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SCHOOLinHUB Project: Building Bridges for Inclusion and Language Learning Across Europe

17th January, 2025

This January, Berlin Cosmopolitan School’s project managers, Katharina Ehrenfried and Solveig Harloff, participated in the latest SCHOOLinHUB project meeting, held in Cyprus at the A & A Emphasys Interactive Solutions Center . This collaborative gathering brought together educators and partners from 12 countries to advance the mission of fostering inclusion and language learning for young migrant children and their families.

About SCHOOLinHUB

SCHOOLinHUB is a pioneering European initiative transforming schools into inclusive hubs for integration. By focusing on children aged 4–7, their parents, and educators, the project creates a holistic framework for supporting diverse communities in multicultural environments. The initiative combines innovative approaches like:

  • CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning): Integrating subject learning with language acquisition.
  • Social Stories: Supporting social-emotional learning and communication.
  • Gamification: Engaging students through interactive and playful learning techniques.

In addition, the project provides cutting-edge digital tools, including a 2D Serious Game, a mobile app for family engagement, and a repository of best practices to share insights and promote collaboration at local, regional, and EU levels.

Collaboration Across Europe

The SCHOOLinHUB consortium consists of 13 partners, each bringing unique expertise to the initiative:

  • Społeczna Akademia Nauk and Public Consulting Group Polska (Poland)
  • Directorate of Primary Education of East Thessaloniki, KMOP Social Action and Innovation Centre, and Greek Forum of Refugees (Greece)
  • RIC Novo mesto (Slovenia)
  • Berlin Cosmopolitan School (Germany)
  • A & A Emphasys Interactive Solutions Ltd and CitizensACT (Cyprus)
  • Pelican Language School (Czech Republic)
  • CSC Credito Senza Confini società cooperativa sociale (Italy)
  • Udruga roditelja ‘Korak po korak’ (Croatia)
  • NORDIC DIASPORA FORUM (Sweden)

Together, these partners aim to bridge language and cultural gaps, creating cohesive and inclusive communities.

Key Outcomes

At the recent meeting, the partners discussed the project management, finance organization, and budget allocation as well as timing of the project.

In March a group of international teachers is coming to Berlin to learn from BCSs experience in inclusive language teaching, community involvement and social stories.
Katharina Ehrenfried emphasized the importance of peer-to-peer training, stating, “Collaborative learning across countries enriches our practices, allowing us to better support the unique needs of every child.”

New Website Launch

To further its mission, SCHOOLinHUB has launched a new website, providing a central hub for project updates, resources, and digital tools. The platform offers an opportunity for educators, parents, and communities to engage with the project and access innovative solutions for integration and language learning.

Shaping the Future Together

SCHOOLinHUB is a beacon of hope for fostering inclusion, building resilient communities, and empowering children to thrive in diverse societies. With collaboration at its core, the project is breaking barriers and paving the way for schools to lead the charge in shaping a more inclusive Europe.

For more information, visit our new website at https://schoolinhubproject.eu/about-the-project-2/.

About the Berlin Cosmopolitan School, Preschool and Kindergarten

The Berlin Cosmopolitan School is changing the traditional way schools and kindergartens work with different approaches to learning in the areas of nature and environmental protection, sports, new work, culture, dance, music and art and much more. The aim of the independent school, preschool and kindergarten is to bring all students along according to their abilities.

“When school motivates, everyone learns more” is the conviction of the Berlin Cosmopolitan School. Regular outdoor learning, sports activities and competitions, digital projects such as robotics, internships from grade 6, music-making from kindergarten age, dance clubs, bilingual education and much more help the children to discover and develop their own preferences and abilities.

Important concerns of the Berlin Cosmopolitan School, Kindergarten and Preschool are social justice, equal opportunities in education and a balanced community. The school regularly awards scholarships to students and accepts refugees. Through its established network and internationally trained staff, the educational institution has the opportunity to explore new educational paths for every age group.

The Berlin Cosmopolitan School was founded in 2003 as a non-profit organisation by Yvonne Wende. In 2004, the first bilingual (English-German) kindergarten and preschool opened for Berlin-Mitte with 18 children. Shortly after, the primary school started and most recently, in 2009, the accredited bilingual Gymnasium of Berlin Cosmopolitan School 01P22. Since then, the number of students has steadily increased. Approximately 1,000 students from all over the world are now being taught on the Rückerstraße and Invalidenstraße campuses. The kindergarten has grown to a number of more than 300 children between the ages of 1 and 6.

In 2013, Berlin Cosmopolitan School was accredited as an International Baccalaureate (IB) World School, first for primary school and also for the Gymnasium. The IB Learner Profile is about developing children and young people into lifelong learners. The school and kindergarten use primary experiences to design lessons.