The researchers working on WP4 will do a four-month pilot aimed at creating ‘successful learning environments’ in 16 schools across Europe. The successful learning environments will feature the factors identified in WP3 that promote quality education and whole child development. The pilot will include training teachers on new approaches and practices to help their students to achieve better outcomes. Children and families will also participate in regular discussions during the pilot period about their experiences of the research. The pilot will be evaluated and those participating will discuss whether it has the potential to be scaled up successfully in bigger settings and with more students.

The first task is setting up arrangements for the pilot. Altogether 16 schools with children from 6-16 years in eight different European countries will be identified. They will be selected on the basis that:

• the schools need to address difficulties for their students in acquiring basic skills, with achievement rates lower than the European average, and
• they have not previously implemented any such new approaches as suggested in the toolkit (developed in WP3) or in other similar resources.

The teams will design a protocol which outlines the details for the research so that all the schools follow the same steps. For example, the research depends on knowing the impact of the pilot on students’ learning. This means a test of students’ existing capacity in reading, maths, science and an assessment of their psychosocial wellbeing will be carried out before the pilot begins and another one at the end of the pilot.

The second task is implementing the pilot. The starting point is a series of six training sessions for the teachers in the selected schools. Teachers will have access to the toolkit developed in WP3 and will join a community of learning and practice with participants from WP3. Once the training has been completed, the four-month pilot will begin. During this time, there will be monthly meetings for teachers and families and others to reflect on their experiences. These meetings are seen as a crucial element of the pilot, helping in the co-creation process of the activities. The pilot will be monitored and evaluated carefully in each school setting using information from tests and from interviews and focus groups.

The third task is combining the results of the pilot from all 16 schools. A meeting with teachers from all the schools, participants from WP3 and researchers will be arranged to discuss the potential of the approaches used in the pilot being scaled up.

The fourth task is the production of a scalability report based on a series of seminars with policymakers. Policy briefs outlining policy recommendations for separate European countries will also be produced giving practical guidance for scaling up approaches to promote quality education.

WP 4 Leader: University of Helsinki, Finland