We wanted to work on the above-mentioned areas and gain new knowledge. The biggest focus for us, however, were our pupils to be served and taught and the people who impart the knowledge, whether learning content (teachers) or social skills (educators). We wanted to get new methods, tools and instruments that could be used in our school development and to spread the newly acquired knowledge in the different institutions. The profiles of our students in particular have changed in recent years - we are moving away from mental and physical impairments and towards more and more socio-emotional behavioural problems and dual diagnoses. Conversely, this means that our staff has to adapt and find new ways of accompanying and teaching our pupils.
As a school, we decided to apply for an Erasmus+ project because not only the world around us is in a constant state of change, but also we as a sepcial education centre with several pillars. At the time of the application, it was important for us to bring our staff up to date on various topics, to bring back innovative ideas from the seminars and to build new networks with foreign colleagues. It was also very important to us that our staff members can continue their development so that there is no standstill. Working in a special education school is often very challenging and unpredictable due to the human variable. So at the time of application, the following areas were important to us: autism, socio-emotional behavioural difficulties in pupils and how to deal with those difficulties, recalibrating the focus on our "clients", and the health and well-being of our workers. We wanted to give our staff not only the right tools to deal with the pupils, but also an inner stability so that they come to work happy and satisfied.