Pathways to School Success was adopted by EU member states today. Among other steps, it calls on EU countries to develop or, where appropriate, further strengthen an integrated, comprehensive strategy towards school success by 2025.

The Recommendation takes a holistic view of school success, looking at both educational achievement (i.e. competences and skills developed) and attainment (diplomas or certificate obtained after successfully completing a certain level of education), as well as well-being at school.

Steps to better school success

As part of an integrated strategy, the Recommendation calls on EU member states to

• work on strengthening data collection and monitoring systems
• combine a wide range of measures which put learner’s needs at the centre
• support leaders, teachers, trainers and other staff to work with all learners, including those at risk of exclusion, underachievement and early leaving
• support schools to develop “whole school approaches” based on collaboration in and around schools
• introduce system-level actions to make education and training more inclusive
• optimise how national and EU resources are used to invest in infrastructure and training, according to need

The Recommendation proposes a new policy framework describing a systemic approach for improving success at school.

This framework

• serves as a reference tool for national, regional and local policy makers and practitioners in education and training in their action towards school success
• outlines overarching conditions for effective action and a set of key measures to be promoted at school and at system level
• enumerates specific actions to support school leaders, teachers and trainers and other educational staff
• details the conditions for learners’ success

Policy background

The new Council Recommendation is based on a 30 June 2022 Commission proposal.

It repeals and replaces the 2011 Council Recommendation on policies to reduce early school leaving.

Next steps

The European Commission will work with and support EU member states to implement the recommendation, using

• the EU Working Group on Schools
• financing instruments including Erasmus+
• guidance materials and repositories of resources such as the European Toolkit for Schools

In early 2023 it will also set up a dedicated Expert Group on strategies for creating supportive learning environments for groups at risk of underachievement and for supporting well-being at school, to be set up early in 2023. This group will focus and raise awareness on wellbeing and mental health at school.