Lifelong Learning Programme

COMENIUS REGIO PARTNERSHIPSOverall objectives:

1) To understand your contractual obligations to the British Council vis-à-vis your partnership

2) To better understand the financial aspects to project management

3) Learn about eTwinning – IT communication tool

4) To share practical experience, with other coordinators, of how to manage your partnership

5) To be made aware of practical ways to disseminate and exploit the results of your partnership

6) To be made aware of other Comenius activities, and other British Council schools programmes that can enhance your partnership.

COMENIUS REGIO PARTNERSHIPSContractual issues

This session will cover:

• The basic cycle of your partnership

• The financial rules of your partnership / Management of your lump

sum and additional funding

• The reporting process and other obligations

• How your partnership will be monitored (Qualitative and Quantitative)

What is the life cycle of a partnership?

8 Submission of Final Report

7 Submission ofProgress

Report

6 Ongoing Monitoring of Activity

5 Regio PartnershipActivity

4 Grant AgreementAnd

Payment

3 Selection Results

2 Eligibility andQuality Checks

1 ApplicationSubmission

Life Cycle

Contractual requirements

Grant is paid to the Coordinator – who then has responsibility to manage this grant

Coordinator will manage the partnership – may decide to draw up contracts between internal partners

Bear in mind holidays/time zones/school days and exams

Have a strategy for managing conflicts or misunderstandings/how do you deal with partners who do not respond to emails/do not fulfil project promises

Force Majeure

Conflict of interests

Ownership of results - Intellectual property rights

Suspension

Award of contracts

Termination of contracts

Managing a Comenius partnership

Use the activity plan as a working project tool

Bear in mind holidays/time zones/school days and exams

Have a strategy for managing conflicts or misunderstandings/how do you deal with partners who do not respond to emails/do not fulfil project promises

Ensure full integration and involvement of all partners – do not exclude

Ensure strong collaboration and communication within the partnership

Agree on the method of communication

Risks and considerations

Withdrawal of a partner

Unclear division of tasks

Lack of time, lack of resources

Cultural differences

Language and communication problems

Differences in academic year

Political changes

Flight cancellations

Child protection issues

Staff changes

Financial management

Grant Agreement sets out the financial rules and must be carefully read

Ensure you read accompanying guidance carefully –

Annex IV: Rules for calculation of the final grant amount

Grants are paid in Euros, in two instalments:

First 80% payment paid within 45 days of receipt of signed Grant Agreements

Final 20% payment paid within 45 days of receipt and approval of the Final Report

Management of lump sum funding

Grant payments relate to completed mobility activity:

• Com 4 (If 4 mobilities are successfully carried out over the 2 year period) - €4,000

• Com 8 (If 8 mobilities are successfully carried out over the 2 year period) - €8,000

• Com 12 (If 12 mobilities are successfully carried out over the 2 year period) - €10,000

• Com 24 (If 24 mobilities are successfully carried out over the 2 year period) - €20,000

Management of lump sum funding

• Definition – trip abroad to an approved partner or to an event or meeting relevant to the project activities

• Who – Staff or representatives of the participating organisations Staff or School education staff in participating regions who are not working in one of the participating organisation or schools – if linked to project activities and with prior written agreement from NA Persons accompanying persons with special needs.

•Careful and timely planning on how to achieve the minimum number of mobilities applied for is crucial:

e.g. who will travel; when; estimated travel and accommodation costs;

• participants MUST retain copies of travel tickets and or boarding passes

• Participants MUST ensure that Certificates of attendance are issued to them by host institution – we can provide a template

• Travel tickets/boarding passes along with Certificates of attendance act as evidence of travel and might be asked for if you are selected for a desk / on the spot check

• Any spare funding remaining after mobilities have been budgeted for can be used to cover any other project related costs:

– Communication Costs

– Consumables

– Software and Hardware

– Supply cover for teachers attending meetings

– Travel costs for associated meetings

• The use of spare funding does not need to be declared as long as the minimum number of mobilities is achieved

• Participating institutions should also ensure they comply with the requirements laid down within their institution, or by their

parent/governing body for the accounting of partnership expenditure

Management of lump sum funding

Management of additional costs

Subcontracting – up to 30% of overall project cost

Equipment – at depreciated rate and limited to 10% of overall project cost

Other costs –

Own contribution – if grant claim is over €25,000 then must co-finance up to 25% of non-mobility costs.

Possible to transfer between these budget headings (10%)

Management of additional costsEligible expenditure must:

• be incurred by the partnership

• relate to activities involving countries that are eligible to participate in the programme

• must be connected with the project (i.e. listed in activity plan)

• must be identifiable, verifiable and necessary to achieve the aims of the project

• be reasonable and justified – in accordance with sounds financial management

• be actually incurred by the partnership and be recorded in their accounts

In-eligible expenditure:

• Staff costs and indirect costs (overhead costs/internet/general office supplies)

• costs of opening bank accounts, exchange losses, VAT (unless the applicant is unable to recover it), bank transfer costs.

Reporting Process

Project reporting documents will be published on our website:

PROGRESS report due 30 June 2010 (Mid point of the project life time; used to determine how partnerships are going and arrange support if needed)

FINAL REPORT due 30 September 2011 (End of contractual period; used to determine final grant award)

• Reports must be in English;

• Final detailed statement of the eligible costs actually incurred

• The qualitative and quantitative information

• A full summary statement of the actual receipts and expenditure of the action

• Reports must be completed to an acceptable standard; they will be sent back to you if the quality is poor

• You will receive a full 20% second instalment if:All activities listed have been satisfactorily completedMinimum number of mobilities carried outSufficient proof of all expenditure provided

• A reduction of grant will occur when:Reported activities, mobilities and outcomes do NOT correspond to those presented in the

application form. The final grant will be zero and the grant holder will be required to repay the first instalment

The required minimum number of eligible mobilities have NOT been carried out – the grant will be reduced accordingly

Reported costs do not fulfil the eligibility criteria. NA will ignore ineligible costs

Reported costs are lower than expected. NA will base its final grant amount on actual expenditure.

Monitoring and Evaluation – Checks and Audits

• Desk Checks –

• The submission by you to the British Council of evidence of the mobilities that you have undertaken and the expenditure you have incurred;

• Final report stage;

• On-the-Spot Checks –

• Carried out ANY time during the life of your partnership;

• Will involve a visit to your institution;

• The purpose of the visit will be to check that mobilities have taken place and current expenditure is eligible and consistent with your work plan;

Other opportunities

This session will provide you with information on:

• other opportunities under Comenius: IST; Comenius Assistants;

Comenius School Partnerships;

• ISA and its benefits

• eTwinning

Activity

• Structured Training Courses (language or non-language)

• Job-shadowing an European colleague

• European conference or seminar

Who’s Eligible?

• Teachers

• School Staff

• Educational Advisors (LEA)

• Educational Experts

• Trainers

Comenius In Service Training

Comenius multilateral school partnerships

Involve at least 3 schools from 3 different countries

Are collaborative curriculum- or issue-based, i.e. are pupil- or teacher-based, or a combination

Cover any theme such as citizenship, environment, stories, crafts or intercultural education

Focus on learning processes but often result in end products and outcomes, teaching materials, etc.

Try to include MFL and CLIL where possible

Support staff travel for e.g. project meetings, teacher exchanges, etc. but can also include pupils

Comenius bilateral school partnerships with a language focus

Aim to improve pupils’ motivation and capacity to communicate in foreign languages

Include a reciprocal 10-day exchange for face-to-face project work

Involve at least 10 students aged 12 and upwards

Fund escorts on the ratio of 1 per 5 pupils

Involve collaborative cross-curricular work before, during and after the exchanges resulting in a jointly produced end product

Support 20-40 hours’ language tuition if target language is not taught in school

Comenius Assistants

• Open to intending and trainee teachers from across Europe from 30 European countries

• Aims to work across the curriculum to provide a FREE cultural resource to the school

• 13-45 weeks/12-16 contact hours per week

• At secondary level, language must not be taught on curriculum

• Up to 3 schools can share (cluster applications)

• Adds value and complements existing Comenius projects within the school

• Contact: comenius.assistants@britishcouncil.org

 

International School Award

• Accreditation for successful practice in curriculum-based international work in schools

• Over 1200 UK schools accredited since 1999

• Target: all schools involved in international activity by 2012

• Funded by DCSF

1. Foundation:

Introducing

Internationalism

For schools beginning international work

(No deadline)

2. Intermediate:

Developing

Internationalism

For schools that are beginning to work with an international partner school

(no deadline)

3. Full Award For schools that have developed an integrated international ethos.

Deadline for applications: Dec 2009

International School Award

For more information…

www.globalgateway.org/isa

isaschemeenquiries@britishcouncil.org

020 7389 4419

Using eTwinning to enhance your Comenius project

What is eTwinning?

• Strand of the European Commission’s Lifelong Learning Programme that allows European schools to engage in collaborative projects using the internet and ICT

• eTwinning began in 2005 and became an sub-programme of Comenius in 2007

• Does not offer funding to schools, but provides tools and support to make project work possible

• 32 European Countries; over 63,000 European teachers; over 6,500 UK teachers

• Centrepiece is the eTwinning Portal - www.etwinning.net

www.eTwinning.net

Public homepage: Information and inspiration for all; you register and login here

Desktop: Your personal profile; partner finding tool; register your project here

Twinspace: Accessible when you register a project; virtual classroom with communication tools and a place to share your work

Where can eTwinning fit into your project?

• As a communication tool

• As a planning tool

• As a place to store and share your work

• As a tool to disseminate your work: within your institution; within

your partnership; to the local community and wider.

COMENIUS PARTNERSHIPSUsing the media and dissemination

The aim of this session is to explain:

• How to use a press release to generate good quality news coverage

• The purpose of European Shared Treasure

• How to get the most out of the British Council website and newsletter

• How to access resources that support project dissemination

Generating media coverage for your partnership

Why has a template press release been developed for Regio Partnerships?

• Local papers are under time pressure and need to fill their pages

• Press releases are designed to be easy to re-use by busy journalists

• A press release gives you control of the story of your project

• British Council and Comenius standard messaging is already included

The British Council employ a press officer responsible for schools.

Contact them on comenius@britishcouncil.org

European Shared Treasure

• European database to capture project activities; improve visibility & access project results

• A massive platform for disseminating your project outcomes

• A source of inspiration

• A contractual responsibility for all 2009 Partnerships

The British Council and Project Dissemination

• The Comenius website had 66,000 visitors last year

• The website promotes Comenius to new audiences as well as supporting ongoing Comenius activity

• Comenius eNews is our newsletter. It goes out to all current grantholders, and many representatives from local authorities, as well as anyone who chooses to subscribe

• Case studies are a powerful tool for illustrating the benefits of the programme

• We use case studies on our website, at regional and national events, and in the press

The British Council and Project Dissemination

What issues are we especially interested in for 2010?

• Employability

• Community Cohesion

• Languages

• Participation of underrepresented groups

More tips on Project Dissemination

• Understand who your audiences are, and what they will be interested in

• Parents and the local community are an important audience

• Disseminate effectively within your school

• QaS Quality and Sustainability Project

http://www.programkontoret.se/sv/QaS/

• European Commission website

http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/education_culture/valorisation/index_en.htm

COMENIUS PARTNERSHIPS

Questions and Answers