"Our project was a 3-year programme of research and development in early years education. It was undertaken by our 6 partner institutions of primary and/or pre-school education in Denmark, Croatia, Ireland, Iceland, Greece and Norway. We focused on what we termed the RECEPTION challenge: a trans-European need for primary schools to address the diversity of children’s social and educational preparation for their entry to primary school. A wealth of evidence indicates that:(a) educational disengagement and under-achievement in secondary education is significantly related to early years experience and attainment; (b) children enter primary school with very diverse pre-school experience and readiness; (c) this diversity has increased as recent patterns of migration within and from outside the EU have added to longer-standing educational disadvantage associated with minority groups and children with special educational needs. We investigated and disseminated successful attempts by our partner institutions to address the RECEPTION challenge within a wide range of demographic and socio-economic contexts and educational systems. These were instances or ""cases"" of ""best practice"" implemented specifically in response to the needs of a diverse range of children, often disadvantaged, many from migrant, traveler and Roma communities, and some with special educational needs including positions within the autism spectrum. Early years children across the European area are the ultimate beneficiaries of our project. We believe that the dissemination and exploitation of our findings and products will ultimately enhance their long-term prospects for educational attainment and sustainable employment by reducing the chances of their disengagement from subsequent education as a result of inequalities in school-readiness during their early years. Our immediate target groups were their teachers, school leaders, and associated professionals working within Early Childhood Education and Care Our specific objectives were to investigate and help to meet the needs of these target groups for training and support in addressing the RECEPTION challenge. We achieved these objectives firstly by developing, producing and collating a resource pack of materials and resources for the strategic implementation of RECEPTION-related policies and initiatives, which are renewable and adaptable to the particular circumstances and needs of our target group members throughout the European area. This resource pack contains all the project's findings, reports and products, an extensive Europe-wide bibliography, and key European materials from other sources on meeting the RECEPTION challenge. Secondly, and in parallel, we developed and delivered twice to delegates from across Europe, a 5-day residential training course and a substantial RECEPTION handbook. These can be exploited separately or together as residential, online or blended learning modules for target groups’ own use or for the training and support of other colleagues within their own institutions and Early Years networks. Thirdly, Each partner hosted a RECEPTION training course for delegates from its own and the other parter institutions who were not direct participants in the project itself. All of our findings and products have been disseminated across Europe and made freely downloadable through a publicly accessible website - Receptionproject.eu - which we created for the project. It will be sustained and updated by one of our partners into the foreseeable future. Our core findings and products are: (1) initial ""State of the Art"" reports from each partner on current policies, strategies and initiatives for meeting the Reception Challenge in their institutions, regions and countries; (2) detailed ""Case Study"" reports from each partner on one or more cases of ""best practice"" in meeting the Reception Challenge in their own institutions and local networks; (3) the RECEPTION Resource pack, handbook, and training programmes noted above; (4) filmed presentations of RECEPTION best practice in each partner institution After an introduction to the project and its partnership, the training course, handbook and resource pack have the following broadly indicative contents:1. RECEPTION in European perspective; major issues, policies, and strategies; survey of current trans-European research and development work; 2. RECEPTION issues and strategies in each of the 6 partner countries; difference and similarities in socio-economic contexts and educational systems; the RECEPTION needs of specific groups and special children; 3. Documented case studies of “best RECEPTION practice” from each partner country, illustrated by filmed examples and analysis; 4. Issues in RECEPTION policy and practice in the course delegates’ and other participants’ own countries and institutions."

The lack of social mobility is a key issue for Europe. Research highlights that socioeconomic factors and family backgrounds are major barriers to social mobility and that gaps between both access to educational opportunities and achievement continue to rise. Those from disadvantaged backgrounds often lack positive role models or family support. They are not always aware of their options or their potential. They may be subject to negative influence in their own communities. This project aims to address this by focusing on a range of interventions including coaching and mentoring using young people who are just a few years older than themselves. Research shows that such role models are most likely to be a positive influence on young people. This project brings together 6 partners from 6 countries, all of which have challenges with social mobility. It is inspired by the experience of Carmel College in the UK, which undertook an exercise in assessing the impact of poverty on the daily lives of disadvantaged pupils, to identify those pupils who were most disadvantaged and therefore less likely to benefit from social mobility. This has led to the school adopting a menu of intervention strategies to ensure equality of opportunity and to provide support to the target groups in order to raise aspiration and improve educational opportunity. The project will provide students and older pupils with proper coaching competences will support them to work with disadvantaged students with confidence. External strategies include individualised careers work, visits to FE and HE, mentoring and visits to and by local business and parental engagement. Each partner will train up to 10 young coaches and mentors and match them with targeted pupils. In total the project expects to reach around 150 disadvantaged pupils, to support them, track them and impact on their future career paths. This project addresses the Horizontal Priorities of…•supporting individuals in acquiring forward-looking skills to foster employability and socio-educational and personal development•developing social inclusion by promoting equality and non-discriminationThis project addresses the Horizon Erasmus+ School Priorities of…•strengthening the profile of the teaching profession by enhancing professional development, facilitating teacher mobility and developing innovative teaching methods•tackling early school leaving and disadvantage by strengthening collaboration within school and with external stakeholders and improving evaluation and quality assuranceThe objectives of the project are to:•analyse and share existing strategies and resources for improving social mobility to ensure equality of opportunity for all •identify common areas of strength and priorities for development •undertake a study visit to Carmel College to investigate the policies and practice of poverty protection•use the outcomes of the study visit to develop a generic tool for identifying those in need of and would benefit from intervention strategies•develop a holistic model to address disadvantage using coaching and mentoring, individualised career plans, visits and short term placements/work shadowing •produce an impact report incorporating a series of case studies •disseminate the outcomes widely The specific outputs will be:•A project website hosting the resources, impact report and case studies•A tool for identifying disadvantage and those who would benefit most from support and interventions •A coaching training guide for young people and students•An impact report incorporating recommendations for school policy•A dissemination strategy including examples of best practice, online materials and events in 6 countries

This two-year project, which was led by an outstanding UK Primary School, addressed the problem of integrating migrant children in the Primary sector into their local communities. It built a partnership of six organisations from five countries, who brought complementary expertise and experience in dealing with issues relating to the integration of migrants, citizenship education and Primary practice. The focus of this Strategic Partnership was to innovate through cooperative practice with the aim of developing a package of Values Education at a European level in order to: • foster social inclusion, mutual understanding and respect among young people and communities • accelerate the integration of children of newly arrived migrants into the learning environment • minimize the risk of disengagement, marginalisation and even violent radicalisation. • address the objectives of the Paris Declaration on promoting citizenship and the common values of freedom, tolerance and non-discrimination through education • develop networking to increase transnational working and sharing of ideas. The starting point was a study visit for to analyse best practice of the UK schools and develop a scheme of work, a training package and set of resources which were trialled in five countries before being made freely available across the EU. The training and methodology was trialled in 2 schools in the UK, 3 in Italy, 3 in Belgium, 3 in Greece and a Youth organisation in Germany. The partners and schools involved represented particularly vulnerable regions, such as the Mediterranean, or challenging urban quarters. The outputs of the project are: • An online platform hosting the project website, downloadable resources and case studies • A set of training modules and case studies and an online guide to support the training • An impact report incorporating policy recommendations • A set of dissemination materials and seminars in 5 countries • A final international conference which promoted the curriculum, training resources and impact report Although the lingua franca was English, resources have been developed in Greek, Italian, French and German.

"Our project is a 3-year programme of research and development in STEAM education and training. (STEAM is the acronym for Science, Technology, Art and Design, and Mathematics) We have called our project STEAMing - short for ""STEAM: INternational Guidance to best practice ."" We undertake this R+D programme as a partnership of 5 institutions providing primary and secondary education in 5 different countries: Ireland, Croatia, Norway, Portugal, and Greece. Increasing knowledge and competence in STEAM subjects in order to foster essential innovation and creativity features as a key priority in European and National policy statements for the year 2020 and beyond. Our project addresses this need through an identification and analysis of what appears to be best practice in STEAM education at primary and secondary school level in 5 different countries with a contrasting range of socio-economic, demographic, and educational circumstances. The children and families served by our 5 partner organisation and their associates have a corresponding diversity of social, economic and educational needs and experiences. We address the particular needs of children from migrant and itinerant communities; children with special educational needs; and ethnic and linguistic minorities. We also address the uneven but still widespread persistence of the relative disengagement and under-achievement of girls in STEAM subjects. Within this context, our trans-European investigation aims to explore the crucial questions of ""what works, where, why, and for whom"" in STEAM education Our findings and conclusions will be used to produce an innovative range of practical products and resources for the training and support of all members of our target groups in any European country - teachers, school leaders, educational advisors, administrators, and policy-makers. Through the wider dissemination and exploitation of our outputs to and by our target groups we hope to facilitate an enhancement of STEAM teaching and learning that will ultimately make a significant positive impact on the educational engagement and attainment of their pupils and students - the ultimate beneficiaries of our project across the European area. Our research and development programme will feed into the development and delivery of the project's major products. These will include: (a) Initial and updated ""State of the Art"" reports from each partner on key issues of implementing and innovating STEAM education in their own countries, regions and institutions; (b) A synoptic overview of these reports relating them to general European policy debates and initiatives;(c) One or more detailed case-studies and analyses by each partner of what appears to be demonstrably best practice in STEAM education in their own institutions and local educational networks;(d) Films and other presentations made by the partners to illustrate the findings and conclusions from their case-studies and demonstrate ""best practice"" in operation. (e) a substantial handbook of STEAM education and innovation to accompany our training courses (see below) or as a stand-alone productAll of these outputs, together with key materials and resources from other sources, will be made available and freely downloadable through a publicly accessible STEAMing website. This will operate as an interactive, online resource pack updated as the project progresses and sustainable after its lifetime.In addition to establishing and maintaining this STEAMing website, our strategy for the wider dissemination and exploitation of our outputs encompasses the development of a 5-day residential training course for members of our target groups in all European areas. During the project's lifetime, we will deliver 2 pilot versions of this residential course, funded by delegates' fees which themselves are eligible for ERASMUS+ KA1 funding. The course will be accompanied by an 80 or 90 page course handbook presenting our findings, reports and conclusions. The course and handbook will be freely downloadable from the public website for members of our target groups to use as a residential or online blended CPD programme for the training and support of teachers and associated professionals in their own and other institutions. For these and other purposes related to our dissemination strategy, we will also deliver one 5-day residential training course in STEAM education and innovation at each of our partner institutions during the project's lifetime. These will be offered to members of our partner institutions' own staff. Course fees, travel costs and subsistence will be met from within the project's budget as Learning, Teaching and Training Activities designed to embed STEAM education and innovations within their institutions' mainstream cultures and structure."

Recent migration waves into Europe have created significant problem, and in particular for schools, who have the responsibility for both integrating migrant pupils and ensuring their education. In 2015-16 alone, Europe received more than 750,000 migrant children with diverse linguistic backgrounds and experiences with formal education. Many schools face the challenge of integrating newly migrant pupils and in particular engaging with the local communities if language is a barrier. This project brings together 6 partners from 5 countries, all of which have faced different types of migration. It aims to overcome these issues by training up a team of ‘Young Interpreters’ in the Primary School sector to use their languages in the “official” school environment. It will exploit formally the potential that exists within each school community for bi- and multi-lingual pupils to use their skills, develop their leadership skills and will also facilitate peer learning.By supporting new learners of the country’s language, they are more likely to feel safe, settled and valued from the start and this will speed up their integration. The identified Young Interpreters will undergo specific training to prepare for this role and will be selected on the basis of their personal qualities. Their skills can also support school staff in a variety of ways at different points during the school day. The project will explore the opportunities for improving the engagement of parents who feel excluded because of language barriers, through both attendance at school events but also through non-formal activities such as a coffee mornings or sharing of extra-curricular activities.The focus of this Strategic Partnership is to support a transfer of good practices with the aim of developing a model of how to exploit the bi- and multilingual skills of young pupils in the Primary sector in order to:•develop a framework of challenges to develop a scheme of ‘young interpreters’ •create a recognition system for their skills•support the inclusion and linguistic development of newly arrived migrants•support the inclusion of families in the education of their childrenThe project addresses the Horizontal Priorities of…•supporting the development of basic skills and key competences – in particular language and critical thinking•social inclusion, through supporting integration into the school system and accessibility of parents who feel excluded by language barriersand the Erasmus+ School Priorities of…•promoting a comprehensive approach to language learning by building on the language diversity in schools and supporting the integration of the language dimension across the curriculum•tackling disadvantage by including children with a migrant background and strengthening collaboration with familiesThe objectives of the project are to: •identify up to 20 priority communication needs for newly arrived migrant pupils and their parents •create an outline scheme of ‘young interpreter’ challenges to exploit the bi- and multi-lingual skills of existing pupils •create a set of training materials to support the ‘young interpreter’ scheme•create an accreditation system of badges to recognise achievement of the ‘challenges’•recruit 120 young interpreters in 5 countries in up to 10 languages•pilot, test, evaluate and refine the training and accreditation in 2 schools in each of 5 countries•identify and use tools to evaluate impact, including data and feedback from students, teachers and parents•create a set of case studies from each country•disseminate the outcomes widely and build a network of interested bodiesand the specific outputs will be:• A project website hosting resources and case studies•A report on the 20 top priority needs of newly-arrived migrant pupils in the context of their school and host country•A model ‘young interpreter’ scheme of work based on those needs in terms of challenges - this will be at three levels of complexity and badges •A model three level accreditation scheme in the form of badges which rewards the achievement of the challenges •A set of training modules for teachers and non-teaching staff working with the young interpreters as assessors supported by an online handbook•A set of case studies demonstrating the programme in action in each of the 5 countries•An impact report •A set of dissemination materials and seminars in 5 countries•An exploitation plan