The document contains responses to questions about a recent meeting in Poland between partners in an international education project. In response to the questions: 1) The visit to Poland was enjoyed and the hosts made the visitors feel welcome as they learned about early childhood education provision. 2) More time was needed for presentations and discussion of project tasks and future plans at the meeting. 3) The work during the meeting was ineffective as there was no opportunity for real discussion or collaboration to move the project forward. 4) The calm atmosphere and emphasis on creative activities in the kindergartens was appreciated, though questions remained about differentiation of activities for different abilities.

1. Questionnaire interview form
After the meeting in Poland
by the UK!
Please answer the questions
1. Were you satisfied with your visit to Poland?
We enjoyed our visit very much. Our hosts were very welcoming and made us feel
at ease. We were shown a variety of nursery settings, which gave us a broad view
of the provision for 3-7 year olds. Marzena had carefully planned our time, we
enjoyed: educational visits, trips to interesting places and opportunities for us to
learn about Polish culture. Thank you Marzena and colleagues for a wonderful
time!
2. What do you think of the organization of time during the meeting?
More time was needed for showing presentations of what we have done in our
schools since the visit to England. We did not get the opportunity to share our
presentation with everyone. (I will add it to the blog/website)
More meeting time was also needed for the development of the project. There
was only time for the Turkish to remind everyone of their tasks, but there was no
chance to discuss the tasks or what other things we could achieve in the year
ahead.
3. How effective was the work during the meeting?
It was ineffective. There was no opportunity to discuss ideas or move forward as a
group. I feel frustrated because we have more to offer the project than we are being tasked to
do. I think as a collaborative we could achieve far more than is planned and I don’t want to waste
such a great opportunity to work together for the benefit of the children in our schools.
4. What did / didn’t you like about the system of work of the kindergarten.

2. I enjoyed the calm relaxed atmosphere. The teachers had a warm, but calm,
manner with the children. We noticed how adept the children were at using their
fine motor skills for art activities. We saw what good rhythm they had and noticed
they have a large repertoire of songs.
We didn’t see teachers giving different tasks to children of different abilities. Is
that something you would normally do? Or does everyone do the same?
5. What did you like most in the kindergartens? What would you like to introduce in your place
of work?
I really enjoyed seeing the art and creative activities! We are under such pressure
to have 5 year olds writing in the UK, so we value any activities where the children
use their fine motor skills to develop hand and finger strength. When we came we
saw children squashing plasticine onto a plate and then pushing seeds and beads
into it to create patterns. We have already tried this activity in our own
classrooms!
We also loved the concert and might think about starting a dance club at school
where we learn folk dances from around the world.
6. Do you have any comment about the last meeting and suggestions about the future
meetings?
Yes, thank you Marzena, we loved Poland and we loved and appreciated
everything you planned for us to do. It was an unforgettable experience!
We need to ensure we plan plenty of time in Turkey for the final meeting. An
agenda needs to be prepared and sent to us well in advance of the meeting, so we
may add or change any of the items on it. The meeting needs to be ‘chaired’
effectively, so we address everything on our agenda.
All of our tasks need to be completed in advance of the meeting and our results to
the questionnaire on absenteeism need to have been analysed.