Education Service Largas

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Education Service Léargas European Programmes
Opportunities for Schools Teachers Association
of Teachers of Spanish of Ireland AGM, St.
Patricks College, 7th November 2009
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Léargas
Léargas is Irelands National Agency for the
management of National, European and
International co-operation programmes
involving - Education and Lifelong
Learning - Vocational Education and
Training - Youth and Community Work - Guidance
in Education
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Education Service of Léargas

• The Education Service of Léargas works to promote
  the values and benefits of building links with
  Europe for those working and learning at all
  levels of education - from schools communities
  to universities other institutes.

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Opportunities

• Comenius School Partnership Projects Bilateral
  Multilateral
• Contact Seminars, Partner Finding, Preparatory
  Visits
• Hosting Comenius Assistants
• Comenius In-Service Training
• eTwinning
• European Award for Languages The Language Label
• ECML European Centre for Modern Languages
• EDL European Day of Languages

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Lifelong Learning Programme
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Comenius School Partnerships

• Comenius School Partnerships aim at enhancing the
  European dimension of education by promoting
  joint cooperation activities between schools in
  Europe.
• The projects give pupils and teachers in
  different countries an opportunity to work
  together on one or more topics of mutual interest
  and improve linguistic skills and intercultural
  awareness.

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Comenius School Partnerships

• Multilateral (min.3 schools in 3 participating
  countries)e.g. Head teacher study visit, project
  meetings, teacher exchanges
• Bilateral (Language oriented projects only 2
  schools in 2 participating countries and must
  include reciprocal class exchange of min 10 days
  each involving pupils aged 12)
• All projects are of a 2 year duration
• Lump sum funding depending on number of
  mobilities (e.g. 8 mobilities 12,000 12
  mobilities 16,000)

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Comenius School Partnerships

• What can a project involve?
• A Comenius Patrnership Project can focus on
  topics such as art, science, environment,
  cultural heritage, sport, racism, European
  citizenship or Information Technology etc.
• Comenius Projects should aim for whole school
  involvement and should
• Be integrated into the regular activities of the
  school
• Take place within the curriculum of the pupils
• Involve several class groups
• Have an impact on the school, students, staff,
  parents and local community

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Partner Finding

• Contact Seminars (advertised from
  August/September each year)
• http//www.leargas.ie/programme_main.php?prog_code
  7068
• Preparatory Visit Grants
• http//www.leargas.ie/programme_main.php?prog_code
  7064
• Partner Finding Database
• www.etwinning.net

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Application Procedures

• Search for and establish partnership
• Download relevant application forms from
  www.leargas.ie
• Send in your application by the closing date
  (19th February 2010)
• Send your application by registered post or
  deliver by hand
• NB For detailed information, please consult
• Call for Proposals 2010
• http//ec.europa.eu/education/llp/doc848_en.htm

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Comenius Assistantships

• Objective
• To give future teachers the opportunity to gain a
  better understanding of the European dimension to
  teaching and learning, to enhance their knowledge
  of foreign languages, other European countries
  and to improved their teaching skills.
• To contribute to linguistic and cultural
  awareness of pupils through contact with a native
  speaker of (an)other European language(s)
• To facilitate contributions to the academic,
  social and cultural life of schools and
  communities that they work in.

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Comenius Assistantships

• Benefits to Host school
• Motivating interest in language culture
• Assistants may teach/assist in language classes
  and other subjects
• Assist in bridging the cultural gap between
  different communities within the school
• Assistants can help with Comenius Projects
• Assistants receive a grant from their home
  country, so no direct cost to school
• Download relevant application form from
• www.leargas.ie
• Closing date 29th January 2010

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Comenius In-Service Training

• Improve the quality of school and adult
  education by enabling staff to undertake training
  for up to 6 weeks in another eligible European
  country
• Improve skills knowledge and gain a broader
  understanding of the respective education sectors
  in Europe

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Comenius Who can participate?
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Training can take the form of

• A structured course, normally of at least 5 days
  duration
• Job shadowing /placement in a relevant
  organisation
• Participation in a European conference/seminar
• Courses are intended to cover areas of adult
  /school education methodology, language training
  and/or aspects of European interculturalism

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For language teachers

• Course normally takes place where the language is
  spoken and taught
• Language training should provide teachers with
  learning teaching methodologies
• Pure language courses only eligible in certain
  cases

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Finding a course
Comenius Grundtvig Course Database, lists
courses approved by the European Commission, as
well as courses developed as part of a Comenius
or Grundtvig project.http//ec.europa.eu/educatio
n/trainingdatabase/ Applicants may also choose
a course that is not listed in the database.
Additional courses which have not been developed
under Comenius or Grundtvig can be sourced on the
websites of National Agencies of other countries.
Check the Europa Server for links to websites.
http//ec.europa.eu/education/programmes/llp/nat
ional_en.html
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• Deadlines under 2010 Call
• Round 1 for 15/01/2010 training activities must
  start on or after 1 May 2010
• Round 2 for 30/04/2010 training activities must
  start on or after 1 September 2010
• Round 3 for 15/09/2010 training activities must
  start on or after 1 January 2011

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eTwinning

• eTwinning is a framework for schools (Pre-school,
  primary and secondary schools) to collaborate on
  the Internet with partner schools in other
  European countries. (at least 2 schools from at
  least 2 European countries)
• Register your school on eTwinning website
  www.etwinning.net
• Find a partner(s) on the website
• Choose a topic of interest that fits into the
  curriculum of both schools
• Collaborate with a partner on a project using ICT
  while maintaining a balance with practical
  classroom activities
• www.etwinning.net will help you
• Find ideas that will give you inspiration to twin
  with other schools
• Models, themes and scenarios on how to run an
  eTwinning project
• Information, tools, materials, documents to
  prepare, plan and develop an eTwinning
  partnership
• No grants or administration connected to the
  scheme!

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Language Resources
European Centre for Modern Languages The Council
of Europe has created the ECML - a unique
institution whose mission is to encourage
excellence and innovation in language teaching
and to help Europeans learn languages more
efficiently. www.leargas.ie/ecml
www.ecml.at The European Language Label is an
annual award given to projects where participants
have found creative ways to improve the quality
of language teaching, motivate students, and make
the best of available resources.
www.leargas.ie The European Day of Languages
aims to increase awareness and appreciation of
all the languages spoken in Europe and is
celebrated annually on 26th September.
www.leargas.ie/edl



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For Further Information
Comenius Partnerships, Comenius Assistantships,
Preparatory Visits Lisa Fox lfox_at_leargas.ie Jea
nette Saunders jsaunders_at_leargas.ie Comenius
In-Service Training Lorraine McDyer lmcdyer_at_lea
rgas.ie May Diamond mdiamond_at_leargas.ie
Contact Seminars Kathleen
Carey kcarey_at_leargas.ie eTwinning Kay ORegan
koregan_at_leargas.ie European Award for
Languages, ECML Lisa Fox lfox_at_leargas.ie Nellie
Woods languages_at_leargas.ie Education
Service, Leargas, 189-193 Parnell Street, Dublin
1. Tel [phone] Fax 01 873
1316 www.leargas.ie