In one of the largest suburbs in Europe you’ll find Bridge of Don Academy (BODA). It looks out across Aberdeen and the North Sea which has helped shape the city and its people in so many ways. It prides itself on its core values, the 4 B’s; to be Honest, Respectful, Caring and Your Best.
Head Teacher, Daphne McWilliam states “it’s our job as teachers to make [our pupils] aspirational. We must inspire them to aspire.” The recent economic downturn in the city has added to this commitment. The awareness of the realities for young people, particularly within this local context, help underpin the school’s approach to learning.
What did they hope to achieve?
BODA see that equipping pupils with a solid, tangible skillset for life is a vital part of their responsibility as educators, particularly through engaging with issues around Rights, Learning for Sustainability and Global Citizenship. Encouraging a greater awareness of the world and its people is key to their approach and they have aimed to help pupils add value to what they offer, not only when leaving school but whilst they are part of the learning community at BODA.
“If you relate what children are learning to the real world, you will have buy-in, you will have engagement and therefore you will have [pupils] wanting to learn more.”
What did they do?
Looking at local and global issues concurrently, they fostered an ethos that’s broad, inclusive and outward-looking, made possible by:
- Attending twilight CPD sessions at the Montgomery Development Education Centre (MDEC)
- Establishing an LfS Working Group.
- Setting-up a Global Goals Group (staff and pupils) with advice & support from MDEC.
- Joining the Aberdeen-wide Miniature Earth Learning Project (MELP), in part supported and facilitated by MDEC, then developed a Modern Studies unit based upon MELP.
- Inviting MDEC staff to run staff and pupil sessions/assemblies.
“MDEC were brilliant…they weren’t just giving you loads of stuff to do, it was: ‘here are manageable ways to do it…here are ideas, resources, and ways to introduce it’…it was teachers understanding teachers.” Modern Studies teachers.
How did this link with the curriculum?
The Social Studies faculty and staff, with the support of the SMT, have led the way through the units that focus on issues such as democracy, modern conflicts, migration, child soldiers, media and social inequality. Rather than try to shoe-horn these in to their subjects, staff have looked at how the curriculum already fits with many of the SDGs and Rights issues, highlighting the connections and points where ideas are transferrable and applicable. By harnessing their own skills and aptitudes and by taking advantage of the professional learning opportunities offered by MDEC, they have been able to ensure that Global Learning and LfS form an integral part of their work and are not merely ‘add-ons’; they believe these issues and topics do not need to be daunting, despite the demands of the modern curriculum and even within subjects less obviously connected.
“I can understand why someone may not want to diverge from the norm and go in to this but I would say for a lot of teachers there’s so much scope to bring this in and it can only better your lessons – you’re going to find pupils are more engaged because they can relate to it.” Becca Davidson, Modern Studies teacher.
What could have changed?
Staff at BODA all acknowledged that time was one of the greatest challenges. Realising they could only have so much influence on that, they learned to focus on how to make the most of what they did have and were doing. Reflecting on the year behind them, they now see ways they can better manage their time and expectations.
“It’s about fine-tuning what you’ve already got there…it’s about making connections more apparent and just making what you’ve got better… finding opportunities to gear it towards [the issues] because you’re going to see the benefits.” Becca Davidson.
Staff at BODA have proved already that reflection and joined-up thinking can transform the learning experience and ultimately the aspirations, motivation and understanding of young people.
What was the legacy / impact?
The main legacy the staff identified was the growth in pupils’ confidence, engagement and awareness of wider issues. This, coupled with pupils’ improved motivation and aspirations, has confirmed to them that incorporating LfS, Rights and Global Learning in to the heart of their teaching practice, has benefits that truly harness the school’s values of Respect, Honesty, Caring and to ‘Be Your Best’. They also explained that the staff-pupil relationships have markedly improved as a direct result of the methods they’ve used, which lend themselves particularly well to Global Learning; namely cooperative learning and pupil-led projects that trust and encourage young people to use and develop their skills, knowledge and awareness.
With some of the work still in its relative infancy, further impact may take a while to become truly apparent as pupils grow through the school. It is clear though that the seeds have been sown for further development within the staff and curriculum itself, as well as amongst the pupils, whose work this year especially has demonstrated the enormous positive change in them as individuals – responsible, confident, effective and already successful.
