This morning, the EMIE online meeting took place. EMIE is the European Association for Independent Education, which brings together all organisations and civil society actors involved in non-state education.

Moderated by Rodrigo Melo of ECNAIS, the aim of this annual meeting, which has been held since 2002, is to improve communication and the exchange of good practices of European stakeholders cooperating in the defence of freedom of education and freedom of choice for parents as fundamental rights of citizens in the European Union and across Europe.

Ignasi Grau, representing OIDEL, used the meeting to present the recently published Positions Paper on Pathways to School Success, which has been endorsed by almost 40 organisations. This Position Paper calls on the European Commission and other bodies to consider the role of parents and non-governmental schools in education policy.

POSITION PAPER

EMIE (European Meeting of Independent Education), an informal platform coordinated by OIDEL, has released a Position Paper on Pathways to School Success. We hereby present you our position paper, approved and endorsed by 37 organizations. We will also share it with the main EU stakeholders in the field of education.

The purpose of this document is to recall the importance of pluralism to enable school success in Europe. To that end, the paper proposes 5 pillars:

1. Education as a Common Good
   As UNESCO pointed out, we all benefit from different initiatives launched in the field of education. Therefore, we should not only be focused on applying a state-run good approach but rather, as established in the 2030 Agenda, adopt a common good approach.
2. Independent Schools are an essential part of the educational ecosystem
   In Europe, 50% of independent schools do not receive any financial support from the state. It is important that countries find the best way to support independent schools to guarantee diversity in their educational ecosystem.
3. Parents as a cornerstone of the realization of the children’s rights
   To successfully reach educational excellence we need to regard parents as key players, listen to their voices, and protect their right to educational choice for their children.
4. Diversity and quality education as fundamentals of democracy
   The independent school sector serves as the enabler of diversity and thus must be protected and nourished by the democratic states.
5. Well-being and school climate

The implementation of school policies  that promote  individual well-being at  school must be  supported  by  building  a  healthy  school  climate  as  a  basis  for  social  learning.

Feb 2022

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