Partnerships in school education

This action enables participating organisations to gain experience in international cooperation and to strengthen their capacities, but also to produce high-quality innovative deliverables.

What types of activities are supported in these projects?

Organisations have the flexibility to choose the best combination that contributes to reaching the project’s objectives in relation to its scope and in proportion to the capacities of the partnership. 

These activities refer to the implementation of project activities (networking events, meetings, conferences, working sessions to to exchange practices and to develop results, staff and learner trainings etc.), project management and promotion activities.

Are there specific areas or topics these projects should address?

Projects are required to frame their activities within one or more priorities, which are prescribed annually by the European Commission, and to choose them at the application stage.

In the 2023 Call for proposals, Partnerships for Cooperation must address at least one priority from the list you can find bellow. 

In addition, national agencies responsible for managing the Erasmus+ Programme may identify one or more of these European priorities as particularly relevant for the national context.    

Priorities applying to all Erasmus+ sectors

The Programme will support projects that promote social inclusion and aim at improving the outreach to people with fewer opportunities, including people with disabilities and people with a migrant background, as well as people living in rural and remote areas such as outermost regions, people facing gender inequalities, socio-economic difficulties or any other potential source of discrimination based on sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation. These projects will help addressing the barriers faced by these groups in accessing the opportunities offered by the programme, as well as contributing to creating inclusive environments that foster equity and equality, and that are responsive to the needs of the wider community. Under this priority, the Programme will support projects that promote educational activities and facilitate the integration of people fleeing the war in Ukraine into their new learning environments.

The Programme aims to support, across all sectors, awareness raising about the green transition, environmental and climate-change challenges. Priority will be given to projects aimed at developing competences in various sustainability-relevant sectors, developing green sectorial skills strategies and methodologies, as well as future-oriented curricula that better meet the needs of individuals. The Programme will also support the testing of innovative practices to prepare learners, staff and youth workers to become true agents of change (e.g. save resources, reduce energy use and waste, compensate carbon footprint emissions, opt for sustainable food and mobility choices, etc.). Priority will also be given to projects that – through education, training, youth and sport activities – enable behavioural changes for individual preferences, consumption habits, and lifestyles, in line with the New European Bauhaus initiative146; develop sustainability competences of educators and education leaders and support the planned approaches of the participating organisations regarding environmental sustainability.

The Programme will support digital transformation plans of primary, secondary, vocational education and training (VET), higher, and adult education institutions. Priority will be given to projects aiming to increase the capacity and readiness of institutions to manage an effective shift towards digital education. The Programme will support the purposeful use of digital technologies in education, training, youth and sport for teaching, learning, assessment and engagement. This includes the development of digital pedagogy and expertise in the use of digital tools for teachers, including accessible and assistive technologies and the creation and innovative use of digital education content. Equally, it includes developing the digital skills and competences of all the population through appropriate programmes and initiatives. Particular attention will be given to promoting gender equality and addressing differences in relation to the access and use by underrepresented groups. The Programme will further support the use of the European frameworks on digital competences of educators, citizens and organisations.

The Programme will support active citizenship and ethics in lifelong learning; it will foster the development of social and intercultural competences, critical thinking and media literacy. Priority will also be given to projects that offer opportunities for people’s participation in democratic life, social and civic engagement through formal or non-formal learning activities, such as for example activities raising awareness about and promoting participation in the 2024 elections to the European Parliament. The focus will also be on raising awareness on and understanding the European Union context, notably as regards the common EU values, the principles of unity and diversity, as well as their cultural identity, cultural awareness and their social and historical heritage.

Specific priorities in the field of school education 

The project aim of this priority is to help make success possible for all learners, particularly those with fewer opportunities. The priority includes monitoring, early identification of pupils at risks, preventive and early intervention approaches for learners with difficulties, promotion of more learner-centered approaches, promotion of well-being and mental health for learners and teachers, as well as protection from bullying at school. At the level of schools, this priority supports holistic approaches to teaching and learning and collaboration among all actors within schools, as well as with families and other external stakeholders. Finally, at strategic level, the focus is on improving transitions between different stages of education, improving evaluation and developing strong quality assurance systems.

This priority supports practitioners in teacher professions (including teacher educators) through all phases of their career. Projects under this priority can focus on enhancing teachers’ initial education, as well as their continuous professional development, in particular by improving the policy framework and concrete opportunities for teacher mobility. A second focus of the priority is making teaching careers more attractive and diverse, and strengthening selection, recruitment and evaluation for teaching professions. Finally, projects can also directly support the development of stronger school leadership and innovative teaching and assessment methods.

Projects under this priority will focus on promoting cross-curricular collaboration, using innovative learning approaches, developing creativity, supporting teachers in delivering competence-based teaching and developing assessment and validation of key competences.

This priority includes projects that work on supporting the integration of the language dimension across the curricula and ensuring that learners reach adequate language competence levels by the end of compulsory education. Mainstreaming the use of new technologies for language learning is also part of the efforts under this priority. Finally, the priority supports projects that can help create language aware schools and that build on the increasing linguistic diversity in schools, for example by encouraging early language learning and awareness and developing bilingual teaching options (especially in border regions and areas where inhabitants use more than one language).

This priority supports projects that promote the STEM approach to education through interdisciplinary teaching in cultural, environmental, economic, design and other contexts. The priority includes development and promotion of effective and innovative pedagogies and assessment methods. Developing partnerships between schools, businesses, higher education institutions, research institutions, and wider society is particularly valuable in this context. At strategic level, the priority serves to promote development of national STEM strategies.

This priority focuses on promoting the implementation of the EU quality framework for early childhood education and care. It includes projects providing support for initial and continuing professional development of staff involved in organising, leading and providing early childhood education and care. In addition, the priority also supports creating, testing and implementing strategies and practices to foster participation of all children in early childhood education and care, including children with fewer opportunities.

This priority aims to help put in practice the Council Recommendation on automatic mutual recognition. It supports embedding crossborder class exchanges in school programmes, building capacity of schools to organise learning periods abroad for their pupils, and creation of long-term partnerships between schools in different countries. At strategic level, this priority aims for stronger involvement of school authorities at all levels in efforts to ensure recognition, and it supports development and sharing of tools and practices for preparation, monitoring and recognition of periods abroad.

 

The Programme aims to involve leading personalities from start-ups to act as ambassadors and mentors to inspire young people, and invite them to develop new ideas and solutions.

Additional aspects  

In addition to the formal criteria, project proposals should pay attention to the following aspects:

  • Inclusion and diversity – organisations should devise accessible and inclusive project activities, taking into account the needs as well as the opinions of participants with fewer opportunities;
  • Environment and sustainability – projects should encourage all participants to learn and discuss the issues related to the environment, as well as to find alternative, greener ways of implementing project activities;
  • Digital dimension – virtual cooperation as well as experimenting with virtual or blended learning possibilities is encouraged;
  • Participation and civic engagement – projects should offer opportunities for people’s participation in democratic life, social and civic engagement.
Typesofprojects 

Depending on the project objectives, participating organizations and the expected impact, these projects can be of different sizes and scope. Accordingly, there are two types of partnerships:

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