Funding

By participating in the Mandarin Excellence Programme your school will receive a minimum £20,000 per academic year. Extra payments will be made for student retention and for yearly intensive learning. Subject to meeting contractual requirements, schools on the programme will be supported with funding until August 2024.

Hub Schools

Every school taking part in the Mandarin Excellence Programme will be partnered with a ‘hub’ school. There are fourteen hub schools that joined the programme in its first year, and they are able to develop and support the delivery of the programme within your school.

Hub schools can act as the centre of collaborative working, and may be able to provide you with support in terms of sharing teachers or teaching resources and leading on the delivery of intensive learning.

Headteacher and teacher meetings

All Mandarin Excellence Programme Headteachers meet termly, providing a forum to discuss issues and ideas related to the delivery of the programme. A similar group consisting of programme teachers also meet every term, providing a platform to share ideas, resources and receive continuous professional development specifically related to the Mandarin Excellence Programme.

To support all new schools joining the programme in the following academic year headteachers and teachers from the newly recruited schools will be invited to attend a meeting in the preceding summer term.

Support through the Confucius Institute

All teachers will have access to a bank of resources, in addition to an online platform to communicate with other teachers and share materials. Support and guidance will be provided by the Mandarin Excellence Programme Coordinator.

Schools may want to consider joining the IOE Confucius Institute Annual Chinese Conference, the biggest CPD for teachers of Mandarin in the country.