Showcase your continuous professional development achievements
British Council Partner Schools is a community of over 2,000 schools delivering UK international qualifications through the British Council. One of the key ways we support Partner Schools is by providing professional development and training opportunities for teachers and school leaders.
British Council’s Online Support for Schools (OSS) is a free professional development hub for teachers and leaders in British Council Partner Schools. All training modules and courses are easily accessible and provide video content, discussion forums and downloadable resources to keep you engaged and ensure that maximum progress is made.
As a learner of OSS, the badges programme lets you share your learning achievements with your network and showcase your personal commitment to high quality Continuing Professional Development (CPD). You will earn badges for teacher training modules taken as part of the British Council Partner Schools CPD programme, delivered through the Online Support for Schools platform.
Badges – what are they and how can you collect them?
The British Council’s Online Support for Schools (OSS) platform enables you to keep track of your completed modules and courses by awarding digital badges for different levels of achievement.
Through the different professional development activities that you take part in, you will be awarded digital badges. How many badges you collect is based on the number of modules and courses you successfully complete.
There are two main types of badges you can earn: course badges and Expert Educator badges
Course Badges
When you complete a British Council Partner Schools course you will be awarded a badge to recognise your success. The courses offered cover a broad range of themes and skills. You can find the complete list of courses under the courses page on the OSS.
Courses are made up of related modules around themes and skills from different perspectives. This allows you to explore a theme or skill in-depth, upgrade your skillset and integrate aspects into your teaching practice. Course length can vary depending on the theme. For every course you successfully complete you will be awarded a badge which you can share with your network on Facebook. You will also be able to download a course certificate which can also be shared with your network on LinkedIn.
Each module is around three hours long and is made up of three units. The Self-Assessment Tool will direct you towards standalone modules that you can complete to bridge gaps in your skillset. Once you successfully complete the module you will be able to download the certificate and you will be awarded three credits which will take you closer to an Expert Educator badge.
Expert Educator Badges
Expert Educator badges recognise your long-term commitment to professional development training. You earn them by collecting the required number of credits for each level.
How can you collect credits?
It’s easy. For every module you successfully complete either as part of a course or as a standalone module you will receive three credits.
Please refer to the table below for further information about credits and badges:
| 60 credits / hours | Expert Educator bronze badge | for completing 20 modules (at three credits per module) |
| 90 credits / hours | Expert Educator silver badge | for completing 30 modules (at three credits per module) |
| 120 credits / hours | Expert Educator gold badge | for completing 120 modules (at three credits per module) |
| 150 credits / hours | Expert Educator platinum badge | for completing 150 modules (at three credits per module) |
Expert Educator badges are currently being issued in collaboration with Accreditable as digital badges with a unique blockchain ID. You can view your badges on the OSS and the digital credentials will be emailed to you.
You can download your digital credentials, add them to your email signature, share them on social media and embed them on your digital documents such as e-mails and your CV. You can also share your Expert Educator badge with your school leader to get a high usage certificate.
How do I get access to the OSS to start earning my badges?
- If your school is already a British Council Partner School, please ask school management to provide you with the access code to register and log in.
- If your school doesn’t have access to the code, then please contact your local British Council School Exams representative.
- If your school is not yet a British Council Partner School, then contact us to learn more about how to qualify to become one.