A second round of thematic workshops took place in October as part of the Agency’s Changing Role of Specialist Provision in Supporting Inclusive Education (CROSP) project.
The project examines ways to reorganise specialist provision to support inclusive education for all learners. Phase 1 of the project took the form of a mapping exercise to give an overview of the situation in Europe, resulting in a synthesis report of the findings. Phase 2, which began in 2019, will use peer learning activities, such as the recent thematic workshops, to develop a tool to change the role of specialist provision.
The first round of workshops in phase 2 took place in October 2020 and explored different countries’ experiences of the four thematic areas for discussion: governance, funding, capacity building and quality assurance. The 2021 workshops focused on six guiding principles to change the role of specialist provision:
- Developing shared values and changing mindsets
- Focusing on collaboration and networking
- Investing in professional training on inclusion
- Supporting inclusive school leadership and management
- Encouraging stakeholders’ active involvement
- Promoting on-going monitoring and assessment.
Workshop participants discussed how to translate these guiding principles into policy priorities and strategies, and then into actions. They explored successes and challenges in their countries and looked at future developments. The CROSP team is currently analysing the outcomes of these discussions to assist in the tool’s development.
The tool is due to launch in 2022. The CROSP project web area contains more information about the project, including a video and infographic conveying the key messages from phase 1.