Launching SmoothTransition
Across Europe, students making the leap from primary to secondary school face one of the most fragile moments of their educational journey. For many, this is a time marked by stress, changing peer networks, and rising academic demands. Left unmanaged, transitions can widen inequalities and increase the risk of early school leaving.
The Smooth Transition initiative addresses this exact challenge. Co-funded by Erasmus+ as a small-scale partnership, it seeks to provide adolescents, teachers, and schools with the tools to navigate this period inclusively and successfully.
The Project in Focus
The full name is Pathways to Inclusion – Supporting Adolescents in Secondary School Transitions. Its purpose is to develop and share practical tools that strengthen class cohesion, improve well-being, and help students adapt during their first year of secondary education.
This is not just about reducing stress. It is about building inclusive learning environments where adolescents feel supported academically, socially, and emotionally.
Core Objectives
The project sets out four clear objectives:
Support adolescents during the critical transition
By focusing on well-being, belonging, and class integration, the project reduces risks of disengagement.Empower teachers with practical tools
Non-formal education methods (games, workshops, theatre) are adapted into ready-to-use classroom activities.Strengthen schools as inclusive environments
Activities are designed to prevent early school leaving and promote positive peer relations.Produce openly accessible educational resources
Outputs are made available in multiple languages and formats for broad use across schools in Europe.
Expected Results
The project will deliver tangible and lasting results:
Inclusive Classrooms Teachers Book: a practical manual with ready-to-use activities to build belonging and cohesion.
Open resources online: lesson plans and guidance made freely available at smoothtransition.eu.
Teacher empowerment: staff equipped with tools to manage diversity and transitions effectively.
Student outcomes: stronger well-being, resilience, and academic motivation in the first year of secondary education.
Institutional learning: partner schools in Poland and Bulgaria piloting and refining methods that can be transferred elsewhere.
Why This Matters
Transitions are systemic pressure points. By addressing them, Smooth Transition:
contributes directly to Erasmus+ priorities on inclusion and diversity,
supports EU strategies against early school leaving,
strengthens the role of teachers as facilitators of social as well as academic learning.
Investing in transitions creates long-term impact: better outcomes for students, more cohesive classrooms, and schools that embody European values of equity and inclusion.
