Students working at computers © Mat Wright

Get all the support you need to find a partner in Europe and start work on curriculum-linked projects.

eTwinning is an online community for school and college staff in 32 European countries. It can help you to find and work with partner institutions through curriculum-focussed classroom projects.

You don’t need to be an expert in ICT to get involved; eTwinning offers help and support every step of the way, from ICT training and partner finding to developing project ideas.

Joining is easy; just complete the simple online registration process. There are no application deadlines, and you choose how many partners you work with, how many projects you get involved in and how long your projects might last.

In the UK, eTwinning is available to nursery, primary, secondary, special and hospital schools, sixth form colleges and further education colleges.

You are free to work with any of the other registered schools across Europe.

• Free registration on the eTwinning European portal for education staff at www.etwinning.net
• Free, high-quality training and support (online and face-to-face) from the British Council for UK education staff
• An online partner-finding database of thousands of schools and their staff throughout Europe
• Project kits to get you started
• A secure online collaboration space for developing each project, where you control pupil access
• The freedom to incorporate your preferred ICT tools in your project work
• Membership of and peer support from the community of teachers already involved, in the UK and throughout Europe
• A starting point for future Comenius School Partnerships.
• An easy and effective way to achieve the International School Award.
• A platform for developing existing European partnerships your school is involved in.

1. Register your school or college on the eTwinning portal.
2. Create your eTwinning profile, indicating your preferred curriculum areas, the age range of your pupils and the countries you want to work with.
3. Find partners using the integrated TwinFinder. Contact potential partners by posting on their profile or sending a message to their inbox.
4. Set up a project.

The heart of your project is your TwinSpace. It’s a secure online workspace that you share only with your partners. Here you can upload and share files, develop web pages, communicate using chat and bulletin boards and access your online project calendar.

eTwinning is completely flexible. You choose how and when you want to work. You can decide on the length of each project and how many partners are involved. There is no limit to the amount of partners you have or how many projects you are involved in.

Teachers tell us that eTwinning:

·provides an easy-to-access network of schools

·works well across the whole curriculum

·helps to raise students’ self-esteem and improve their confidence

·is an affordable professional development opportunity

·helps them towards the International School Award.

A national network of eTwinning ambassadors is ready to share their experiences with you. These ambassadors are experienced education practitioners who are seasoned eTwinning users.

You can also attend one of the free eTwinning workshops held across the UK, both face to face and online. Get an introduction to eTwinning, hear from teachers already involved and receive hands-on training in using ICT tools like digital video, email, forums and chat.

UK Schools and colleges:

Email us at etwinning@britishcouncil.org or visit our British Council eTwinning pages

Non-UK schools:

Find the support agency in your country at the eTwinning portal.

eTwinning is funded by the European Commission and, in the UK, by the Department for Education. It is part of the Comenius programme.

Our simple project has proven beneficial across the whole curriculum, literacy, language and communication and ICT skills, but in particular it has proved to be invaluable in raising the self esteem and motivation of previously disaffected students. It formed part of the successful application for the Intermediate International School Award. (Teacher, Kirby Moor SE School, Cumbria)

eTwinning has enabled all pupils and teachers to participate in an international project. The eTwinning network is easy to access, enabling partnerships to be formed and innovative projects to be developed. For teachers, it is a low-cost professional development opportunity, which reaps personal and pupil benefits. (Headteacher, Burnham Market School, East of England, Primary)