"The project <<""Inclusive me!"" The exchange of good practices in inclusive education of students with disabilities>> was implemented by two special schools: Guardian Angel Secondary Education Resource Center in Hamrun (Malta) and the Special Education Team in Słupia near Kępno (Poland) for 26 months. The aim of the project was to exchange good practice in the field of education involving people with disabilities in the following areas: 1) learning non-verbal communication, alternative communication methods 2) gaining civic competences 3) mutual tolerance, 4) good peer relationships 5) social development, 6) adaptation in a different environment 7) ability to cooperate 8) respect for one's views, 9) troubleshooting 10) dealing with difficult situations. Objectives were achieved through the project's activities: 24 employees and 39 students together with 31 carers in a weekly visit to the partner organization (learning / teaching / training activities).In addition to the above activities we developed extensive project documentation, including learning program based on integrated education and learning by experience. This program, as well as other tools created thanks to our cooperation, may be used by other institutions providing special education. Access to it is ensured by placing materials in open educational resources, specifically on the Erasmus+ Dissemination Platform and in our schools web sites."

Základní škola a Praktická škola, Opava, Slezského odboje 5, příspěvková oganizace is an institution that educates pupils with special educational needs. Currently, there is widely accepted and promoted trend of „joint education“ in the Czech Republic. Pupils in our school gain their education outside the mainstream education, therefore we strive to make the conditions for their education as much comparable with the conditions for intact population. Common standards in mainstream school include the involvement in various projects and programs (such as former Comenius, current ERASMUS+, e-Twinning etc). That was the main reason for our application for a grant within the Erasmus+ program. At the same time, we wanted to build on the previously realised Partnerství Comenius regio program.The coordinator of this project was Základní škola a Praktická škola, Opava, slezského odboje 5, příspěvková oganizace (Czech Republic), the partner in this program was Zespol szkol specjalnych Pyskowice (Poland). Both schools educate pupils with special educational needs.The aim of this project was to improve competence of the educators involved (introduction to the use of therapies, new methods and forms of work and their improvement), so they could educate the pupils with special educational needs better, more effectively and more interestingly. The pedagogical staff gained new knowledge, experience and skills from participating in various therapies (aquatherapy, hippotherapy, canistherapy, art therapy) and activities with pupils. The educators observed the way their colleagues at the partner schools worked (methods and forms of work), get acquainted with therapies, improved their own skills and participated in educational process (for instance tandem form of teaching). Pupils were directly involved in project‘s acitivties. In its course they improved their polytechnic skills and self-care. The aim was to ease the transition to higher education and subsequently to independent life. Social inclusion was a significant element of the project, pupils got to know the culture, lifestyle, habits and traditions of foreign citizens and improved their skills in communicating with unfamiliar people. In the course of exchange visits the school excutives got to know the forms and methods used in managing the partner school and they participated in demonstrations of teaching and therapies. During their stay they also had the chance to visit high schools which specialise on educating children with special educational needs in Gliwice region. The executives presented their own school‘s acitivities to founders of partner school in the course of common meetings.The implementation of the project had profoundly positive impact on atmosphere of the school. Educators often debated, shared experience gained from the exchange and consulted preparations of the activities for pupils. Teaching staff more actively sought for and used new methods of work with pupils requiring special pedagogical care. As for therapies used for educating children with special needs, both schools involved in the project broadened their scope and adopted some methods from each other. For example – our Polish partners encountered the puppet therapy for the first time, likewise Chzech teachers took keen interest in horticultural therapy or nordic walking as a part of the physical acitivities. The project contributed significantly to improvement of communication and cooperation skills necessary for preparation of lessons, as well as to execution of tandem teaching in common lessons, exchanges of experience or nonofficial meetings with partner colleagues. The project also has positive impact on the Czech and Polish pupils themselves. They improved their ability to communicate with unfamiliar people and orient themselves in an unfamiliar environment. Thanks to their trips abroad (for many children it was first such trip) the pupils gained self-confidence. Their families found out about life in the partner country and about the way of care for children with handicap in Poland. In the course of presentations of progress and results of the project (e.g. the Down Syndrome Day, the Erasmus+ Day) the representatives of mainstream schools, community leaders from both states and representatives of founding bodies of both schools gained the information about educating children with special educational needs as well.

"Project ""Supporting skills acquisition and competences for students with intellectual disabilities"" was implemented by two special schools: Special School Complex in Słupia near Kępno (Poland) and Bishopswood School in Sonning Common (United Kingdom).These facilities are attended by students with intellectual disabilities (mild, moderate or severe) and / or autism who also very often have coupled disabilities (e.g. paralysis of the limbs, hearing loss, amblyopia and many others). Our students face many educational challenges. The most common recurring difficulties are:- impaired ability to perform mathematical operations, e.g. subtraction instead of addition and division instead of multiplication;- inability to match relevant mathematical operations to real situations;- lack of understanding of the relationships necessary to perform memory calculations;- failure to notice numerical relationships;- lack of ability to apply their knowledge, e.g. learned mathematical operations, in new situations;- problems reading and writing.16 teachers (8 from PL and 8 from UK) took part in the project and developed 22 primary competences (10 from UK, 12 from PL) in the scope described above. These educators also developed their methodological workshop to more effectively help students overcome educational difficulties and acquire the skills and competences they need for current and future functioning. To this end, they exchanged good practices, developed new solutions, created innovative methods and tools, and also participated in training, including in the use of Photon robots in teaching mathematics.Thanks to the project activities, the following products have been created, available on page http://zssslupia.pl/index.php/wspolpraca-szkol-ka2-polska-wielka-brytania/rezultaty-i-dobre-praktyki :1. EBOOK Description of methods supporting the development of mathematical skills in teaching people with mental disabilities2. Event agenda - Maths Day3. Description of methods supporting the development of mathematical skills in teaching people with intelectual disabilities4. The use of Photon Robots in shaping mathematical skills and competences in students with intellectual disabilities5. Mathematical skills and competences and social competencies and use of them in real situations6. ICT and other tools in teaching basic mathematical competences in students with mental disabilities7. Situational scenes facilitating the teaching of mathematics to moderately and severely intellectually disabled students8. Fingertip Multiplication Table - Instructions on an innovative method9. World Multiplication Table Day – scenario10. Mathematics with a tablet – guide11. Schedule of actions to support the development of skills and key competences for students with mental disabilities12. Worksheets with mathematical tasks for students with intellectual disabilities13. Pedagogical innovation - coding mathematical operations in colorful cups14. Have fun and learn! Mathematic contest developing key skills and competence of students with intelectual disability15.Catalog of Maths lesson plans for students with intellectual disabilities developed during the project16. Cultural preparation of beneficiries Great Britain17. Glossary of mathematical terms in English and Polish18. Desk calendar19. Leeflet Get the power of Erasmus+20. Examples of math tasks for students with autism using the Picture Exchange Communication System method 21. MOVIE Multiplication table by finger method22. Fun and games - AGENDA of mathematical obstacle course 23. Workshops - MATHEMATICS WITHOUT REST, SCOTTIE GO - modern didactic tools supporting teacher's work in education of students with intellectual disability24. Catalog of Maths lesson plans for students with intellectual disabilities developed during the project by teachers from a British school25. Legotherapy and LEGO blocks in mathematicsThe set of these documents is a basic skills development program based on learning through experience.The project also undertook numerous activities disseminating the results, in which the estimated number of recipients at the end of the project is 5600 people. The plans of organizations participating in the project include further exploitation of results, including in projects implemented on the eTwinning Platform."

"Project ""Inclusive education and shaping the competences of special school students"" was implemented by two special schools: Special School in Słupia near Kępno (Poland) and Guardian Angel Resource Center in Hamrun (Malta) for 22 months. The aim of the project was to create an educational project ""I am in a new place among new friends"" and to implement it with students with various disabilities, mainly with intellectual disabilities. The second of the main objectives of the project was to acquire / develop the following competences for at least 40 out of 50 students included in the project: 1) the ability to connect with newly met people from a different environment (its components include: other physical environment, different nationality, other language, different cultural circle), 2) the ability to cooperate with recently met people, 3) the ability to choose clothes adequate to the weather, 4) the ability to safely explore a new environment expressed by safe spending free time near the accommodation. The above-mentioned goals were achieved through training, education, workshop, exercise and other activities implemented during the project, including share of 20 employees and 50 students along with 30 carers in a visit to a partner organization.Thanks to the project implementation, other results were also achieved, such as- development of 22 different publications, including social story scripts, a dictionary using PECS for non-speakers, descriptions of methods, tools and approaches, etc. - the main product, i.e. the ""I am in a new place among new friends"" project has the potential to be used by other educational establishments involving students with the need for special education. Access to the materials was ensured by placing materials on the Platform for Dissemination of the Erasmus + program and on the websites of our institutions;- broadening students' competences in such areas as friendship, tolerance and understanding, respect, openness, dialogue, identity in the community, verification of stereotypes and prejudices, communication without barriers, integration, cooperation, social inclusion, eliminating barriers; participants also learned to apply basic principles of savoir-vivre, obey safety rules in public places, on roads with left and right hand traffic, follow the rules in hotels and restaurants, effectively use alternative methods of communication, use knowledge and skills gained in practice during classes and to expand them, be tolerant towards people from another country, culture, cooperate in a group around a clearly defined goal, promote themselves, school and Malta abroad; participants rebuilt their faith in their own abilities, they feel a full member of the European family, they have increased the degree of their social inclusion and they have reduced the social barriers occurring in the environment.- expanding the competences of teachers, eg knowledge of methods and tools used in the partner organization, the ability to use newly learned methods and tools at work, group work skills around a clearly defined goal, the use of educational project methods, interpersonal and social competences that increase their chances the labor market; ability to: develop project documentation, implement integration processes at the international level, teaching globalization, analyze documentation, increase innovation in the education process, work with the project method, use of ICT, develop pedagogical innovation; new methods in inclusive education, in social inclusion of students with disabilities, mainly intellectual ones."

<< Objectives >>The objectives of this project reflect at the desire to professionalize teachers in special education, and through the implementation of the project, our professional skills will increase, teaching strategies will diversify, and working methods, tools and techniques will improve thus helping children with disabilities.<< Implementation >>The PlatformThe Round TableCreative activitiesThematic visits with common objectivesExhibitions of worksInteractive lessonsExtracurricular activitiesGuide for good practiceDissemination conference<< Results >>Enrich professional experience and learn new methods and working techniques.The pedagogical practice of special psycho-pedagogy and support teachers to become even more useful in the learning-recovery activities of children with special needs.To strengthen the trust in the school and in special psycho-pedagogical teachers.To streamline working methods.To improve the quality of special education and personal training