Parents concerns about the Skill Agenda

On 14^th March the European Commission is holding a consultation with representatives of civil society. There has been a background paper issued on the Skills Agenda that will be discussed at the meeting. As those organisations that are not Brussels based are not financially supported by the Commission to participate at the meeting, the European Parents’ Association (EPA) has compiled a position paper instead to express our concerns. We keep demanding that there must be an obligation for EU institutions as well as national governments and other decision makers to involve those most directly concerned, namely children, young people and their parents when preparing national skills strategies, action plans, and last but not least in the activities connected to the European Semester and in its annual review.

Our greatest concern is that the holistic approach to education and the network of education institutions is missing, thus it does not tackle the fact that it is schools (primary, secondary and VET) that are the cheapest and most hands on places to support the skills development for local communities, but only if education segments cooperate and manage to change the face of schools, which means to open them up to all locals as community learning spaces. Successful projects all over Europe show that this is the right approach, but it need a very strong collaboration and an even stronger political will to rejuvenate systems that have been in place for 150-200 years. As there has been a huge emphasis on higher education in EU policies, we applaud to the approach that highlights vocational education and adult education as at least equally important policy areas. Parents have been concerned that pushing higher education attainment instead of giving equal support and promotion to other forms of tertiary education may not be the real solution for youth unemployment.

Family matters in financial education

Money management is one of the many crucial life lessons that parents must pass on to their children. As Wim Mijs, Chief Executive of the European Banking Federation, said last year, no one can replace the parents as the main guide for children learning how to deal with money. With this in mind, let’s assume the important role of families in teaching a skill that will be vital at all stages of life.

Parents’ contribution to the European public consultation on ‘challenges of work-life balance’

The European Commission launched a public consultation on a roadmap on ‘possible action to address the challenges of work-life balance faced by working parents and caregivers’. The roadmap openly declares that “the main reason behind the initiative is to address the low participation of women in the labour market by modernising and adapting the current EU legal and policy framework to today's labour market”. On behalf of European parents, EPA as a registered lobby organisation contributed to the public consultation emphasising that issues of reconciliation parents are facing are much broader than measures pushing women to participate at the labour market. First of all, it is important for us to demand the use of another phrase ‘work-life balance’ as it suggests that work is not part of life while it is.

BETT Conference in London - 20-23 January 2016

The BETT 2016 conference 20-23.January 2016 at the ExCel Centre in London was four days of insight and exploration into the world of education technology. It is the biggest event in the world on the topic of digital technology and education where EPA was represented by Vice President Christian Hellevang.

EPA celebrated 30 years of being the Voice of Parents – Conference report from Luxembourg

Over 80 participants from more than 25 countries celebrated the 30^th anniversary of EPA in Luxembourg on 27&28^th November. It was a great pleasure to welcome four former Presidents at the event as well as representatives of the Council of Europe, Luxembourgish Presidency of the EU and our precious partners, including the European School Heads Association (ESHA), the European Schoolnet, the WISHES Network and the Austrian Chamber of Commerce. The main findings of two EPA surveys, one on school cost and one on the state of play in the field of parental and student involvement, conducted in the summer and autumn were presented. A flagship policy document corresponding the mid-term working programme of EPA was also launched at the conference.

The European Parliament echoes our message 'invest in children'

In a historical move this week, the majority of Members of the European Parliament signed a declaration promoting investing in children. The Written Declaration, designed to raise political awareness towards the European Commission and the Member States, calls for social and macroeconomic policies to protect children and their families as a political priority, especially those living in poverty. 

More than one child in four is at risk of poverty or social exclusion in the European Union. Poverty experienced during childhood often has life-long consequences and is then passed from one generation to the next. 

“The voice of the European Parliament is loud and clear: we need to invest in the children of today. Organisations working to end child poverty and promote child well-being across Europe are encouraged by the support MEPs are giving to this cause. We now look to the Member States and the Commission to make progress on the content of this initiative” said Jana Hainsworth, Eurochild Secretary General.

Mobile technologies at school

EPA Vice President José-Manuel Prats was a member of the expert group publishing a policy paper on behalf of the SchoolEducation Council of Catalonia. We are sharing the paper because we think it can be used in the local and/or national contexts in other regions and countries.

"(1a) The School Education Council of Catalonia, a superior body of participation of the educational community in Catalonia, has, among others, the objective of studying how to improve the way in which teaching adapts to social reality, as well as drawing up its own proposals related to the quality of teaching. In accordance with these duties, this document refers to the need to make mobile technologies compatible with teaching and learning activities by using these devices effectively in schools so that their potential is used to maximum benefit and therefore strengthens the coexistence of education and mobile technologies.