Published on 28 March 2023
A new partnership between the University of Sunderland's School of Education and personalised education provider Global Spirit Ed will expand the University’s UK and international reach.
Professor Lynne McKenna, Dean of the Faculty of Education, Dr Duncan Cross, Head of School of Education, and the director of Global Spirit Ed John Baumber signed a memorandum of understanding earlier this month.
Global Spirit Ed work with number of schools to build a personalised curriculum that aims to develop student achievement. As well as UK schools, they work with international partners in China, India, Sweden and the USA.
Dr Duncan Cross said, “This is an exciting opportunity for the University to work across a range of school settings with alternative curriculum offers. John and his team at Global Spirit have an excellent collaborative approach and will work well with not only the School of Education but also our school partners.”
John Baumber, Executive Director of Education, said, “We feel honoured to be brought into the University of Sunderland family and I am convinced that together we can offer schools a new optimistic way to support their staff and students.”
This exciting partnership brings a range of opportunities for the School of Education and the University to further expand their UK and International schools network.
Global Spirit Ed aim to help all students achieve more than they thought possible. Their work is backed by a school improvement strategy, coaching, staff development, action research and a focus on the psychological wellbeing of children. They partner with Extreme Classrooms to provide children the opportunity for adventure and work with a range of international schools in China, India, Sweden and the USA.
As schools develop a new mindset and enhance their practices staff are encouraged to undertake action research through their Student Agency in Learning (SAIL) network and feed this into a Global Schools Research Partnership.
Professor Lynne McKenna, Dean of the Faculty of Education and Society, said, “This exciting partnership enables the School of Education to further develop our network of schools and placement opportunities. Global Spirit Ed CIC has a global research schools partnership network of 85 schools in the USA, Sweden, and India.
“We are excited that this partnership will support both our UK and international initial teacher training and professional development masters programmes. The partnership will also enable the School to explore opportunities for research and knowledge exchange and offers potential to develop joint research bids.”
There will be introductory webinars in April and May about Global Spirit Ed and the SAIL network. The University will also be hosting Global Spirit Ed’s annual conference in June and exploring further opportunities to work together.