The idea of the project was to integrate and socialize students with disabilities from two countries with a rich cultural heritage. We wanted to arouse students' curiosity and willingness to explore the world by using fairy tales that helped them understand life situations and problems. These therapeutic fairy tales, called helper fairy tales, were intended to provide emotional support and develop students' social and cognitive skills. Each institution chose a story that allowed students to learn about the cultural heritage of European countries. We used fairy tale therapy in the project because it introduces positive elements into the emotional life of students, supports the development of cognitive functions, and helps establish and maintain international contacts. Fairy tale therapy expands emotional, social and communication competences, shapes pro-ecological attitudes, improves communication skills in English and strengthens bonds between participants. This therapy develops students' independence and assertiveness, increases their interpersonal and organizational skills, which supports their independent functioning in everyday life. The use of fairy tale therapy brought many educational and social benefits.
The decision to implement the project was made by the coordinator of the Polish school, because it had already successfully coordinated the Comenius project, POWER, and the school was also a member of another Erasmus+ project. During the Covid pandemic, teachers and students did not have the opportunity to actively participate in mobilities, and as soon as there was an opportunity to exchange experiences with teachers from other countries and the possibility of student mobility, we immediately started applying the project. The project responded to the needs of students of two special schools from Poland and Greece to increase motivation to learn, restore harmony and stability in institutions after the isolation crisis caused by the pandemic. Special education students have experienced isolation and feelings of loneliness during the pandemic. The project referred to a survey addressed to target groups regarding the use of elements of fairy tale therapy when working with students with special needs. The analysis of the surveys showed that the current needs of partner schools are: intensifying therapeutic activities to develop students' social-emotional skills: calming down, relaxing and training students' concentration.