The two year project aims to identify and promote successful joint approaches of social partners in ensuring the full inclusion of persons with special needs in education systems and education policies (focusing on education personnel and leadership of education institutions), as well as to evaluate the current policies and practices, resulting in a concrete set of proposals and recommendations for national member organisations, employers in education, education authorities and governments. The initiative is carried out by the ETUCE and EFEE in partnership with education trade unions and employer organisations from Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Romania, Moldova, Germany, Ireland, and France.

Funding

This project is funded with support from the European Commission.

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and linked to it the shift to online teaching, as well as the war in Ukraine and linked to it the migration, energy and socio-economic crises in Europe, inflicted severe consequences especially for those students who are already disadvantaged. Following the commitment of European Social Partners in Education  to enhancing the provision of the quality and inclusive education which realizes the full potential of every student and pays special attention to learners at risk of exclusion and underachievement, ETUCE and EFEE propose the project ‘Inclusive education for all needs: European Sectoral Social Partners in Education promoting inclusion of persons with special needs in education’.  

The two year project aims to identify and promote successful joint approaches of social partners in ensuring the full inclusion of persons with special needs in education systems and education policies (focusing on education personnel and leadership of education institutions), as well as to evaluate the current policies and practices, resulting in a concrete set of proposals and recommendations for national member organisations, employers in education, education authorities and governments. Through this project, ETUCE and EFEE also aim at consolidating a solid basis for the continuation of the dialogue process both at national and European level to empower social dialogue to adapt to the changing world of work, ensuring that transitions to a digital, climate neutral economy and new forms of employment, leave no one behind.  

Main project activities include the study of the state-of-art including desk research, online survey and focus group discussions, school visits (in Germany and Romania), two training workshops (in France and Portugal), and a final conference (in Moldova). Project's main policy outcome is Practical guidelines on how to promote effective inclusion of persons with special needs in the education system and education policies through joint social partner initiatives.