Countries involved:

Austria, Cyprus, Ireland, Montenegro, and the United Kingdom with the support of Albania, France and Sweden

Overall objective:

• To develop a training tool on Managing Controversy in Schools which offers practical support to school leaders/senior managers on how to proactively manage and react to controversial issues in and beyond the school.

Expected outcomes:

• A whole school training tool on handling controversial issues is developed and piloted;
• A scoping paper - on why school leaders/senior managers in schools play a crucial role in managing controversial issues in schools is developed;
• A practical ‘How to’ guide -  on providing answers and guidance in relation to the FAQs for school leaders/senior managers concerning managing proactively and reactively controversial issues is produced;
• An on-line self-evaluation matrix – on key aspects of school policies and practices that impact on how well schools manage controversy so that school leaders/senior managers (primary and secondary) can see where their schools are ‘at’ and plan for further actions is developed;
• The training tool is integrated into existing Education for Democratic Citizenship / Human Rights Education (EDC/HRE) activities by the Council of Europe, including Pestalozzi training, member states and partner organisations, such as the European Wergeland Centre and the Summer Academy programme