Introduction and Description

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Creating inclusive learning environments in which all learners feel safe, respected, and valued is a central challenge for contemporary education systems. Across Europe, behavioural difficulties and conflict in schools are still frequently addressed through exclusionary disciplinary practices such as suspension, expulsion, or zero-tolerance policies. Research and policy evidence increasingly demonstrate that such approaches disproportionately affect learners from disadvantaged, migrant, neurodiverse, and marginalised backgrounds, contributing to disengagement, early school leaving, and unequal educational outcomes. This course responds directly to these challenges by equipping educators with inclusive, preventive, and restorative approaches to behaviour support.

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The course introduces Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) as an evidence-based framework that views behaviour as a form of communication shaped by social, emotional, cultural, and environmental factors. Participants explore how clear expectations, supportive relationships, and inclusive classroom design can prevent behavioural difficulties while promoting learner engagement, well-being, and motivation. The programme moves beyond deficit-based interpretations of behaviour, emphasising trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and neurodiversity-affirming practices that reduce stigma and support all learners’ participation.

A central component of the course is the application of restorative practices in educational settings. Participants develop a restorative mindset and acquire practical tools for restorative dialogue, conflict mediation, and community-building processes. These approaches focus on accountability, repair of harm, and reintegration into the learning community, strengthening relationships and fostering a sense of belonging. Through guided practice and real-life scenarios, educators learn how restorative approaches can reduce conflict escalation, improve school climate, and support democratic participation and student voice.

The course also addresses inclusive responses to challenging behaviour and conflict among diverse learner groups, including students with special educational needs and learners affected by trauma or social exclusion. Participants examine alternatives to exclusionary discipline, early intervention strategies, and reintegration planning that support continuity of learning and reduce the risk of disengagement. Collaboration with families and external services is emphasised as a key element of sustainable and ethical behaviour support.

The programme is available in two formats: a 5-day intensive course, focused on core principles and practical tools, and a 10-day comprehensive course, allowing for deeper exploration, advanced practice, and whole-school strategy development. Both formats are fully aligned with the priorities of Erasmus+, particularly inclusion and diversity, well-being and mental health, equity and social cohesion, and the prevention of early school leaving. By strengthening educators’ professional competences in inclusive behaviour support and restorative practices, the course contributes to building more resilient, democratic, and inclusive education systems across Europe.