This month's focus: Tackling Early School Leaving

Early school leaving (ESL) refers to young people who leave school after completing only their lower secondary education or less. Recognizing the seriousness of the problem, European countries have committed themselves to reduce the average proportion of early school leavers to less than 10% by 2020.

A brand new resource, the European Toolkit for Schools, promotes inclusive education and tackles early school leaving by offering concrete ideas for improving collaboration within, between and beyond schools. The aim of the toolkit is to support the exchange of best practice and experience among school practitioners and policy makers. The resources available in this toolkit are organised around five thematic areas: School governance; Support to teachers; Support to learners; Parental Involvement; and Involvement of stakeholders.

Explore the toolkit today and discover related content at School Education Gateway:

• Expert: Understanding and preventing early school leaving by Professor Erna Nairz-Wirth from the Vienna University of Economics and Business (in 23 languages)
• Practice: Involving parents and local community to reduce school drop-outs (in 23 languages)
• Infographic: Whole School Approach to reduce early school leaving
• Video: Tackling early school leaving
• Publication: A whole school approach to tackling early school leaving. Policy messages (PDF)

New resource: Entrepreneurship and Schools

Are you thinking about introducing and promoting the subject of entrepreneurship in your classroom? Then check out the new Entrepreneurship and Schools section on School Education Gateway! It showcases examples of successfully-implemented entrepreneurial learning initiatives from all EU countries which are part of the E360 project jointly launched by the European Commission and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Visit the page to find out more.

Looking for funding for your school initiatives? See what Erasmus+ has to offer

The Erasmus+ programme provides funding to support activities such as professional development activities abroad for school staff (including courses, teaching assignments, and job shadowing), and Strategic Partnership projects between schools or other organisations.

To prepare your funding application, please take a look at the following resources:

• Official programme guide: details on different funding opportunities and application deadlines.
• Practical Guide for school leaders: examples and step-by-step guidance for school leaders planning their Erasmus+ funding application (in 6 languages).
• Tutorial on how to select a teacher training course abroad (in 23 languages)
• Erasmus+ Tools
  • Course Catalogue, which includes over 3000 professional development courses for teachers
  • Mobility Opportunities search tool, which helps teachers find interesting teaching assignments and job shadowing offers abroad
  • Strategic Partnerships search tool, which helps connect partners for collaborative Strategic Partnership projects