On 25 May, EFEE participated in the first workshop on the Commission’s new initiative “Pathways to School Success”. This initiative has the ambition to set in motion processes of reflection and change, provide guidance on possible policy solutions addressing the above challenges, launch collaborations and dialogue with policy-makers and stakeholders and support concrete action by relevant stakeholders. To do so, the initiative combines different instruments, which include adopting non-binding Council Recommendations, on a proposal from the Commission; developing exchanges of information and experience on issues common to the education systems of the Member States and making use of EU funds (notably through the European Social Fund+, Recovery and Resilience Facility and Erasmus+) within the framework of adopted programmes/plans.

The main deliverable of the ‘Pathways’ initiative will be a Commission proposal for a Council Recommendation, to be adopted in 2022. The proposed Recommendation will outline policy guidance for Member States on concrete strategies and actions to reduce early leaving education and training and help all pupils reach a certain level of proficiency in basic skills and complete upper secondary education. The proposed Recommendation will provide a framework for action at school and system level, structured around four pillars (monitoring, prevention, intervention and compensation); it will target specifically disadvantaged groups more at risk of underachievement and early school leaving (e.g. students with disabilities or with migrant background, ethnic minorities, low-educated families, or people living in remote areas).

Against this backdrop, the workshop brought together a broad spectrum of expertise, from policy-makers to educators and other practitioners, representatives of main educational stakeholders, as well as academics, conducting a first exchange of reflections on the initiative.

On the basis of these reflections made, EFEE published a statement on the initiative, which can be accessed via this link..

For more details, please contact samira.buhrer@educationemployers.eu