The SSAT Confucius Institute transferred to the UCL Institute of Education in June 2012 to become the UCL IOE Confucius Institute for Schools (IOE CI). IOE CI is essentially the national centre for advice on and support for the teaching and learning of Chinese and about China in secondary and primary schools in England. The IOE CI is assisting a major expansion in the teaching and learning of Mandarin Chinese and about China throughout the English school system. We offer CPD for teachers including hosting an annual Chinese conference, the leading one of its kind in the UK. We also enable successful international school partnerships and support curriculum development, teaching resource development, undertake research, run annual student camps to China and work with awarding bodies on accreditation.

Established in 2006, its partner university in China is Peking University, along with Peking University High School and the project is supported by the Office of Chinese Language Council International (Hanban).

The UCL Institute of Education’s (IOE) Confucius Institute for Schools supports schools across England with the introduction and delivery of Chinese as a language option in the mainstream school curriculum. The IOE CI also works closely with a network of 45 IOE Confucius Classrooms across England; these are schools where Chinese is embedded in the mainstream curriculum.  These Confucius Classrooms  provide advice and teaching support to schools in their area just beginning to offer Mandarin Chinese as an Modern Foreign Language.  The IOE CI develops materials for teaching and learning Mandarin Chinese, offers professional training and teacher development programmes and works closely with colleagues in the IOE to support the PGCE Mandarin pathway, the MTeach and the development of research into pedagogy.

We believe there to be enormous benefit in enabling school pupils to learn Mandarin Chinese, on the grounds of broadening language options in schools, furthering cultural engagement, and in response to China’s growing importance on the world economic stage.  As indicated above, the IOE CI is focussed on the development of Chinese language teaching in schools.  Our experience is that hosting the Institute has not posed any threat to free and open debate within either the university or the schools with which we work.  We believe cultural engagement and exchange is valuable to all parties.