A delegation of 35 educational experts from across Europe recently visited St Thomas More College Girls’ Secondary School, Santa Lucia, to see the educational practices and positive results of the Core Curriculum Programme (CCP). The school was chosen as part of a case study for Key Competence Network on School Education (KeyCoNet) co-ordinated by Caroline Kearney.
The students on the programme at the school greeted the foreign guests as they arrived, introduced themselves and escorted them to the media room where the first meeting took place. These were the same girls who, at the start of the year, would hardly lift their eyes to speak to their teacher. Their self-esteem was shattered after eight years of schooling in which they had experienced nothing but failure. Now, after eight months in the programme, the change for the better was very visible.
After a brief introduction by school head Gaetano Calleja, the delegation moved on to observe the mentoring session. Their presence did not bother the students who carried on working as they usually do. They are used to having visitors.
In the class, teachers teach in teams which leads the students to acquire knowledge across subjects. Learning takes place in a very informal setting: on a sofa in front of an interactive white board. The presence of several teachers in class does not deter the schoolgirls from voicing their opinion; they know they would be listened to.
The members of the delegation had words of praise and described the experience as an enjoyable one. They were surprised at the informal setting of the learning zone, at the number of skills the students were learning at one time and the confidence with which they were doing it.
One of the European experts asked the students: “Would you like to be moved back again to a class where teaching is done in a normal way? Would you like to go back to a mainstream class?” The girls did not hesitate and were assertive in their reply: “Certainly not! We would not learn anything. We would just be wasting our time.”
Learning Support Zone teacher Victoria Butters explained the concept behind creating a Learning Support Zone: a haven for students with behavioural, social and emotional problems. The education specialists were also shown the students’ portfolios and a photographic exhibition prepared by the mentor, which outlined some of the activities the students have participated in and how the activities were directly linked to the soft competences in the CCP.
For the last part of the meeting, assistant head Joanne Mangion, inclusion coordinator Josanne Ghirxi, head of schools Ruth Farrell and assistant heads and mentors from other colleges, answered questions put forward by the associates and partners of KeyCoNet. Frank Fabri, director for Curriculum Management and Research and Development, concluded the meeting.
The CCP falls under the responsibility of Joanne Grima, Executive Officer Assessment for Learning, and assistant head Joanna Mangion is in charge of the programme at school.