For over a decade, more than 4 million teachers and school staff have travelled across Europe to connect, collaborate, and grow through international mobility, all funded by the Erasmus+ programme.

Didn’t you know that Erasmus funds teachers’ mobility too?

There is more good news:

• The Erasmus+ programme (2021-2027) has an almost doubled budget.

There is no excuse not to start planning your next mobility project right away.
Remember, if you need assistance with an Erasmus+ project, C4G is here to help you!

Are you already familiar with Erasmus+?

If not, you may like to know that Erasmus+ represents one of the real efforts made by the European Union to promote the internationalization and modernization of schools.

Teachers have taken this opportunity to follow training courses abroad and learn new teaching strategies, develop innovative teaching tools, meet people of different nationalities and cultures, and practice a foreign language.

Accompanying their classes, they have also developed school exchange programs.

Within Erasmus+, networks of schools have also implemented international projects to promote innovation and share best practices at different levels of school organization.

While for some teachers, joining the Programme has given them the possibility of visiting another European country for the first time. For many schools, it has also pushed them to complete medium and long-term planning, and achieve a European vocation.

While the Erasmus+ programme established in 2014 was concluded at the end of 2020, the new edition of the Programme has already started!

The current Programme is dedicated to strengthening the actions of the previous Programme and expanding its horizons, thanks to the significant rise in available resources and focused attention on the inclusion of the most disadvantaged categories.

It has seen its budget almost doubled, from 14.7 to 26 billion euros, and aims to fund 10 million mobility projects during its course!

Compared to the previous one, it is more ambitious, open, and inclusive.

Let me tell you why.

More ambitious

First, it aims to develop the strategic European dimension of the involved schools and organizations.

Most funding will be devolved to those schools manifesting a clear intention to develop their international dimension and to participate in European projects on a continuous basis.

More open

Second, it does not leave behind schools and organizations that have never met the Programme before, and have less resources and/or logistic capacities.

It dedicates special calls for applications for these organizations, and support them to familiarize themselves with the Programme, and take part in simpler projects that are easier to implement.

Openness also refers to the Programme’s possibilities being extended to new participants. The possibilities of professional development offered by the Programme will now be open also to pre-schools and kindergartens.

More inclusive

Finally, the current Programme aims to involve the participation of everyone, with budget costs expressly dedicated to the necessities of students with special needs (e.g., mobility funding for an accompanying person, or for the rent of special vehicles for transportation).

Participating schools will also be able to use a special part of their grant funding for the linguistic preparation of the participants.

Inclusion also refers to digital inclusion. The Programme also supports blended mobility. Schools are able to plan some international activities as online meetings, thus expanding the means available to engage even more participants than before.

Blended mobility is an additional opportunity and makes the Programme more open and flexible in adapting to the needs of all participants!

The Erasmus+ program is structured around three Key Actions (KA) for the education sectors, covering formal, non-formal, and informal learning.

Key Actions 1 and 2 (KA1 and KA2) are central to the school sector.

Key Action 1 focuses on individual mobility. Funding is available for individual schools or organizations, or national consortia of schools. Consortia can now add new members after their creation. This action supports opportunities for teachers and students to travel abroad.

• Professional training for teachers and school staff: Projects offer face-to-face professional development courses internationally.

• Sharing good teaching practices: Projects enable teachers to teach their subject abroad or assist foreign teachers, benefiting language teachers and new teachers in particular.

• Student mobility: Projects allow classes of students to visit foreign schools, a new addition to Key Action 1. Schools can now conduct exchanges without needing an international partnership (KA2). Erasmus Accreditation allows for continuous school exchanges over five to seven years, a significant change in the program.

Key Action 2 supports strategic partnerships. Funding is for transnational networks of schools and organizations. Schools must form an international network to apply, with one school coordinating the partnership.

These partnerships aim to:

• Cooperate and exchange good practices through meetings and sharing expertise.
• Innovate by creating new teaching activities, guidelines, assessment tools, or digital platforms.
• Conduct research projects in collaboration with universities.

Key Action 3 supports policy reform at the European Union level. It involves high-level project actions with significant funding, typically managed by the Executive Agency (EACEA). This action is less relevant for most educational institutions.

Jean Monnet Actions promote excellence in teaching and research on the European Union.

• Jean Monnet Actions in Higher Education support teaching and research on EU studies.

• Jean Monnet Networks in Other Fields of Education and Training aim to improve teaching practices on EU subjects and provide international insights for teachers. These networks require at least five schools from three different Programme countries, last three years, and can receive a maximum EU contribution of EUR 300,000.

Erasmus Accreditation for Key Action 1 (KA1) is a significant development for schools participating in the Erasmus+ program (2021-2027).

Erasmus Accreditation functions like a 'loyalty card' for schools of all types and levels. Accreditation is valid for the program's seven-year duration (2021-2027), recognizing accredited schools by the National Agency as organizations regularly involved in international mobility. Accredited schools do not need to reapply during this period.

To apply, institutions must outline their medium- and long-term strategy for internationalization and modernization in a European Development Plan (PSE) and an Erasmus+ Plan. They must also commit to Erasmus+ quality standards, detailing how their international activities will be organized to ensure quality in management, participant support, expected results, and communication.

Erasmus Accreditation offers several advantages. Accredited schools receive a stable funding source for the program's duration, simplified application procedures, and faster application evaluations.

The Erasmus Accreditation program for schools began before the main Erasmus+ program (2021-2027).

However, schools have other opportunities to participate in Erasmus+ even without accreditation:

• Key Action 1 includes short-term projects specifically for non-accredited organizations. These projects involve fewer participants, shorter durations, and simpler applications, making them suitable for schools new to the program.
• Schools can join an already-accredited consortium.
• Schools can act as a host organization for an accredited foreign school.
• The accreditation call reopens annually, allowing schools to apply in subsequent years.

Participation in the Erasmus+ program is now easier, but applications require careful planning. To maximize your chances of success, consider these tips:

Application Preparation

• Form a small team to manage technical details, and involve your institution's governing bodies and school community to ensure project approval and support.

Linking Financing Requests to Needs

• Align funding requests with your school's actual needs, as outlined in the European Development Plan (EDP).
• The EDP details your school's general internationalization strategy and connects it to your other planning documents.
• Develop your project idea after identifying your school's needs in the EDP.

Finding Partners and Creating Partnerships

• Identify Erasmus+ calls that align with your objectives.
• Find partner organizations, often other schools, to form a partnership for a joint application.
• While not always required, partnerships are essential for more complex Key Action 2 projects.

Project Writing and Uploading

• With your team and partners, write the project proposal, using precise vocabulary and euro-planning principles.
• After partnership approval, upload the project to the European digital platform.
• Register your school and obtain an Organization Identification Code (OID) for platform access.
• Thorough planning simplifies this final stage, as you'll primarily transfer pre-written project sections, including budget, management, and results information.

Do you want to join the Erasmus+ programme? Are you ready to go?

If you need some support, C4G is here for you!
Check out this page and the forms available for you if you have any project idea for a Mobility Erasmus+ Project, or any other project suggestion you would like to partner with us on!