1. Управление на училищата

The project partners designed and implemented a new anti-bullying programme in schools in five EU countries. It drew on the experiences of existing programmes and practices originated by the project partners working in different cultural contexts.  It provided further evidence of effective approaches to the reduction of bullying in schools that will inform the development of improved child centred, whole school strategies for adoption at European level.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and school shutdown in Portugal, the Boa Água school has initiated a number of new pedagogies to support student learning, including mixed commission, interactive groups and dialogic gatherings. These new methods had been introduced as part of the INCLUD-ED project, which the school joined in 2017.

UNICEF Serbia and the civil society organisation Centre for Education Policy with the support of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development Republic of Serbia  implemented the project “Combating Early School Leaving in Serbia”.

This project aimed to contribute to decreasing drop-out and early school leaving of children and adolescents through development, establishment, and implementation of the school-based model for early identification of children at risk of dropping out and intervention in situations where dropping-out is taking place.

Combating drop-out and ESL in Serbia has been recognised as a policy priority area.  The Strategy for Education Development in Serbia 2020 (SEDS 2020) calls for the provision of high-quality education for all, an increase of students’ coverage and attainment at all levels of education by maintaining the relevance of education and increasing efficiency. The Strategy implementation is primarily focused on the development of human capital in Serbia, thus underlines importance of the inclusion of pupils from vulnerable and marginalised groups (Roma and children from poor families, children with disabilities and from rural areas etc.).

The CroCooS - Prevent dropout! project was developed in the framework of the EC proposal "Implementation of the European strategic objectives in education and training" under the Lifelong Learning Programme to support innovative policy solutions to reduce and prevent early leaving from education and training (ELET). The main aim of the CroCooS project, which was implement between 2014 and 17, was to contribute to the development of an institutional early warning system (EWS) for preventing early leaving from education and training. It also tested its applicability with national pilots focusing on contextual factors affecting the evaluation.
Regional needs addressed included: sensitizing the staff of each school on the need to address the problem of dropout; actively involving teachers in monitoring students and working with them; developing better relationships between students and teachers; strengthening pupils' sense of belonging to the class and the school; developing relationships of trust by being supportive and ensuring a safe school climate.

The Danish Production schools were created in the 1980s with the aim of combating youth unemployment. Production Schools offer alternative education opportunities to improve labour market integration. The fundamental aim of this type of school is to create a practical learning environment to support young people to complete and earn qualifications in general and vocational upper secondary education and/or maintain a job. The students are offered the opportunity to develop professional, social and personal skills through counselling, participation in practical work experience and production in different workshops ranging from areas such as metalwork, carpentry and textile work in theatre, media and music-based workshops. The focus is on social, personal and physical skills which are complemented by more formal knowledge and skills. Learning processes are organised through workshops and classroom teaching, but every young person is free to organise an individual course where they may challenge themselves and build their confidence.
The most significant challenge for production schools is to prepare and motivate “non-academic” students for the ordinary school system. The last legislative change in 2006focused the aims of Production Schools so that its most important task has been to build a bridge to vocational education and training through relevant practical and academic qualifications. In 2009, there were over 6,000 students in production schools. The student capacity at each school can vary from 20-25 to over 200. Generally speaking the schools are small, with half of the schools accepting fewer than 50 students. Today there are 78 Production Schools in Denmark.

The guidance report on “working with parents to support children´s learning“ is funded by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) and focuses mostly on activities that aim to improve children’s learning directly. Thus, it reviews the best available research to offer schools and teachers four recommendations to support parental engagement in children’s learning. When it talks about ‘parental engagement’, ‘schools working with parents to improve children’s academic outcomes’ is meant. It is not a new study in itself, but rather is intended as an accessible overview of existing research with clear, actionable guidance. The guidance also draws on a wider body of evidence and expert input.

The project goal is to provide a comprehensive analysis of best practices for preventing ESL in partner countries in the areas: of ESL monitoring systems; and, methods of counteracting ESL and reintegrating students.

Project partners were from Poland, the UK and Italy. Outputs include a report on ESL monitoring systems, a report on prevention and reintegration methods, and a training pack.

Essunga, a Swedish municipality, transformed the ranking of its schools from the bottom to the top of the national school league tables between 2007 to the top in 2010. Essunga has three elementary schools and one lower secondary school (grades 6-9). With 5,500 citizens, it is one of the smallest municipalities in the country. The increase in levels of achievement is attributed to a research-based approach of inclusive education. For years, the three elementary schools in Essunga had consistently experienced low educational levels. An increasing number of students were refugees or in “family placements”. In 2007, only 76% of students were eligible for upper secondary school and 20% of these were placed in special education classes. These results compelled political and school leaders and school staff to identify targeted measures to address these challenges. The municipality focused on interventions at school and in the local community to prevent school absence and increase attendance.

„Опитът на Ирландия показва, че образователните инициативи, провеждани в училищата, могат да повишат образователното ниво на участващите възрастни и водят до общо усещане за оправомощаване на равнището на местната общност. Участието на родителите, особено в областите, които изостават в социално-икономическо отношение, е не само от полза за децата и училището — то е основен елемент от обучението през целия живот.“ (Родителите като партньори в училищната система, ОИСР 1997 г.)