Including everyone

"The drumming has been a tremendous learning tool, because if you put a drum between a child's legs, even the most distracted child will focus on that drumming," says Mandy Budge, international co-ordinator at Moselle school in London.

Moselle School is a special needs school where many of the children have difficulties learning and communicating.

Moselle works with a neighbouring special needs school, William C Harvey School, and two schools thousands of miles away in Ghana’s capital, Accra which also teach children with learning disabilities.

African drumming and singing is one of many ways they involve their pupils in the international experience.

Ghanaian teachers visit

Right now teachers from Castle Road and New Horizons Schools are visiting London – and it’s creating a real buzz around the school.

"It's very difficult for children from special schools to go abroad, some of these children don't go beyond Haringey," says Margaret Sumner Head Teacher of William C Harvey,"so we have to give them the experience here at home." 
 

Fighting against discrimination

"Working with these children in an international sense is a really difficult thing to do,” says Sumner,“not many special schools are doing this work."

These special schools are drawing inspiration from one another.

"We share the same kind of challenges and issues - issues around inclusion of our students and discrimination and not being able to participate in the community. There is a sameness and that's where the excitement and sharing comes in."

A sense of belonging

Elorm Duan, a teacher from New Horizon school in Ghana, says that many of their pupils with severe learning disabilities are often abandoned by their families. So the friendship that has resulted from their link to the UK has had a huge impact.

"The children already love people, and to know that they have friends and a link with people in the UK, makes them feel so good in themselves, it is great for their confidence."

Patience Akumah, another teacher from Castle Road, also says that the link has given their pupils, who are normally excluded or hidden away in homes, a sense of belonging to the majority.

"We the teachers are also going to appreciate them more. From our experience here I realised we were expecting too much from them at home...the smallest efforts of students is appreciated by the teachers here."

Interaction

One of the ways in which the children in both countries interact is through shared activities and projects. Isaac Gadotor, headteacher of Castle Road school in Accra, says that the whole programme is about friendship and interdependence and one of the ways of promoting that is through sports.

When Ghana hosted the Africa Cup of Nations in 2007, the four schools played their own football matches at exactly the same time in Ghana and UK. They filmed their games and then swapped videos so that they could watch their peers in another country.

"The impact on our school has been one of huge enthusiasm which began with the children and spilled over to to the staff," says Martin Doyle, head teacher at Moselle school.

"We've been totally inspired and hope this will be the beginning of a much wider international dimension."

How did they do that?

The link between William Harvey and Moselle School in Tottenham with New Horizon and Castle Road School in Ghana is facilitated through the British Council's DFID Global School Partnerships programme.

Mandy Budge found Castle Road School on one of her trips to Accra. They in turn introduced New Horizon school to the partnership.  

Find out more about African drumming workshops at one-drum.

If you are interested in twinning your school, World Class will put you in touch with organisations which facilitate school twinning.

Find out more and join World Class in our Find A Twin section.

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