Erasmus Policy Statement

 

International strategy of the Institution

Our school is a secondary school in a town near Granada. In addition to Secundary Compulsory Education, we have teaching for the Baccalaureate in Science, Humanities and Social Studies. We have blended teaching of Secondary and Baccalaureate for adults, working for lifelong learning and to avoid early school leaving. In terms of Vocational Education Training (VET), we have Training Cycles in the Administration family: Basic Grade Vocational Training in Administrative Services, Intermediate Grade in Administrative Management and Higher Grade in Administration and Finance.

This Higher Education Cycle (HE) is a Higher Technical qualification of 2000 hours of study and 120 credits. The internship training period has a total of 360 hours and 22 credits. It is usually taken during the last term of their second year, from March to June, once students pass all other training modules.

Having worked in eTwinning for several years, teachers and students have had the possibility to work with colleagues and young people from other European countries. This made all parties interested in working on the internationalisation of our institution.

Our objectives in the area of mobility and European cooperation are:

  1. To improve the competences of teachers and the use of new tools and methodologies. We consider that it is essential for our staff and students to have the opportunity to participate in projects with other European schools, to contact teachers and students from other countries in order to motivate their learning or teaching process and to have a European vision of education.
  2.  To promote the knowledge of foreign languages among all the members of our institution, encouraging language learning and participation in international programmes, as we consider that it is no less important than learning their own field of study in a different country and within Europe for personal and professional purposes.
  3. To lay the foundations for future mobilities of our students by making our school’s offer more attractive. The mobility of these students, whether for study or internships, will have a strong influence on their training, on the improvement of their fluency in the language and on their socio-cultural enrichment, which will have an impact on their employability and progression to university studies. We pay special attention to the inclusion of disadvantaged students from low socio-economic backgrounds.
  4. To create a network of transnational relations and synergies with other institutions in Europe that will benefit the whole educational community. We will collaborate to receive European students in our school and help them to find a company to do their internship here, as part of our cultural and professional enrichment.
  5. To find partners from schools with similar characteristics and programmes to those of our institution. Where possible, they will be chosen through the eTwinning platform, among the partners who have worked best with our teachers. The geographical areas chosen are mainly English-speaking countries within Europe or countries where English is commonly used, although we will not rule out any country that offers possibilities for our students.
Expected impact of participation in the Erasmus+ Programme on the modernisation of our institution.

The ultimate goal of the school’s Management Team is the highest possible quality level of education for our students, fostering the inclusion and personal development of disadvantaged students in order to delay school drop-out and promote lifelong learning. This can be achieved through all the possibilities offered by the Erasmus+ programme:

  • Linking our school with other European institutions through the creation of relationships and synergies that promote the European dimension can have an impact on the benefits of the school community through its internationalisation, contacting teachers and professionals with the same motivation and interests to form a network for the exchange of experiences and good practices.
  • Promoting the incorporation of educational innovation in teaching practice, especially that related to digital competence, competence-based didactic planning and assessment and that related to STEAM areas (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and improving the professional qualification and the linguistic and methodological competence of our staff and students.
  • Taking into account that the teaching staff already has an interest in innovative, participatory and project-based methodologies, the achievement of these objectives will have a direct impact on the institution and on the teaching staff, through the updating of the methodology and the tools and activities that will be organised for the implementation and dissemination of Erasmus+ projects. Students will benefit from a higher level of professionalisation and cultural and personal knowledge that will increase their employability and their aim to obtain quality jobs in line with their specialisation.

In terms of Vocational Education and Training, we aim for students to see their vocational qualification in a broader way, as part of a lifelong learning process. Our students come to these studies from very different personal situations, from young people who have just finished VET or Baccalaureate, those who already have university studies, those who want to update their professional skills or people who are unemployed. The Erasmus programme will help our institution and support our work to:

  • Enabling our students to acquire skills and competences to adapt to the labour market or to have more opportunities in occupations related to business administration or public administration.
  • The improvement of foreign languages, especially English, as part of their personal and professional development, updating knowledge and communication skills.
  • Increasing the opportunities for our students to get a job, improving economic growth and social equity, and raising awareness of the European identity in all its diversity through their own experience.

Our staff must therefore work to help students achieve these goals and must rise to this challenge.

Priorities of the renewed EU Agenda for Higher Education, goals towards a European Education Area and policy objectives we intend to pursue

To deliver on the outcomes of the renewed EU Agenda for Higher Education we aim to:

  • Promote work-based learning, involving businesses and other schools in Europe and stimulating innovation and entrepreneurship among our students and teaching staff.
  • Further develop quality assurance mechanisms taking into account I-VET and C-VET systems based on learning outcomes.
  • Improve access to VET and qualifications for the youngest students in our school in order to avoid early school leaving.
  • Strengthen key competences in VET.
  • Promote initial and continuing professional development of VET teachers.

With regard to the European Commission’s initiatives for a European Education Area to «enable all young people to receive the best education and training, and to find work across the continent», we aim to help our students to:

  • Spend time abroad to study and learn.
  • Have their higher education diploma recognised by Europass;
  • Improve their language skills and learn a language other than English;
  • Facilitate their access to high quality education, regardless of their socio-economic background; and
  • Enhance their European identity by learning about Europe’s cultural heritage and diversity for themselves.
By applying for the Erasmus Charter for Higher Education this institution commits itself to:

Fully respect the principles of non-discrimination set out in the Erasmus+ Programme and guarantee equal access and opportunities to participants from all backgrounds.

Ensure full recognition of successfully completed study mobility activities and, where possible, traineeships in terms of credits awarded (ECTS or compatible system). Ensure the inclusion of successfully completed study mobility and/or traineeship activities in the final record of student outcomes (Diploma Supplement or equivalent).