The eBulletin presents updates and news on activities from the European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education and its member countries.

Agency eBulletin May 2024

This eBulletin brings details of an open vacancy for a passionate individual who is committed to ensuring every learner’s right to inclusive and equitable educational opportunities, to become the new Director of the Agency.

The newsletter details new Agency resources to help establish a culture of effective communication and build resilience in education systems. There is news on the European Agency Statistics on Inclusive Education and on Country Policy Development Support activities.

Find out about a recent study visit as part of the Technical Support Instrument work in Greece. There is an update on the recent event to mark the 30th anniversary of the Salamanca Statement and a European Commission Working Group peer-learning activity.

Finally, the newsletter outlines events in the first European Projects Festival, which took place in April.

For more news from the Agency, visit the News section

Open vacancy: Director of the European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education

The Agency is looking for the next Director of the European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education. Potential candidates should be committed to ensuring every learner’s right to inclusive and equitable educational opportunities. They must be passionate about taking forward and further developing the Agency and its work for and with its member countries, and to strengthening the Agency’s position within the inclusive education field.

For details of the position and how to apply, see the advertisement for a new Director on the Agency website.

Application closing date: 31 May 2024, 23.59 CEST.

Agency news and resources

Establishing a culture of effective communication to build resilience in education systems

The Agency has published three new outputs as part of its Building Resilience through Inclusive Education Systems (BRIES) activity.

The activity’s main publication is the Guidance for Establishing a Culture of Effective Communication. The guidance, which is an open-source document available in all Agency languages, aims to encourage decision-makers to reflect on the communication structures and processes in place in their education systems.

An infographic presents the guidance’s elements graphically and is also available in all Agency languages.

Finally, a Methodology and Theoretical Background report, in English only, provides details of the conceptual framework used and methodology applied in the BRIES activity.

Read more about the BRIES activity and outputs.

BRIES infographic – Establishing a Culture of Effective Communication in Education. View the full infographic on the Agency website.

European Agency Statistics on Inclusive Education

The European Agency Statistics on Inclusive Education (EASIE) provides information on education systems in participating Agency member countries and informs country-level work on learners’ rights issues connected to equity and participation in inclusive education.

EASIE Cross-Country Report for the 2020/2021 school year

The EASIE Cross-Country Report for the 2020/2021 school year dataset is now available. It presents 33 indicators relating to access to and placement in inclusive education or otherwise, using data from 31 participating Agency member countries.

Find out more and download the report on the Agency website.

EASIE workshop

The annual EASIE workshop took place in Brussels, Belgium, on 8–10 April. Its main focus was to gather ideas on a proposal to reframe the EASIE work from the end of 2025. Data experts and country representatives participating in the workshop provided useful ideas and feedback on how to improve the data collection tools and processes and fill gaps in the current EASIE dataset. Read more about the workshop.

Country Policy Development Support

The Country Policy Development Support (CPDS) activity is central to the Agency’s role as an agent for policy change in inclusive education. It supports reflection on country policy development and implementation issues for inclusive education.

The Agency has developed a new CPDS Framework to be completed with individual country information about policies and their implementation into practice across the whole inclusive education system. It is an open-source tool for recording and systematising country information on inclusive education systems.

Find out more and download the CPDS Framework.

International collaboration

Technical Support Instrument: Promoting Inclusive Education in Greece

Greek education stakeholders have taken part in a study visit to Portugal as part of the Technical Support Instrument (TSI) project, the Implementation of the European Child Guarantee – Promoting Inclusive Education in Greece, Phase 2. The study visit aimed to give the Greek visitors an insight into the inclusive school provision and support services in Portugal.

Find out more about the study visit.

Challenges and opportunities of inclusive education: 30 years of the Salamanca Statement

The Agency took part in a panel discussion as part of an event to mark the 30th anniversary of the Salamanca Statement. During the panel discussion, the Agency’s Assistant Director, Amanda Watkins, outlined some of the shared challenges and opportunities for inclusive education that are evident in the Agency’s work with its member countries. The Agency also prepared a reflection paper for UNESCO on the journey to inclusive education in European countries.

Visit the news page for details of the event and to read the reflection paper.

Agency Assistant Director Amanda Watkins on stage with three other participants

Agency Assistant Director Amanda Watkins speaks at the event to celebrate 30 years of the Salamanca Statement. (c) UNESCO/Marie Etchegoyen

Agency hosts European Commission Working Group peer-learning activity

On 19–20 March 2024, the Agency hosted a peer-learning activity (PLA) at its Brussels Office, as part of the European Commission’s Working Group on Equality and values in education and training. The PLA brought together policy-makers from across Europe, together with representatives from education and youth organisations, the Agency and the European Commission. Participants explored two topics during the PLA: Policy development approaches for flexible systems of support and Policy implementation measures to support learners’ diverse needs.

Read more about the PLA event on the news page.

European Projects Festival: Diversity and inclusion in European education systems

The Agency participated in a round table event exploring ‘Diversity and inclusion in European education systems: comparing panorama and experience’ as part of the first European Projects Festival in Ferrara, Italy. The festival celebrated European culture and provided a space for organisations to exhibit their work. The forum programme included a wide range of conferences, seminars, workshops and presentations on a variety of topics.

Find out more about the European Projects Festival.

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