Scope and perspectives of the European Schools

Like all Education systems, the European School’s (ES) system is an evolving system. It is interesting to note that the distinctive plurilingual nature and European dimension of the ES system is evolving in line with the outcomes from the 2022 report commissioned by the European Parliament’s Committee on Culture and Education. Arising from this report, the mission and vision for the European Schools is currently being revised to better reflect the values of diversity, inclusion, cooperation and tolerance. Aspects of provision across the full spectrum of the system from the early years to secondary such as on-going professional learning opportunities for teachers are being emphasised together with on-going support for the updating of the curriculum as a competence-based curriculum.

 Connected with this over-arching development will be the revision of the primary curriculum so that the full potential of the European dimension can be better realised within the context of current developments in Education generally. Concepts such as cultivating curiosity and developing pupils as creative, collaborative and critical thinkers are to the fore.

According as these longer-term actions are being implemented, the 10-year cycle of reviewing current educational policies and syllabuses continues; for example, the 2024/25 school year sees the introduction of a revised assessment policy enhancing pupils’ concept of themselves as capable and effective learners. Other newly-launched syllabuses include the revision of the L2 syllabus to better reflect current thinking about second language learning. A distinctive dimension to this syllabus is an accompanying guide for teachers providing lesson exemplars developed by ES teachers, which captures the L2 learning process as a rich and engaging learning experience for pupils.

At secondary level, the European Baccalaureate is always kept under review particularly through the practice where the country holding the annual presidency elects from their national experts a President for the Baccalaureate resulting in some insightful and helpful observations to guide the evolution of the Baccalaureate.

Quality assurance is always to the forefront of thinking within the ES system. A current focus is on the development of the whole-school inspection model for the traditional European Schools and the audit model for the accredited schools so that both place the quality of teaching and learning and the broader context of pupil wellbeing at the centre of quality assurance considerations.

Long may the ES system continue to evolve and long may teachers and school leaders feel supported to create interesting and rich learning experiences for their pupils.