A visiting delegation of headteachers will learn about the Island’s ‘freedom to flourish’ curriculum and the benefits it brings to pupils.
 
Twenty-eight heads from North West England and Wales will visit the Island from Sunday (29th June) to Tuesday (1st July).
 
They will meet Tim Crookall MHK, Minister for Education and Children, and visit primary and secondary schools, including Bunscoill Ghaelgagh, where pupils learn in Manx, and the Education Support Centre.
 
They will see the Island’s Essentials for Learning curriculum being applied across age ranges and subjects.
 
In addition to promoting high academic standards, the curriculum focuses on strengthening all aspects of pupils’ development. Of central importance are the ‘Six Rs’ – relationships, readiness, resourcefulness, resilience, remembering, reflectiveness – which are integrated across all areas of learning.
 
In the Isle of Man, responsibility for the specific content of the curriculum is delegated to individual headteachers and they use this freedom to create learning experiences that are meaningful and reflect the richness of the Isle of Man context.
 
The heads’ trip is organised by the National Union of Teachers and came about as a result of a visit by Beth Davies, NUT president, and Simon Jones, NUT National Executive Member, in February.
 
Mr Jones, who is leading the return visit, said the Island’s curriculum, together with the fact that assessments are often classroom-based, schools have supportive quality assurance arrangements and collaboration between schools is encouraged meant teachers were free to teach – something that was the envy of colleagues in the UK.
 
‘Schools in the Isle of Man are happy places where children love learning and thrive without the pressure of being labelled failures,’ he said.
 
Geoff Moorcroft, Director of Education and Children with the DEC, said: ‘We are delighted to welcome the delegation of heads and demonstrate ways in which schools on the Isle of Man have provided challenging and creative ways to engage learners, with successful results.’