'European Super Skills' ('sEUper skills') was a three year project with the ultimate aim of promoting better life outcomes for vulnerable children and young people aged between 3 and 21 years, particularly those who have special educational needs and disabilities. The project was driven by a shared belief that all children and young people can make a positive contribution to their local and wider communities, whatever barriers or challenges the may face in their day to day lives, and that all children and young people have the right to be supported to achieve their individual potential. The project was therefore designed to promote a range of personal or social competencies, or 'Super Skills', that we feel are crucial in supporting this vision. We want all of our children and young people to: - develop a sense of independence and learn essential life skills (Super Skill: To be independent) - develop an understanding and appreciation of the needs of others (Super Skill: To be caring) - challenge themselves and step out of their 'comfort zone' (Super Skill: To be part of new experiences) - display confidence within a range of activities and environments (Super Skill: To be sociable) - participate in meaningful interactions with others (Super Skill: to be sociable) - appreciate the importance of living a healthy and active life (Super Skill: To be healthy and active) Five schools from five different countries have taken part in this partnership - England, The Netherlands, Finland, Spain and Poland. Three of the five schools are special schools (England, Spain and Holland), and the other two have specialist provision within a mainstream setting for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities. Three of the five schools (England, Spain and Finland) provide education for children with complex special educational needs and disabilities, a large proportion of those with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Our nine project activities were complemented by eight transnational mobilities which were designed to promote respect for others, nurture individual strengths and celebrate cultural differences and diversity. More local issues such as childhood obesity and employability were also addressed within the activities. Approximately 400 children and young people participated in this project, the majority of whom have learning difficulties and/or disabilities. In-school based activities were built into the curricula of each school. COVID 19 disrupted the continuation of the project beyond March 2020.

This was a 3 year project between five schools, three of which are special schools and two of which have large special needs departments. The project aimed to do two things:1) Equip children and young people with '9 European Super Powers', enabling them to feel confident, valued and empowered to make a positive contribution to their local and wider communities. The nine European Super Powers were:Motivation - Confidence - Pride - Independence - Respect - Creativity - Enterprise - Courage - Co-operationProject activities were designed to enable acquisition of the above 'powers' whilst supporting the development of communication and interaction skills. The idea was to help pupils in all participating schools to become less insular and to enjoy their lives, enabling them to participate more fully in their communities and to become more socially integrated. Participating in this project helped a large number of children and young people from five different countries build confidence and to develop transferrable skills that will be useful to them in all aspects of life, especially in the world of work. 2) Provide opportunities for specialist teachers and education staff to improve their own practice through the sharing of ideas and professional expertise with European colleagues. A particular focus in this project was communication and interaction. Staff in participating schools were given the opportunity to develop skills in teaching and working with children and young people who have specific difficulties around communication. Each school has a unique curriculum for children and young people with a wide range in needs and abilities, and different areas of expertise. Many staff in each of the participating schools were able to experience and learn from this first hand through visits, job shadowing and organised training events. Approximately 400 children and young people participated in this project, the majority of whom have learning difficulties and / or disabilities, particularly around communication. In-school based activities were built into the curriculums of each school and included film making, arts and craft activities, story writing, enterprise activities, community events, learning about traditional games, outdoor education and responsible citizenship. Pupils were able to develop a personal profile of personal and social development skills (or European Super Powers) through participation in these activities and were able to make a practical and positive contribution to their own school and local communities. They were also able to gain a better understanding of different European countries in terms of the diversity between their physical environments, language, cultural differences and traditions. Through activities that were designed to promote employability skills, some pupils were able to see how the 'world of work' could be a realistic option for the future, thus raising personal expectations and aspirations. Participating in this project also had a positive impact on the staff in each school, in terms of professional development. They were able to compare education systems, training, curriculum models, teaching and support strategies used in different countries in order to share good practice and enhance their own.A longer term benefit of this project is that it has inspired a new project idea that has since been approved for funding. Some of the participating schools are therefore looking forward to working together again and introducing two new partner schools, further strengthening and widening our network of European colleagues with the shared value of improving life outcomes for children and young people across Europe, particularly those who are most disadvantaged due to disability or social circumstances.

Schools are changing – School prinicipals are driving the change - Develop good schools with everyone The obviously increasing and in shorter time periods appearing changes in schools require professional handling by principals and colleges to cope with those tasks. In this project, social topics of the presence that also affect schools in the EU, were explicitely chosen worked on: - ''Leadership behavior during change processes of the extracurricular social environment of students'' - ''Leadership behavior during change processes due to migration'' - ''Leadership behavior during change processes due to digitalisation'' How can the school management govern these processes? Which effect do these governing tools have on the development of good schools as organizational development? How to implement a successful cooperation with everyone who has an influence on the students? How to succeed in motivation of the staff? How is it possible to solve conflicts in a structural manner? The school partnership-project investigated, presented, compared and documented the leadership behaviour of school management in the participating schools and prepared tools for school development. The project result, a 'method box for wise leadership in schools', was not realized in the way it had been prepared - that was not possible due to the pandemic and the ensuing restrictions and difficulties.

"<< Background >>An African proverb says: ""It takes a whole village to educate a child"". Education is a key issue in community development. However, there is often no overall strategy. The topic of our cooperation project is: ""Development of a shared culture of learning through educational landscapes, pedagogical architecture and creation of opportunities for participation"".1.) Educational landscapes: Educational landscapes open up new learning experiences and better participation opportunities for children, adolescents and adults. Good networking is required with public administration, educational specialists, educational coordinators, district managers, but also representatives from associations, clubs and civic foundations.2.) Educational architecture: How should schools be designed as a building, as a place where students learn and live, as a socio-cultural place in the neighborhood? This is also about opening up schools and linking them to extracurricular places of learning. Open schools bundle resources and rely on synergies. They become central locations in the district.3.) Opportunities to participate: By contributing their own opinions and thoughts, pupils participate actively and openly in the entire development process of the school. Parents and legal guardians are also important partners in the school development process.These topics and contents contribute to the unfolding, support and (further) development of a learning culture that is based on individual support, appreciative relationships and regional identity. All those involved in the project contribute their various experiences from their field of work, exchange skills and develop diverse tools and strategies for an implementation on European level.<< Objectives >>Schools of the future are learning- and, above all, living spaces. School is subject to constant change: the environment, the requirements, the students are constantly changing. School has to adapt to these changed conditions again and again. ""To raise a child it takes a whole village"" is an African proverb.Education is the basis of our society. Different learning cultures are needed to develop competencies and skills. Schools and their outdoor areas are sustainable properties and can be used across generations. There exist good approaches to this in Europe.Schools are not closed systems. Open schools bundle resources and rely on synergies. Spaces of learning and experience for tomorrow are set in a culture of cooperation. They become a central place in the district. It is not just about architecture, but about a holistic approach to school design, the integration of the social space and the possibility of participation of students and parents but also network partners from the social area in the design of processes. Involvement or participation of pupils and the entire school community form the core of educational architecture and school design. With our project we want to develop modules and materials for an holistic approach, provide schools with ideas and tools for school design in the future, develop new educational partnerships and create and further develop opportunities for participation. Within the 36 project months, these three topics will be implemented by all partners as a model. We are professionally accompanied and supported by experts (catalysts).<< Implementation >>The project includes an analytical part to determine the current situation and needs. All partners have the task of compiling this analysis with the support of local experts. The experiences of the project partners and materials that are important for the project are collected. Then the needs are determined and set out as work packages for the learning mobilities and local working group meetings.The second part is the theoretical part, with local working group meetings, supported by topic-specific experts and shakeholders, and the transnational partner meetings, in which administrative and partnership-relevant details of the cooperation partnership are discussed. The third part is the practical part. In this part, learning mobilities such as study visits, job shadowings, online meetings (plus the involvement of associated partners) and further training on defined topics take place. In addition, multiplier events are planned in each participating country.All results of all activities are summarized and defined as project results. The project results of the cooperation partnership should be presented in a variety of ways. For this purpose, ""work packages"" are defined again. Small groups are created within the partner organizations that are supposed to develop different tools on the topics of ""educational landscapes, educational architecture and the creation of opportunities for participation"". These can be: digital participation tools for young people, apps, method cases for parental participation, strategies for the development and management of local educational landscapes, video clips and exhibitions on the subject of educational architecture, position papers and effective presentations for decision-makers. The entire project period is also a development process for everyone involved.<< Results >>Within the framework of the project results on different levels will be achieved.A public effective result of the project will for example be be the design of a joint project website. This contains a download area for the project results, documentation of all activities, specialist materials, partial results, all project results, the sustainability concept and the evaluation of the technical support. In addition, we'll have a Facebook page created, a joint logo developed and a broad, publicly effective promotion for the project carried out.The practical outcomes include the transnational partner meetings, the learning mobility, the multiplier events and thematic workshops. These ensure that the participating qualified personnel from their own facility / school as well as interested parties, facilities, institutions, pupils, parents, neighborhood partners and political decision-makers on the topics of educational landscapes, educational construction and opportunities for participation achieve practical results and qualify themselves. Subject-specific experts will be involved to provide support. Local working groups are set up in each partner country or region to support and accompany the project and to implement the project results locally in the future.Additional activities / mobilities / workshops / online meetings will be organized for associated partners.A number of practical project results are planned, such as online tools, practical apps for digital participation opportunities for pupils, an interactive exhibition, material, handouts (method cases) and modules for educational staff, strategy papers for political decision-makers and training offers for parents.Furthermore, a sustainability concept is drawn up, which can be realistically implemented in the partner countries in the following years, as well as professional support and evaluation of the project.Ultimately, an important and necessary result is the further development of strategies for qualifying school development, educational landscapes, opportunities for participation, educational architecture and learning cooperation."

""" Quote: ""We need a new learning culture!"" (education scientist Prof. Felix Rauner/University of Bremen) ""Already in the Kindergarten contacts to the world of work should be built, for example when master craftsmen tell the children about their work ..."" (Source: http://www.sueddeutsche.de)Based on many years of experience of the partners, current statistics and the strategy of the European Union, the basic question was:What do young people need for a successful way of life, how can the social environment of the family, educators and educational institutions, educational biographies have a positive effect? How to achieve optimal transitions? Although there exist many offers and support possibilities for young people in Europe, the high number of early school leavers and vocational training dropouts present a constant challenge!During the period from 01.09.2014 to 31.08.2017 10 partners from 5 European countries were involved in this project The partners came from different fields of work : pre-school, Primary school, secondary School, vocational school, comprehensive school, project: ""Peer to Peer"", Youth work, Adult education. It was the aim of this partnership to use the experiences of the ten project partners to create one common document with advices and good practice examples that can be used as inspiration for institutions all over Europe to improve their work with children and youngsters in the field of transition.The core topics of our work were:1.) Prevention of early school leaving2.) Prevention of vocational training dropout3.) Networks and structures for the improvement of transitionThe innovative aspect of this project was the holistic approach beginning in preschool and reaching over primary school to secondary school to vocational schools to young adult education and youth work. During our work, parents, stakeholders, companies and institutions but most importantly, the young people themselves, were involved. Essentially, it was possible to have a continuous exchange with the partner organizations and to get practical experience at 8 transnational meetings, 10 Job shadowings and 2 teaching assignments. In addition, there took place 5 multiplier events and parent-teacher conferences, model projects as well as a lot of specialist events. During the three project years the partners exchanged many experiences, approaches and good practices. We visited each other, got to know the work of the partner institutions and learned about strategies and projects in the different countries. We started to adopt ideas from the others, formed new partnerships and were able to integrate the experiences from this project into our own work.Examples include the installation of a language class according to the Finnish model, the improvement of the transition between elementary school and regular school, including the social worker of the regular school and the pilot project vocational orientation in primary school.In 2015, a survey on the three core topics “Prevention of early school leaving”, “Prevention of vocational training dropout”, “Networks and structures for the improvement of transition” was conducted in all partner organizations. Participants were more than 2000 students, parents and educators. The results of the questionnaire can be found on the homepage www.consistentway.eu. It was interesting, that in all the partners’ countries the results were similar: start early, be practical, be individual and don’t forget the parents!.This study was the basis for the further work of the partners during the following two project years as well as for the creation of the 60-page Guideline, as a result of the European project “Consistent way…” , with 32 good practice examples of the partners.In order to secure the project sustainably and implement concrete practical models, a sustainability concept was developed together with the partners.We wanted to make this project a success – and we sure we did."