Borrisokane Community College scoops top European award for digital education practices

BORRISOKANE Community College has become one of the first schools in Europe to achieve European Digital Schools Awards status.

Launched last year, the Digital Schools Awards European programme was created to encourage and recognise innovation, collaboration and skills development in digital technology amongst schools. It is backed by the European Commissions’ Erasmus+ programme, national government bodies and leading technology companies led by HP.

Only 90 secondary schools across the continent were selected to take part in the initiative which is being piloted in five European countries namely Ireland, Lithuania, Scotland, Serbia and Slovenia and it is the first of its kind to be available across the continent.

Borrisokane Community College was awarded on February 22nd 2022 and is among the first schools in Ireland to receive the award which recognises and celebrates best practice in digital education. An Awards Ceremony took place in University College Dublin on Monday March 28th where the fifteen schools from Ireland received this prestigious award.

To achieve European Digital Schools status, the Tipperary school had to demonstrate strong leadership in digital education and provide sufficient access to resources and infrastructure. Their school culture, professional development strategies and teaching practices were also assessed as part of the submission.

The European Digital Schools Awards requires schools to use the European Commission’s SELFIE self-reflection tool to assess their digital learning and teaching practices and identified areas where improvements can be made. As part of the programme, teachers were given access to expert support and resources to help them develop their digital curriculum and ensure pupils are given the skills they need to navigate the modern world.

The European Digital Schools Awards programme also intends to open up dialogue across borders and create a growing community of digitally competent schools, where teachers can share learnings from different education systems.

Matthew Carr, Princiapl at Borrisokane Community College, said: “To be one of the first schools in Europe to receive this award is such an achievement and our school community is very excited by it. We are so proud of our staff and students who have worked incredibly hard to develop and embed digital learning into the curriculum.

“Student digital competence is something that we are passionate about in Borrisokane Community College, and we ensure that our students have access to resources and support from first year in preparation for their lives in a Digital World.

“Taking part in this programme has offered us the opportunity to collaborate within our school community and reflect on the excellent practices that happen every day in our school. “

Anna Doody from Digital Schools Awards said: “We know that schools across Europe have taken great strides in recent years to integrate digital practices into their teaching, and one of the most important and valuable aspects of the European Digital Schools Awards is the ability to network with counterparts in other parts of the world.

“By connecting schools, we hope to bring attention to innovations happening elsewhere in the continent and encourage collaboration by opening more channels for knowledge sharing across borders.”

To find out more, schools are encouraged to visit awards4selfie.eu