On Wednesday 27 May 2020, INSCHOOL Romania conducted a live webinar with over 70 Teachers from the 8 selected INSCHOOL schools in the country. The main objective was to enable exchanges between schools involved in the first cycle and newly selected schools, and introduce the “Index for Inclusion” as a methodology to new schools. It was also to discuss the challenges arising from the current COVID-19 context, as well as to determine the impact it will have on future activities in schools, and how these can adjust their Institutional Development Plans and Operational Plans. Five out of the eight active schools in the project applied for small grants provided by INSCHOOL as an emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Flexibility and adaptability are important characteristics of the INSCHOOL project. Its main methodology - the "Index for Inclusion: A Guide to School Development Led by Inclusive Values" (Tony Booth and Mel Ainscow) enables not only a flexible approach by schools to define their needs and objectives, but also allows them to put these into actions that are adjusted to a local context and situation, as it could be observed through the COVID-19 outbreak. Importantly, these actions rely on bottom-up decisions taken in consultation with the community, school staff and pupils themselves, rather than through a top-down approach. Only this way the project can ensure that it responds to real needs in a given school and community.

The meeting marks the resuming of national-level activities organised with schools within the project; an additional webinar with newly selected schools in Romania will take place on 16 June, in order to help them get acquainted with the methodology and project activities.