The study visit included twelve professionals representing education across the United Kingdom. The visit centred on Ontario province and, in particular, Toronto City. It involved meeting representatives from the Ministry of Education and the Ontario Parents Council as well as visiting four elementary schools (ages 4-13) in Toronto.

Canada has no federal system of education so each province is responsible for formulating its own policies as well as implementing programmes of study and accreditation.

The main emphasis of the visit was to consider how parents of school children in Toronto are involved and supported in their children’s education.

The visit also offered participants the opportunity to explore the nature of the Canadian education system and through this reflect and compare the systems and practices with those in the United Kingdom.

In addition it provided the opportunity to develop cultural links that would bring about enhanced opportunities in terms of promoting a richer learning environment and heightened global awareness in our respective schools.

Canada’s population is culturally diverse, especially in the three largest cities – Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. Canadian immigration policies have welcomed immigrants from around the world; about eighteen percent of the population of Canada were born outside the country. In 2001, one of six people living in Canada reported speaking at home a language other than English or French, the two official languages.

Toronto’s population is almost 2.5 million. Between 1996 and 2001, federal policy aimed at building the country by immigration, with an annual target of about 3 percent of the population. During this period, 46 percent of the newcomers to Canada settled in Toronto.

Toronto therefore provides an ideal setting in which to study the involvement of parents, as such a culturally diverse population would result in an equally diverse range of needs to be met.

The visit was approached with a wide ranging set of expectations and outcomes:

The hope of increasing the level of involvement and support of parents in our schools

The development of the ICT communication strand in our school development plan

The development of links with schools in Toronto

Increasing awareness and tolerance

An opportunity to exchange ideas on issues such as policy, practises and resources.

Through meeting with various representatives and by visiting schools there would be the opportunity for dialogue on the above issues. Through note taking, recording photographically and reading educational documentation the issues would be identified and recorded.

The visit began with an overview of the education system in Canada and in Ontario. The role of the Advisory School Councils in Ontario was outlined and a summary of recent curriculum development was provided. A thorough briefing of the role of the Ontario Parents Council (OPC) provided an important insight into this body for what was to become the main focus for our school visits. Thus the school visits planned for the rest of the week were put into context.

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The Ontario Ministry of Education ensures that "all the partners in Ontario’s education system work together to build a system focused on excellence and on student achievements."(Education in Canada and Ontario; Ontario Ministry of Education).

The last ten years in the province of Ontario has been a time of educational reform. There have been many changes since 1995 when the government was elected with a strong mandate for education. They wanted to make significant changes and they implemented these changes rapidly. There was a new emphasis on transparency, efficiency and accountability

Alongside the curriculum changes there had been a recognition by the government of the importance of involving parents in their children’s education and Advisory Councils were mandated for every public school in the province. The Advisory Councils were to be made up largely of parents in order to provide a balance with the centralised reform. It was a means of placing some of the responsibilities for education into the hands of the parents.

Province wide consultation provided the basis for establishing the regulations for the role and responsibilities of "School Councils". It is important to note that the purpose of a School Council is to improve student achievement and to enhance the accountability of the education system to parents through consultation. The concept of School Councils was welcomed by parents. Prior to the changes parental involvement was at a fundraising level only. Accountability was the motivating force for their implementation.

Although there is no statistical research at present into the effectiveness of School Councils in raising achievement, it was clear from our visits that flourishing School Councils are making a difference.

As we embarked on our school visits we took with us the clear message that "education is a shared responsibility" and that the Toronto District School Board "strive to maintain and enhance the positive and supportive partnership that exists between students, their families, and staff". They also recognise that "engaging parents and guardians in meaningful involvement not only supports student learning but helps to build a community that shares a collective vision".(Ontario Parent Council, presentation).

All the schools visited were very successful, chosen as examples of good practice, particularly in the involvement of parents. Generally the schools were in the middleclass areas of Toronto. There was a fairly high proportion of "stay at home moms" which immediately creates a pool of possible volunteers. Where both parents were working they were often in professional jobs with nannies to care for the children. The School Councils were well established and supported. There was a clear sense of ownership with parents wanting to be actively involved in their childrens’ education. The involvement was usually in the form of in-class support, assisting on school trips, helping to run the library and by serving on the School Council.

As we visited each school it became clear that there were common factors contributing to their success.

Communication was of vital importance. There were strong links between school and home. The communication took a variety of forms. There was an openness between the staff and the parents that brought to mind the emphasis on "transparency" required by the government in its reforms. Parents are welcomed into school throughout the year for a series of events including new parents evenings, curriculum evenings, parent consultations, concerts and performances and social events. In addition there are newsletters from the principal and additional newsletters from the School Council providing a voice back to the parents from their perspective. In addition there were letters at the start of the school year from the class teacher introducing themselves and their way of working to the parents.

Surveys were another common feature. Parents were surveyed at most schools for a variety of purposes. Establishing a list of skills was common and it was evident from looking round the schools that parental skills had been employed to great effect. The schools wanted to make it as easy as possible for parents to become involved. They did this by asking them, via surveys, when meetings should be held, whether creche facilities were needed, which aspects of school life they needed more information about and how many people had access to computers. The information collected was put to good use. As a result of surveys one school sends out its "mail" on the same day each week as parents found this easier to manage and another school issues its newsletters online only providing paper copies to those who request them.

The schools were based on strong relationships. The principals had excellent relationships with teachers based upon trust and respect. There were also excellent relationships between parents and school and between the students and teachers. The links extended into the community.

The principals we met were keen to have parent volunteers in school but there were clearly defined roles for these volunteers. The teachers are viewed as the professionals. There seemed to be an expectation by the parent to help and an understanding that anything they could do to facilitate the running of the school would only enhance their children’s learning experiences. Working parents were prepared to take time off work to help in school, particularly on major projects such as developing the playground.

The sense of community spirit was also prevalent. Each school was set in the context of its community and this was obviously a two way process. Where relevant the community was invited into school as well as being asked to contribute financially. This level of involvement creates a much clearer understanding of schools and this in turn creates greater support. Another benefit was greater awareness of the demographics of the catchment area. One school in particular was more diverse than the others. Through close links with the community the staff became aware of the need for the development of tolerance and understanding of issues such as mixed marriages between Jews and gentiles and gay or lesbian families.

The use of ICT contributed significantly to the successful involvement and support of parents. As Canada is such a vast country there is widespread use of IT in communicating at all levels. The Ministry, the Toronro District School Board and the School Councils all used ICT as a matter of course. ICT was a focal point in the government reforms and this was evident in the schools. In addition to this, however, the use of ICT by parents was significant.

Parents accessed the school websites daily for information on the curriculm, homework, school newsletters, minutes of school council meetings, sports fixtures and results, pictures from field trips and so on.

Parents were better informed and as a result better supported. They were easily able to access information even if they hadn’t been able to attend meetings. This was particularly important for working parents.

The Toronto district School Board and the Ontario Parents Council have impressive websites. All curriculum documents are available on-line as is all the information needed at a provincial and school level.

Finally the involvement and support of parents in these schools had been significant in order to bring about change. The principals agreed that significant changes cannot be made unless you are in partnership with parents. By creating a relationship with parents consultation can take place and the implementation of changes can occur, thereby improving standards and raising achievement.

The school Councils we visited were successful. Initially the impression was that they functioned in a similar way to our PTAs. Each School Council raised a significant amount of money. There were various committees providing an opportunity for parents to become involved in the school and as that involvement grew they would become more aware of the ethos of their school and use that knowledge to support their child.

However, after meeting representatives from the Ontario Parents council it became apparent that School Councils have a much wider remit. School Councils can provide advice to the principal and to the board on any matter including planning, implementation and policy development. Thus parents are involved at every step of the way. There is an ethos of inclusion and involvement, the end result being that "when parents participate children do better in school, but more than that they go to better schools".(Ontario Parent Council presentation).

My school is set in a very different context from those in Toronto. In an area where people from other cultures are underrepresented we have an obligation to raise the awareness of our young people to other cultures. I am confident that through dissemination in a variety of ways I can contribute to the further enhancement of our children’s global awareness and thereby provide a richer learning environment. The development of links with schools will be exciting and stimulating, encouraging the children to think beyond their town, county and country.

Alongside this there is evidence in schools of similarities between our countries despite the varied cultures and backgrounds.

My aim, to reflect and compare practise, has been more than realised. I have read the documentation given to us and spent considerable time reflecting on what we saw. It is reassuring to find that another country has been through a remarkably similar process of change and has arrived at substantially the same themes and values as we have.

I have brought back many ideas for improving the use of ICT. I was impressed with the variety of information available to parents through IT and the support that provided.

The visit has focused my interest across a wider perspective, which can only be good for my future work.

The role of the School Council has made the most impact. By mandating School Councils there is a structure in place providing an amazing level of involvement for the parents of children in Toronto. This level of involvement has led to greater knowledge, increased levels of understanding and motivation, happier parents , therefore happier children, therefore happier schools and therefore raised levels of achievement.

I have brought back two key issues: Relationships and Communication.

Greater communication and the development of strong working relationships will lead to a two way sharing of information, leading to greater understanding and thus to the appropriate involvement and support of parents, thereby raising standards.

In my role as SENCO I can implement this at all levels. In the area of Special Needs there is an even greater need for the involvement and support of parents. The visit has raised questions that I did not have time to explore. I would now like to focus specifically on the provision for SEN, the approach in Canada to the inclusion of SEN children in mainstream schools and the level of support for parents at school level, from the Ontario Parents Council and the Toronto District School Board.

The warmth and hospitality from the Canadian Authorities, from the schools and from the country in general was overwhelming. I left with a huge sense of the value placed on education. It is front page news daily in the province, reflecting the esteem in which schools are held. On leaving each school I came away with a real sense of the pride everyone felt for their school and impressed by the huge levels of commitment shown by all and the success and happiness that bred.

An unexpected gain for me was the contact with so many colleagues from the United Kingdom. Apart from the opportunity the visit provided to consider practise in Toronto we also reflected on practise in England, Ireland and Scotland. We have discussed communication and parental involvement in primary and secondary schools and have created links between our own schools.

There is much to learn and I have a real sense now that this can only be the beginning.

The dissemination from the visit has already begun. I have presented an assembly to the whole school as part of One World Day and to the individuals and groups that I work with. I am contributing towards our portfolio, providing evidence for our International school Award application.

I am feeding back to various sub committees within the school governing body and to the school senior management team. One area of interest is the further development of ICT as a means of communication.

The parents have already discussed the visit as part of our parent consultation evening and there will be further opportunities through an International Links evening.

I have been asked to talk to fellow SENCOS at our school cluster group meeting and to the community paediatricians as part of our links between the education and health services.

There will be dissemination to the Advisory and Inspection Service and the Educational Psychologist through our termly planning and review meetings and to the county advisors through the research committee on special education and literacy that I sit on.

Updating of the school website to include details of the visit is ongoing.

I have been asked to maintain contact with the Ontario Parent Council. They are keen to keep in touch and are very interested in the roles of the PTA and parent governors in our schools. They are also hoping, as is The Ministry of Education in Ontario, to find a link for me in Special Education so that I could extend my research to cover the aspects of special education that I mentioned previously.

As there were twelve representatives it was not possible for us all to create links with a school. I hope to develop a link with another school in Toronto. One of our pupils has a cousin in Toronto and we thought it would be appropriate to foster communication with them. If there is an opportunity for a second visit then I would arrange to spend some time at this school. It would give real meaning to the use of ICT as we would be developing relationships with a family member of one of our pupils. As the friendships between children and staff grew we could compare and contrast our lifestyles and educational experiences.

APPENDIX

Pre-visit preparation

Collation of information on your school in readiness for creating a link. This could include a copy of newsletters, prospectus, parents’ handbooks, photographs and letters of your class etc.

Buy a guidebook.

Think and list your expectations as this helps to focus your questions.

Arrange to meet as a group on arrival to pool ideas for questions and research.

Visit the education website of the country you are visiting to gain some background information of the education system.

Visit the LECT website and read past reports as this will help you structure your research

Funding

Consider who has funded the visit and why. This will have a bearing on your approach to the school visits and should be the focus of your research.

Websites

Teaching and Learning in Hungarian Schools

Three of our teachers, Rachel Crosbie, Tracy Smith and Vanessa Shuttleworth visited Hungary in February 2003.

Summary

This study visit by nine teachers and a primary school headteacher from West Sussex concentrated on teaching and learning strategies. The teachers were particularly interested in thinking skills and higher order questioning, as these were a focus in their own schools at the time. Other personal interests included the use of drama as a learning tool and teaching methods in literacy.

The group consisted of teachers from one secondary school and three primary schools.

We visited Hungary in February 2003 and stayed in the Northern Uplands area, to the North East of Budapest, close to the border with the Slovak Republic. The school visits were based in and around the towns of Miskolc and Eger.

This report is based on: observations in primary schools, (6-14 year olds) secondary schools(14-18 year olds) and a kindergarten; (3-6 year olds) and discussions with teachers, pupils and education officials.

Introduction

‘Teaching and Learning Strategies’ is a key theme in the West Sussex Education Development Plan as well as the School Development plans of the schools. The schools were also interested in furthering cross phase links to aid future collaboration and development.

The learning objectives for the teachers’ professional development were:

To gain a new perspective on teaching and learning skills by observing and reflecting upon different approaches to developing pupils’ thinking skills and teachers’ questioning techniques.

To engage in professional dialogue with other practitioners about implementing and evaluating possible alternative strategies to enhance the standard of teaching and learning in schools.

To reflect upon the possible application of lessons learned for West Sussex, and the adaptation of those lessons to their own school situation.

To develop new international and cross-phase links.

Participants hoped to have gained a greater insight into the wider context and the issues involved by observing different approaches.

These new ideas and theories should inform participants’ own practice and

By effective dissemination, enhance teaching strategies and extend the range of learning opportunities throughout the LEA.

Note-taking and photography during school visits

Regular group discussion and review throughout the visit

Sharing of experiences during discussions

Contributing to a group report during and after the visit

Background:

In Hungary, education is compulsory from the age of six to eighteen. Children can attend kindergarten from the age of three. Primary schools teach children up to the age of fourteen, then pupils transfer to a secondary school until the age of eighteen.

The type of school varies as it does in the UK:

Some of the schools we visited were combined primary and secondary. Some schools were selective ‘Grammar’ schools and some were ‘vocational.’

One school was a private, Roman Catholic girls selective school.

The following schools were visited:

A primary school in the North-eastern town of Satoraljaujhely;

A primary school in Miskolc

A secondary Grammar school in Miskolc

In Eger: 5 primary schools

2 primary and secondary grammar schools

2 secondary grammar school

1 secondary grammar and vocational technical school of economics.

1 kindergarten

Out of these schools, one primary school specialised in Music, another in PE.

In each school, between two and six lessons were observed.

As well as informal discussions with teachers and pupils, meetings took place with:

The headteacher of a primary school

The head of the Education Department of the Municipality of Miskolc

The deputy mayor of Eger

The most striking feature was that most teaching observed was whole class teacher-led lessons, with pupils sitting in rows and an absence of pupil to pupil interaction. This is not to say that all teaching used this method – there were some examples of more active learning in some schools.

Also very noticeable was the attentiveness of the pupils and the fact that education is very much valued in Hungary as there is a lot of unemployment.

The organisation of the school day had an effect on the pupils. Lessons tend to start from 8.00am and are only 45 minutes long with a ten to twenty minute break in between. During the break pupils were left pretty much to their own devices and were allowed to let off steam or have a snack. This meant that they returned to their lessons refreshed and ready to concentrate. The afternoons were used for extra support for special needs or the more able, sports activities, art & crafts or homework. Most children stayed in school for the afternoon.

A great level of pace was evident in many lessons. Teachers planned a number of short focused activities and pupils were expected to keep up and pay attention. Lessons often started with a warm up activity or Brain Gym and multi-sensory approaches were evident in many primary classes. The approaches often resembled the Numeracy Strategy.

The teachers used highly effective, often simple, home-made resources. There was little evidence of expensive high-tech equipment or beautiful displays in classrooms. Even the youngest primary children were focused and not disruptive; they did not touch the equipment on their desks until told.

There was a high prioritisation for the acquisition of foreign languages, especially English, which was seen as vital for the population as a whole. Teaching of English started at the beginning of Primary school. The English teachers tended to possess a wider range of teaching & learning strategies – possibly because they had been trained by native English trainers. We witnessed the use of immersion to teach English in a ‘Bilingual’ primary school where they have one bilingual class per year. In these classes, besides five lessons of English, three other subjects are taught in English. (e.g. Arts, Games, Music, Environmental Studies.)

Some schools specialised in certain subject areas such as English, PE and Music and had high standards in these subjects, where talents were identified and fostered. Many schools had trained specialist teachers for able and special needs teaching.

There was a culture of competition and celebration of success in most schools we visited – both nationally and internationally. We sensed a great pride in and awareness of their national culture.

Selection for the grammar, specialist and vocational schools was apparent in many aspects observed. There is no use of fixed catchment areas and great competition to gain places in favoured schools. Parents make use of extra tuition in order to ensure their children attend the best schools.

Kindergarten prepared children for primary schooling through play and socialising. There was plenty of interaction (adults/children and children/children) which was not so evident in most primary & secondary schools. Kindergarten is compulsory from 5 to 6 years. If a child is not ready to move on, they stay in kindergarten.

We did not observe as much ICT development as in the UK. There is limited internet access and ICT tuition does not start until the age of ten years.

An emphasis on Music was apparent: some excellent music lessons were observed, using the Kodaly method. Government funding is available for specialist music schools. We visited a centre where private lessons were provided very cheaply.

The Special Educational Needs provision observed used a range of equipment and methods: children were seen using a massage ball to stimulate the spine; jumping on trampolines, bouncing in or round hoops on a hopper; using tactile materials and domino games plus several observation games. The IEPs seen were very detailed.

Hungary’s educational system is in the midst of great change – there is a move towards a two tier exam system, similar to GSCE and ‘A’ levels. They are looking to the UK for models of excellence, particularly the methodology used in UK primary schools. They are anxious to use English native teachers and are concerned that their pupils have a large knowledge base but are unable to apply this knowledge acquired.

Oathall Community College:

We were interested in examining the use of thinking skills strategies to improve pupils’ learning. While there was some evidence of this in Primary Schools, we did not find any at Secondary level. This was mainly because the teaching styles we observed were didactic and pupils were not encouraged to interact with one another. We felt that the teaching methods used in the UK result in our students becoming more independent learners, less reliant on their teacher. Despite this, the students seen were highly motivated and by the end of secondary schooling they had higher levels of academic knowledge. The language teaching was excellent, especially where it was taught across the curriculum. They had a greater frequency of lessons and children started lessons at an earlier age.

Bewbush First School:

Lindfield Primary School:

We were interested in teaching and learning strategies. We saw pockets of excellence primarily in the English lessons which aim to mirror our system: a variety of resources, visual clues, body language, good interaction with students. High standards are evident despite limited resources – black and white pictures, handwritten resources. In enlightened schools there was evidence of roleplay, book corners, etc., but this is not consistent across schools.

Milton Mount First and Middle School:

The opportunity to observe other teachers teaching

A variety of activities

The broadening of our perspectives

The opportunity to reflect on our role as educators within an international context

Opportunity to share our principles and practice with other practitioners

The raising of our self-esteem as teachers

Promotion of cross-phase understanding/awareness

Respect for the great value placed on the acquisition of a modern foreign language.

An inspirational liaison !

DISSEMINATION PROPOSALS

Presentations at staff meetings, cluster groups

Articles for local publications

Interviews with local press

Report on West Sussex Grid for Learning

LEA publications

LEA conferences

Twilight sessions

Hungarian day / week in schools to heighten cross-cultural awareness

Meeting with other TIPD groups in West Sussex

A presentation to West Sussex about how to use a system of mass lesson observations as an effective in-service training tool

 

return visit by Hungarian colleagues to UK

email links with pupils

email links with teachers

enhanced primary-secondary links in West Sussex

APPENDIX

The Specialist Schools Trust organised and funded this visit, but it was the local agent, Ibolya, who made it so successful. She had so many contacts in the area, she was able to plan a varied and interesting programme and amend it according to our needs. She was also good fun !

It is vital to make contact with the local agent beforehand so that good relationships can be forged.

In Hungary, very few people speak English, so we needed Ibolya’s help and knowledge of English ! Some Hungarian people we met spoke German, so some of us were able to converse directly without a translator.

As well as the school visits, the programme included visits to the unforgettable thermal cave baths (swimming outside in sub-zero temperatures!); a ski resort; two wine cellars (one red, one white); a train ride to a beautiful castle in the snowy mountains and bat-infested caves; a gypsy band to accompany an evening meal; sightseeing in Eger and Budapest and some wonderful, well chosen restaurants.

We went to Hungary during February half term, so it was cold – there was snow on the ground, we were lucky to have blue skies and sunshine in the daytime, but the temperature fell to minus 13 degrees Celsius at night.

Luckily, we were prepared for the cold temperatures, with plenty of layers, so we never felt cold – there was no wind and it was not damp.

The hotels had double glazing and central heating and many of us felt too hot at night, despite the outside temperature !

Hungarian food is very filling – soup is nearly always given as a starter – both at lunch and dinner. The main course always had large helpings of potato, pasta or rice with meat or fish. We rarely emptied our plates !

The vegetarians were given a variety of alternatives.

We were given a subsistence allowance of 5000 Hungarian Forints (approx. £15) which was plenty for a three course evening meal – we never exceeded it. £100 is enough for a week’s evening meals – you may wish to take more if you want to buy souvenirs.

Hungarian currency is not easily available in the UK – if it is, the exchange rate is high. It is best to take Sterling or Euros and change on arrival at the airport. Most major credit cards are accepted in the towns and large restaurants.

Any group thinking of participating in a study group should also be prepared to be interviewed by the local press and TV – the Hungarians were very proud to receive us as visitors – and we felt quite humbled by their reception and hospitality.

A Photographic Record of the Visit