Background to the establishment of UKGLAS
The Association was founded in 1996 but its origins date back to the early years of that decade. At that time most Local Authorities across the UK (Library Boards in Northern Ireland) were keen to appoint advisers to support schools to promote a wider awareness of the European Union. This was prompted by a number of factors not least the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and a perception that many former USSR states might aspire to become EU members. There was also the impending Single Market of 1992. It was therefore unsurprising that many of this group were known as 'European Awareness Advisers and that UKGLAS was known until 2008 was known as UKAEIES (UK Association for European and International Education in Schools). The advisory roles were sometimes linked with Modern Foreign Language priorities but for most Authorities these were new posts. Roles and job descriptions varied considerably but from the start there was a willingness to share ideas and where possible to work together at least at a regional level. Face to face meetings with these aims began in 1992 often hosted by the Central Bureau for Educational Visits and Exchanges which was soon to be incorporated in the British Council. It seemed to members of this group that their networking capacity ought to be formalised and this resulted in an application for charitable status early in 1996 with the inaugural AGM in June of that year.
In the beginning members had very little to offer schools beyond the traditional exchanges, often with schools in twinned communities but by 1996 the EU had extended its competence from Higher Education to schools, vocational education, youth groups and eventually to adult education. This opened up a range of possibilities for our members and new programmes such as Comenius were soon joined by Global School Partnerships, Teachers International Professional Development, Connecting Classrooms and Joint Curriculum Projects, all funded by the UK government. The European Commission in the UK was always supportive of school and FE college links and partnership and from 1998 provided the funds for European Resource Centres for Schools and Colleges, one for each standard region of the UK. In addition the British Council funded a Regional Training Programme for International Education which provided useful support for Local Authority work in this field.
The UK at this time had around 50 Development Education Centres, locally based centres for global learning and from 2000 UKGLAS became increasingly global in its outlook and members were frequently linked to DECs or involved in a regional development education network set up by the then Department for International Development.
From about 2010 (earlier for some) members began to lose Local Authority support and increasingly began to work as independent consultants. From around that date some UK funded programmes also were withdrawn or not renewed. Schools were able to take advantage of the final in-service training courses funded through Connecting Classrooms in 2022 and at around that time any 'legacy' Erasmus + projects also finished. The UKGLAS activities page gives details of the lobbying work of the Association as we attempt to restore opportunities for global education and international cooperation to UK schools.
The Association was founded in 1996 but its origins date back to the early years of that decade. At that time most Local Authorities across the UK (Library Boards in Northern Ireland) were keen to appoint advisers to support schools to promote a wider awareness of the European Union. This was prompted by a number of factors not least the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and a perception that many former USSR states might aspire to become EU members. There was also the impending Single Market of 1992. It was therefore unsurprising that many of this group were known as 'European Awareness Advisers and that UKGLAS was known until 2008 was known as UKAEIES (UK Association for European and International Education in Schools). The advisory roles were sometimes linked with Modern Foreign Language priorities but for most Authorities these were new posts. Roles and job descriptions varied considerably but from the start there was a willingness to share ideas and where possible to work together at least at a regional level. Face to face meetings with these aims began in 1992 often hosted by the Central Bureau for Educational Visits and Exchanges which was soon to be incorporated in the British Council. It seemed to members of this group that their networking capacity ought to be formalised and this resulted in an application for charitable status early in 1996 with the inaugural AGM in June of that year.
In the beginning members had very little to offer schools beyond the traditional exchanges, often with schools in twinned communities but by 1996 the EU had extended its competence from Higher Education to schools, vocational education, youth groups and eventually to adult education. This opened up a range of possibilities for our members and new programmes such as Comenius were soon joined by Global School Partnerships, Teachers International Professional Development, Connecting Classrooms and Joint Curriculum Projects, all funded by the UK government. The European Commission in the UK was always supportive of school and FE college links and partnership and from 1998 provided the funds for European Resource Centres for Schools and Colleges, one for each standard region of the UK. In addition the British Council funded a Regional Training Programme for International Education which provided useful support for Local Authority work in this field.
The UK at this time had around 50 Development Education Centres, locally based centres for global learning and from 2000 UKGLAS became increasingly global in its outlook and members were frequently linked to DECs or involved in a regional development education network set up by the then Department for International Development.
From about 2010 (earlier for some) members began to lose Local Authority support and increasingly began to work as independent consultants. From around that date some UK funded programmes also were withdrawn or not renewed. Schools were able to take advantage of the final in-service training courses funded through Connecting Classrooms in 2022 and at around that time any 'legacy' Erasmus + projects also finished. The UKGLAS activities page gives details of the lobbying work of the Association as we attempt to restore opportunities for global education and international cooperation to UK schools.