Address: Place des Marronniers - 77100 MEAUX

Country: France
 

Project: Our little steps for democracy

 

Working language during the project:

  • French
     

Themes of the Council of Europe project “FREE to SPEAK, SAFE to LEARN - Democratic Schools for All” covered:

  • Making children’s and students’ voices heard
  • Improving well-being at school
     

Competences from the Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture (CDC) addressed and where / how they were integrated:

  • Valuing cultural diversity
    Through specific actions, in particular two important dates we will share with our eTwinning partners: the European Day of Languages and the Europe Day.
  • Knowledge and critical understanding of the world
    All year long, while learning about digital citizenship.
  • Cooperation and conflict resolution
    Through cooperative and collaborative face-to-face and distance learning activities, conflict resolution training for student representatives and a life- size role-playing game
     

Target group age range:

  • 5-11
     

Level of education:

  • Primary education

Short description of the project:

Over the past 5 years, the role of student representatives has increased in our school. They ask to be consulted more and to be able to participate in the major issues that concern them: creation of a garden, layout of the school grounds, food recycling. On some points, progress has been made, but it is the adults who have been their spokespersons. The democratic school project would give them more space, by letting them manage at least one project that is important to them.

Our school project takes into account the dimension of citizenship education, whether it is in the daily life of the school or on the Internet; not only in its protection and security aspect, but also from the aspect of rights and responsibilities.

In order to improve the school climate, work has been carried out on recess time. Firstly, adults were involved in the organization of these times, rather than just supervision. The points that will be developed this year are: the transfer of role of animator from the teachers to the students and the implementation - at the request of the representatives of the previous years - of a training in conflict resolution for the students. Playtime games are also at the center of their concerns.

This year, our digital equipment is taking a technological leap forward, with the arrival of video projectors and internet in our classrooms. More than ever, this is the time to make our students aware of these tools, by giving them the basics of their life as a digital citizen from the start.

Last year, a class designed an escape game on this theme, this year the aim will be to make the game more fluid, as well as perhaps create an application. Four classes within the school will explore digitalisation: content creation, communication and collaboration, programming, digital environment, information and data, allowing on the one hand to appropriate the new tools available in the school, and on the other hand to enrich the knowledge of our young citizens.

Our pupils regularly participate in eTwinning projects. By using the platform, they learn to collaborate with children from other cultures and languages. These skills could be transferred to the well-being of our pupils at school.

Our school regularly welcomes students who have recently arrived in France and are often non-French speakers. Taking advantage of their differences will allow us to value them and to open the horizons of our students. Special days will be dedicated to this, but it will also be carried out on a daily basis, with the help of games and videos. These children are sometimes refugees, a term that is a bit vague for elementary school children. Using the Canadian Foodgrainsbank game "Forced to Leave" as a resource, students will be asked to organise an awareness day for families.
 

Aims/objectives

  • Enable representatives to play their full role.
  • Make students aware that they can make a difference.
  • To give children a sense of belonging to the school community.
     

Expected results/outcomes

Concrete actions in the school -and why not beyond- driven by the students.
 

Changes

A better school climate
 

Challenges you faced

We discover them during the project: the difficulty to gather, to open the school to families....
 

Time-frame of the project:

Launch: on 28 September, the School will celebrate the European Day of Languages (the 26th being a Saturday).

Activities throughout the school year

Closing day with the families: beginning of June.
 

Council of Europe materials on citizenship and human rights education used while preparing or implementing your practice:

  • Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture
  • Democratic governance of schools
  • How all Teachers Can Support EDC/HRE: A Framework for the Development of Competences
  • Cards for Democracy for all