Strategy, objectives and priorities for erasmus activities.

“Escuelas San José” (St. Joseph Schools) of Valencia is a public school owned and run by the Jesuits but funded by Valencia Community Education Education Board.

We have Primary, Secondary and Vocational Teaching (both Intermediate and High Cycles).
The official courses given in Vocational Education and Training are:

– Social Integration
– Metal working and projects planning
– Electrotechnical and Automated Systems
– Industrial Automation and Robotics
– Administration and Finance
– Energy Efficiency and Solar Thermal Installations
– Animation of Physical and Sports Activities

Our goal is to provide students with the necessary competences and a European identity for getting into a fast labour insertion and also to prepare them for permanent learning either within or out of the educational system. To facilitate work insertion, students make a compulsory formation module in working places. This module consists of spending 400 hours doing practice in a company. During this time, they must develop their acquired competences in school. Thanks to the Erasmus Charter our students have already developed not only their competences in other European countries but also known other countries working methods, cultures, structures and technological innovations. As a result, several of our students have already been doing practice in countries like Ireland, United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Norway, Germany, Slovakia, Finland and Norway.

Our institution is using ECTS credits to facilitate academic recognition abroad.

The acquisition of the Erasmus Charter is of high importance for us since it allows our students to go abroad not only for placements to do their practice, but also to spend study periods in foreign schools or institutions. It also allows mobility for teachers and other members of the staff, accessing that way to continuous learning and contributing with the overall openness, internationalisation and modernisation of the school.

As strategies to be developed by our school, we intend to contact European schools, companies, and other Spanish schools in order to develop a network of institutions to partner with.

Another strategy to develop is the organization of teacher visits to the target countries to learn about market requirements and the culture of the destination countries. The Erasmus Charter will be public on our website.

The school commits itself to follow a policy of nondiscrimination per any reason like race, sex or any other, and to integrate disabled students.

Actions to give visibility to Erasmus activities.

All students will be informed about the acquisition of the Erasmus Charter and about internship and studies opportunities in Europe. Students will be chosen by their linguistic competences, academic report and personal maturity, following a public, transparent, equitable and non-discriminative process. They will have access to the school website where they will find the links and all the information needed. All teachers and staff will be informed of the possibilities to participate in Erasmus projects and mobilities and will be selected in a public, transparent, equitable and non-discriminative process.

Arrangements to comply with non-discrimination objectives.

We want our students to be men and women for the others in a fair society, being conscient, competent, committed and compassionate persons and builders of a society characterized by living with freedom, equality and responsibility.
We have a plan against mobbing and bullying. Furthermore, we follow a non-discrimination policy by means of a protocol which is immediately activated in case of any racism act or gender prejudice. We also have a programme for disabled students aimed at favoring labour integration.

Quality of academic mobilities.

A learning agreement will be signed by the parties where all details will be deeply detailed and the activities described. All the documents and processes required by Erasmus will be fulfilled.
We will get in touch with schools similar to ours to develop direct exchange programs where our students could have a linguistic immersion stay and tutor. We would select the schools
very carefully and would try to find those ones with presence in Spain added to the presence abroad.
We will design a program to be given to the partner school with the detailed tasks, regular lessons attendance, expected cultural and technical visits, etc. The school tutor would act as a link between the student and the school, making things easier for them and working out any possible problem.
During the whole stay we will be in permanent contact with the student and his/her tutor via email to solve any kind of incidence as soon as possible.
The student will prepare a report where he/she will write his/her experience for the tutor who will supervise it. This document will be sent to the origin country tutor.
When the student comes back from the foreign country, the school will certify him/her with a specific certificate, stating the length and place of the stay.
In case of the staff mobility, we will develop direct exchange programs with teachers from other schools. A program will also be designed, including things as job-shadowing, sharing good practice meetings, lectures on education system abroad, differences and similarities, etc.

The mobility will be recognized by Europass and by ECTS credits. Also, the training done abroad under Erasmus projects will be valid and recognized as the needed training required to obtain the Vocational Education Training certificate in Spain.