Global Learning & Weald - Kanthenga Partnership

In order to develop the children’s critical thinking skills, sense of morality and cultural appreciation, the school has been keen to develop itself as a centre of expertise for the Global Learning Programme (GLP). The school was officially accredited with “Expert Centre” status by Dfid in 2014 and is now responsible for leading a peer-led locally based programme of support for 25 schools to enhance teaching about global issues and whole school approaches to global learning. The GLP helps to prepare pupils for their future in a rapidly changing world through the investigation of key themes of the 21st Century such as development, poverty, interdependence and globalisation.

The GLP emerged organically from Weald’s long-standing link with Kanthenga School, Malawi. Reciprocal visits of teachers have been taking place since 2009 and these personal relationships have proved critical in the establishment and embedding of a Joint Curriculum Project between the two schools. Whilst the partnership was initiated through contacts within the charity, Starfish Malawi, the school has steered the emphasis away from an association based upon paternalism and a charity mentality towards the values of equity, social justice and shared learning. The related attitudinal change at Weald and Kanthenga has been assessed through a range of evaluation exercises including 10;10 questioning and Diamond Ranking systems.

For greater detail on the evolution and impact of the school linking and global learning dimensions, please see the research conducted by The Institute of Education “Development Education Research Centre”, entitled School Linking & Global Learning – Teachers’ Reflections. Weald CPS is the school referred to throughout the document as “School C”.

The ethos underpinning the Global Learning Programme at Weald and how it has been embedded into the whole curriculum is described in an article by David Pyle, published in the Summer 2015 edition of Primary Geography: We share who we are before what we own.