An international seminar on inter-sectoral co-operation to meet learners’ diverse needs took place in Gdansk, Poland, on 16–18 October. The event was part of the Agency’s Thematic Country Cluster Activities (TCCA) Cluster 4 on Advancing Collaboration in Education (ACE).
The Agency co-organised the international seminar with the Polish Ministry of National Education (MEN), the Marshal’s Office of the Pomeranian Voivodeship, the Centre for Education Development in Warsaw (ORE), and the Pomeranian Centre for Teacher Education in Gdansk (PCEN).
The seminar highlighted the importance of different sectors, such as education, health and labour, working together to provide inclusive education that responds to learners’ diverse needs. Agency member countries have identified this as crucial in their efforts to implement quality inclusive education.
Representatives from the Agency and four of the cluster countries (Iceland, Norway, Poland and United Kingdom – Wales) attended the seminar. The Undersecretary of State, Izabela Ziętkan, attended alongside other representatives from MEN and the other co-organising institutions. Parents and representatives from schools, local government, universities, counselling and diagnosis centres, and non-governmental organisations also participated.
During the seminar, the results from two pilot projects on inter-sectoral co-operation carried out in Poland were presented: the University of Silesia’s model of inter-sectoral support (2022–2024), and ‘Specialised Centres Supporting Inclusive Education’ (2019–2023), implemented by ORE in co-operation with the State Fund for Persons with Disabilities.
Participants discussed similar activities carried out in other countries, and examined the resulting recommendations and challenges to overcome from these examples.
The cluster countries can use the recommendations in their work to develop inter-sectoral co-operation in their own countries. In addition, the Agency will use the findings from the discussions to further develop the ACE activities.
The TCCA web area contains more information on all the clusters’ work.