Centering children’s rights, equity and well-being in education across Europe

Eurochild’s contribution to the European Education Area for children in schools.

For the past 4 years, Eurochild has advanced inclusive, equitable, and child rights-based education systems across Europe through our contribution to the European Commission’s Working Group (WG) on Schools: Subgroup on Pathways to School Success.

This Working Group brought together EU policymakers, national education ministries, and civil society stakeholders (including the Lifelong Learning Platform) to shape the EU’s new equitable education framework,  ‘Pathways to School Success', a policy initiative designed to improve educational outcomes and well-being for all learners and educators.

Eurochild’s contribution

Throughout the Working Groups mandate , Eurochild ensured  that child rights, participation and well-being were embedded in EU-level guidance, peer learning and policy development Our contributions included:

• Co-shaping the EU Council Recommendation on Pathways to School Success together with our members ICAM.
• Advising the EU Education Solidarity Group’s Policy guidance on supporting the inclusion of Ukrainian refugees in education together with ICAM.
• Providing feedback to the EU’s Roadmap for ensuring school success for all, a practical ‘living’ guide to implement ‘Pathways to School Success’.
• Developing 9 EU policy action briefs that translate evidence and peer learning into concrete guidance for educational authorities, teachers, school leaders, teacher educators, and other education professionals:
  • Whole-school and whole-system approaches to school success
  • Early identification of learner needs
  • Pedagogical approaches for inclusion
  • Social and emotional learning
  • Nurturing educational excellence
  • Local governance for inclusion
  • Authentic learner engagement
  • Key role of parents
  • A systemic approach to teacher well-being
• Strengthening the landmark EU Guidelines on well-being and mental health at school ensuring they reflect children’s rights and the realities faced by educators.
• Co-creating a child-friendly/accessible version of the EU Guidelines, together with the Eurochild Children’s Council and our member Learning for Well-being Foundation, making EU policy accessible to children and young people.

These outputs highlight persistent challenges that must be addressed to achieve equity in education across Europe, included in the Working Group’s final report on lessons learnt and considerations.

Looking ahead

Eurochild’s engagement in the Working Group s has helped embed children’s rights, well-being, equity, and child participation more firmly in European education policy.

We continue to advocate for these policies to be appropriately resourced and implemented so they translate into meaningful support for children – especially those in vulnerable situations- and for the educators that work with them.  

For more information on Eurochild’s work in education, contact Ciaran O’Donnell and Ally Dunhill.