Our work
At Global Spirit Ed, we believe that through open collaboration between our schools and their staff, we are able to build creative solutions to the challenges and opportunities we face.
Below are some case studies of past solutions we have implemented.
All of our work culminated in the creation of the REAL LiFE curriculum in 2020. This was particularly inspired by our visits to the XP School in Doncaster and combines all of the Fourth Way principles described above in a fully integrated, multi-disciplinary curriculum. It has been by far our most ambitious venture to date and has required massive amounts of planning and training to implement.
Integrating a cross-curricular course into a mainstream school is akin to rebuilding a plane whilst you are still in the air. Training staff up to this entirely new way of teaching, whilst they are still delivering conventional courses as well, is not an easy proposition. However, the engagement and agency exhibited by the students in these lessons make all of the headaches worthwhile and we have been careful to plan that the model is sustainable in the long term.
Steve Hall has led this extremely exciting work and has been indefatigable. As a result of all of his team’s endeavours the REALiFE curriculum is now being rolled out successfully right across the MAT, in Years 7 and 8 as well as in our primary schools. Steve outlines this work below.
Harlands want their children to have no limits to their ambitions. Their Moral Purpose, Golden Threads and Values: “Tolerance, respect, critical thinking, responsibility, optimism, kindness and confidence” underpin this aim and is clearly echoed throughout their curriculum and day-to-day running of the school. Harlands takes great pride in their school community and are constantly seeking ways to work together to develop their children as empathetic, respectful learners who are independent, with a true sense of self and the ability to thrive as individuals.