On Thursday, 25 March 2021, the first session of the training course on quality and inclusive education for teachers and education professionals took place online. This opening of the training aimed to familiarise participants with the Council of Europe work in the area of inclusive education, present the INSCHOOL project and its methodology, as well as get to know each-other and listen to participants expectations from the training course. 

The training course has gathered 35 participants, mainly teachers, school principals, pedagogues and education experts that are associated with the schools participating within the INSCHOOL Project from the Czech Republic, Romania and the Slovak Republic.

The general aim of the training is to raise participants’ understanding of the benefits of inclusive education, and develop their professional competences in methodological and pedagogical work with the intention of organising and implementing high quality and inclusive educational activities for all children, more specifically for Roma children and other groups having different learning and educational needs. The specific objectives of the training are:

• To raise the awareness and the understanding about the concepts of inclusive and quality education;
• To raise teachers’ competences in developing and applying inclusive education methodologies into practice;
• To develop more detailed understanding and practical skills about the use of the “Index of Inclusion: a guide to school development led by inclusive values”;
• To enable peer exchanges of knowledge and experiences about good and inspiring school practices;
• To develop a deeper understanding about children and youth rights, intercultural school development, etc.
• To respond to the specific needs and challenges of teachers and schools by offering tailored made training, expert advice, and peer support;
• To introduce relevant policy standards by the Council of Europe in relation to quality inclusive education.

The methodology of the training follows the principles of voluntary, participative, experiential and focuses on development of competences: knowledge, skills and attituded.

The training programme will be implemented during the period of March – June 2021, through a series of synchronous and asynchronous training events. The next sessions will focus on: 

1 April - Session 2 – Inclusive education – key concepts, approaches, and the work with the Index for Inclusion

14 April - Session 3 – Building a community – participation as a key aspect of inclusive schools and education

29 April - Session 4 – Learning and teaching strategies for inclusion

12 May - Session 5 – Educational responses for equality, inclusion, and anti-discrimination

27 May - Session 6 – School policies for inclusive education

10 June - Session 7 – Roma and educational systems

31 May – 4 June - Workshop/s week – series of thematical events organised through the week as to accommodate the needs and interest of the course participants.

15 June - Session 8 – Course evaluation and closing