This document provides information about a project partnership between a French and English college to improve opportunities for visually impaired people through an Erasmus program. It discusses the challenges of overseas mobility for visually impaired students, including logistics, accommodations, medical needs, and adapting to differences. It offers tips for hosting students such as welcoming events, tours, balancing activities with downtime, and handling emergencies. Suggestions are also provided for additional activities like family meals, shopping, tourism and building relationships to make return visits special. The document emphasizes preparing for all contingencies, concentrating on student needs, and adapting to changes.

1. Project Management
and Implementation
Manchester
23/05/2018
Mary Russell For RNC
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2. Growing Respect and Opportunities in the Workplace and in
the Home for Visually Impaired People
KA 219 3 yr €85k partnership between a
French and an English 16-19 College.
Growth - 4 - VIP
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3. A 10 yr alliance through varied Erasmus options
Culture, Food, Language, Work experience, Business
Greater influence developing on curriculum.
RNC previously ran various Erasmus projects.
Now the Erasmus project drives part of how RNC develops.
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4. The Royal National College for the Blind
Co-educational specialist residential
College of Further Education
Based in the English city of Hereford.
Students are aged over 16 and blind or partially sighted.
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5. Cite scolaire Rene Pellet CSRP
specialist teaching for visual impairment 7-20
4yrs Ecole primaire
4yrs Collège
3yrs + Lycée professionnel
Agent Polyvalent de Restauration
Artisanat d’art
Electrotechnique
Métiers de l’agriculture
Section Europeenne
(Business administration - in English)
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6. » Challenges of Overseas Mobility
a) dates
b) personnel required
c) numbers, gender and individual students
d) travel options and accommodation
e) passport / visas
f) medical/food: religious observance, intolerances, allergies,
personal preference
g) permission to return
What you have planned and budgeted for
What you now want to do
Things change: Develop a culture of being adaptable.
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7. » Your partners are having issues too!
» Welcome event, settling into accommodation
» Tours of the school - with their students + staff
» Parallel and differing aims
» They do it differently - and that's the point!
» Planning, timetable, down time, reflection
» 'Herve’ time, adaptability
» Moving with groups
» Place/time to let off steam, to be quiet (ice cream)
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8. » Before you go:-
» How are staff, volunteers and students chosen
» Lunchtime meetings for bonding - speed dating
» Practise relaxation techniques
» Risk assessment
» Safeguarding
» Packing hints
» Planning, Gantt charts, Planning!
» Be prepared to enjoy yourselves.
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9. » Whilst you are there:-
» Adults are on duty 24/7
» Students too!
» Mix personnel - share the load
» Provide consistency with accepted variety
» Go with the flow
» Check in with each other - Phones
» Morning and evening pow-wows
» Authority in jimjams?
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10. » Add ons, group time, specials
» EMERGENCIES
» Booklet
» Family meals
» Shopping?
» Tourism?
» Back up
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11. » Booklet about the Visit
» An introduction to your (own) venue with if
appropriate menus, programme, normal
timetable blank
» Guidance on school life
» Options?
» Suitable vocabulary
» Blog - Tablets
» Post visit summary 11

12. » Family Meals + out of school activity
» Make our trips and return visits really special
» Allows participations of non travelling staff
» You see family life in the raw
» Good for smaller groups
» A weekend/BH shared activity
» Buy/assemble one meal yourselves
» One quality meal out.
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13. » Shopping and Tourism
» Money Handling, History, Culture
» We all need practice in money handling and
learning others habits
» Gifts for hosts + for home
» Seeing and being shown what the hosts are most
proud of in their city
» Organised/supported or pre-planned/freestyle
» Split groups, with or without schools supports
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14. » Back up and Emergencies
» What can possibly go wrong!
» You need a plan B for everything
» Plan C may just be to know who to ask for help!
Your partner coordinator has local knowledge and
language. Lodge a dossier with all your precious
information with him. Have a procedure for a key
contact in UK 24/7 to do all rearranging.
Concentrate on yourself and your people
» Policy on phoning home??
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15. » Extras
» Get to know the location
» Build succession of staff
» Build expectations from secure knowledge
» Remember colleagues have other lives
» Build relationships
» Be assertive
» Be grateful
» Be happy 15

16. » Particular challenges
» We book disability support at airports through to the
plane, during the flight, and at the other end.
» Coins /Notes /Credit cards, limited, pre-loaded
» Limit money handling, keep receipts, reconcile daily
» Managing new styles of transport - rotate tasks
» Mobility supports, aim to improve independence, all
more difficult in new environments
» Medical information
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17. » Medical information
» Personal Professional College needs
» Grab sheets, don’t move without them
» Translations, student competencies
» Fatigue, rest, food, hydration
» Expect trouble, but don’t go looking for it!
» Build relationship with local provision
» First aid kit, ice packs, for trips out
» 121 key links with each student during mobility
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18. C'est tout les gens
Thats All Folks!
Merci pour votre attention
Questions and Discussion Time
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