Project ManifestoErasmus Plus HAPPENS

(Project 2015-1-ES01-KA219-015795)

2015-2017 Who are we?We are educators and lifelong learners from six European Union countries. We all work as teachers and/or administrators in Primary Schools in the European Union: namely in Barcelona, Spain; Athens, Greece; Radomsko, Poland; Galway, Ireland; Cardiff, Wales and Salerno, Italy. We joined together using the e-twinning platform via the European Union Erasmus Plus Programme KA219 (for schools only) in early 2015 to work together on a project to improve the health and wellbeing of our school communities. What is the rationale behind our project?We wanted to develop a stronger, broader and more defined programme of health and wellbeing education both for students but also for staff and parents/guardians within the school community in which we work. We felt that by doing this, we would work towards keeping children in formal education longer and preventing early school leaving. After forming, we decided to focus on three main areas, which are also areas which have been designated as key areas of funding within the European Union 2020 project and they are: · Physical Fitness and Sport· Social / Emotional / Mental Health & Wellbeing· Obesity/Nutrition, Sleep & Rest

What are the aims and goals of our project?

To increase the level of overall health and wellness in our school community in order to reduce the levels of early school leaving and increase the levels of engagement with formal education.

· To reduce the level of obesity in our school students by increasing the amount of healthy food and water they consume and increasing the amount and variety of exercise the students get.

· To improve the overall quality and increase the amount of sleep and rest the students and staff get.

· To teach students and staff to regulate their own levels of stress using meditation, mindfulness techniques, self-evaluation and other methods where they can reduce their overall levels of stress and increase the variety and effectiveness of their coping mechanisms for handling adverse situations.

What projects and activities will we engage in together to reach these aims and goals? A broad but well researched variety of projects and activities will be offered to ensure the aims of our project are accomplished. We intend to hold three, week long sessions of training and professional development to educate, empower and prepare all staff to share skills and schemes of work designed to target pupils, staff and parents in improving overall health and wellness. We will hold lectures and practical sessions in all areas targeted i.e. physical fitness, healthy eating, mental well-being during staff training and cascade this information to our staff, pupils and families through practical activities set in the classroom and through other forms of communication i.e. school newsletters, social media and our webpage.

European Union Research that guides our work:Childhood Obesity Hub of Research:

http://ec.europa.eu/health/nutrition_physical_activity/docs/childhoodobesity_actionplan_2014_2020_en.pdfhttp://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/280604/WHO-Europe-Mental-Health-Acion-Plan-2013-2020.pdf How will we know if we have been successful in our aims? Our project is structured and thoroughly researched. Our baseline assessment allows us to access both quantitative and qualitative data during the life of the project. We have built in deadlines to ensure regular monitoring of progress. All training and project activities are designed and organised to share knowledge and educate our communities. Our European Partnership and our schools will be happier, healthier and more knowledgeable at the end of the project and the outputs and data will support this end game. How will we share our results and celebrate our successes within our own networks, countries and further afield within the European Union learning community? As part of our project dissemination, we will promote the programme and share the positive outcomes on our school website, blog, school newsletters and local press. Our staff and school community will be informed of the outcomes of the final survey at end of the project to inform them of the improvements. They will also be made aware of any areas that still require attention. Parents and families will be encouraged to continue working on the areas of physical fitness, social/emotional/mental well-being and nutrition/sleep and rest to maintain and improve any gains made within the project. Our schools will engage with other schools within our own countries via our National Agencies at national conferences and e-Twinning seminars to share in our projects successes. All of our project results and products will be shared on the European Union National Treasure website so that other schools and agencies may use the resources in their own institutions.