Countries have grown increasingly committed to the aim of inclusive education in recent decades and have developed financial, technical and methodological incentives. As a result, financing of inclusive education has become a crucial topic for evaluating the extent to which existing inclusive education policies effectively meet learners’ rights, improve schools’ capacity to be equitable, effective and efficient, and avoid the short- and long-term costs of exclusion related to lost productivity, human potential, health and poor well-being.

This report is part of the three-year Inclusive Early Childhood Education (IECE) project, which ran from 2015 to 2017. The project aimed to identify, analyse and subsequently promote the main characteristics of quality inclusive pre-primary education for all children from three years of age to the start of primary education.

The Raising the Achievement of All Learners in Inclusive Education (RA) project (2014–2017) aimed to provide evidence of effective practice in raising achievement by building the capacity of schools and communities to include and support all learners.

Countries’ systems of funding for education play a critical role in implementing the right to education and in developing inclusive education systems that promote participation and achievement for all learners.

This report presents the methodology and materials developed within the first phase of the Country Policy Review and Analysis (CPRA) activities. This phase involved eight countries – France, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, Norway, Portugal, United Kingdom (England) and United Kingdom (Scotland) – in piloting work.

This report sets out the findings of a review of the research evidence on early school leaving (ESL) in Europe, with particular reference to young people identified as having special educational needs and/or disabilities.

The review primarily focuses on published material that directly relates to the situation in one or more European countries and that is available in English. However, there is a paucity of research that meets these criteria. European research literature has therefore been supplemented, where necessary, by literature from other parts of the world.

The Financing of Inclusive Education Background Information Report examines key EU-level policy documents and statements on funding of education. It considers work from the European Commission, as well as other international organisations, such as the OECD, UNESCO and its institutes, UNICEF, etc. The report takes account of research on general and special education financing models, as well as those specific to inclusive education. It also incorporates relevant research literature provided by participating countries.

On 16 October 2015, the Luxembourg Presidency of the Council of the European Union hosted the Agency’s fourth Hearing, entitled ‘Inclusive Education – Take Action!’. Seventy-two young people from across Europe, both with and without special educational needs and/or disabilities, had the opportunity to discuss how their schools and communities ensure inclusive education for them.

This flyer below summarises the young people's recommendations expressed at the Hearing in Luxembourg, later presented to the European Ministers of Education for their consideration.