide variety of fundraising activities e.g. bake sales, quiz sheets, guess the birthday, stalls at the ForthQuarter Fair, face painting and a Christmas raffle. These events were very well supported by all the families who attend North Edinburgh Childcare and by the local community, all of whom helped staff to raise the necessary funds within a relatively short timescale. Once it was established that sufficient funds would be raised to allow the visits to go ahead two members of the staff team, Patricia Spiers and Shaz Akbar were selected as the nursery representatives who would make the trip.
With all the pre-visit requirements completed Patricia and Shaz set off on 16 February for a ten day visit to Ghana. On arrival they were made to feel extremely welcome by everyone they met. The community spirit in Ghana was very contagious, and Patricia and Shaz found that they were welcomed with cries of ‘Akwabba’ (welcome) everywhere they went!
The trip included two days travelling, five days working with the teachers and pupils in the school, two days training staff in active learning and emotional wellbeing in the early years and one day visiting local areas of interest . Patricia and Shaz also supported the school to raise its profile by visiting a number of organisations across the local community including the police station, abattoir and refuse company – and by meeting the Ashanti Queen and her Elders! A key area for further development in the school community is waste disposal and sanitation, and it is hoped that the courtesy calls made will support school staff in bringing this to the forefront for future development.
On returning to Edinburgh, Patricia and Shaz immediately began finalising the details for the Ghanaian teachers’ reciprocal visit. On 1 March Louis Safro, Head Teacher of Larbec Internation Academy, and Ruth Achiaa, a teaching staff team member, arrived in Edinburgh for a nine day visit. The children at North Edinburgh Childcare welcomed the visitors with a special assembly including greetings songs that they had prepared especially for them. To complement the program of activities undertaken in Ghana, Louis and Ruth spent time observing the teaching practices in North Edinburgh Childcare’s nursery playrooms and learning how to engage in active learning with children. They visited the various departments of the organisation including the Out of School Service and Training Service, all of which gave them ideas for future developments back at Larbec. Louis and Ruth also spent time visiting other organisations and various places of interest across Edinburgh. A special Parents’ Evening was held on 7 March (pictured below) to celebrate their visit and promote the ongoing success of the joint partnership.
Everyone at North Edinburgh Childcare would like to say a huge ‘thank you’ to all the local organisations who welcomed Louis and Ruth to their settings, allowing them to gain a greater insight of how things work here in Edinburgh.
These visits have proved invaluable in the progression of the partnership and both centres now move forward with solid footing comfortable with each other in knowing they share a vision for the future in developing children as Global citizens, becoming familiar with their similarities and respecting each other’s differences.
North Edinburgh Childcare
