Network of Education Policy Centers has partnered with SIRIUS Policy Network on Migrant Education and over 30 other partners from 18 countries for the new round of the SIRIUS initiative, SIRIUS 3.0 – Impactful and sustainable policy change for migrant education.

SIRIUS 3.0 is a multistakeholder project aiming to facilitate the inclusion of migrant learners in education through the development, support, and implementation of inclusive educational policy.

Understanding the socio-emotional and educational needs of migrant learners is crucial for education policymakers as well as for schools and educators to provide the needed support to the learners. However, the availability, and comprehensiveness of such data vary widely among EU countries and there is still a gap in understanding how countries collect, categorize, and utilize this data. The aim of the SIRIUS Watch, an annual review detailing the results of monitoring significant changes in inclusive education policy, in the first year, is to survey SIRIUS partner countries regarding their practices and protocols related to the collection of migrant learners’ data.

Inclusivity in the context of education is a complex issue. Ensuring the appropriate steps are being taken to create a more inclusive environment is not a simple process.  As envisioned in the initiative, an appropriate first step is to look at how to promote and implement inclusive practices in schools. To create an inclusive school community, it is crucial to ensure schools have adequate resources. Learners should feel safe, secure and included, and educators should receive adequate support to create conditions for such an environment. The way in which the schools deal with newly arrived students of different backgrounds is key, not only because of the well-being of the newcomers but to serve as model behavior for the rest of the students. Proper collection of relevant data on migrant learners is an important prerequisite to impactful policy change.

Apart from SIRIUS Watch the partnership will organize peer-learning activities to promote transnational learning between network members.