ContextAccording to Article 27 of the United Convention on the rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), “ States Parties recognize the right of persons with disabilities to work, on an equal basis with others; this includes the right to earn a living with a job freely chosen or accepted within a labour market and work environment that is open, inclusive and accessible to persons with disabilities.…. by taking appropriate steps, including through legislation, to, inter alia:… enable persons with disabilities to have effective access to general technical and vocational guidance programmes, placement services and vocational and ongoing training….. »However, in France as in other European countries, the unemployment rate of persons with disabilities is twice as high as in the general workforce. Within this population, people with intellectual disabilities are even more disadvantaged. For them, access to vocational training potentially leading to a job is a challenge which the ACCESS project has intended to tackle.The partnersMade up of 4 partners from 3 countries (France, England and Portugal), the partnership gathers researchers, training centres and associations directly in contact with persons with disabilities.INSHEA, the project coordinator, is a national higher institute under the supervision of the ministries of national education and higher education and research, whose missions are research and training on schooling and access to work for persons with special needs.GEIST MAYENNE is a parents’ association created under the 1901 law, whose missions are to help contruct pathways fully chosen and wanted by persons with disabilities, with reduced autonomy or in vulnerable situations.NDTI (national development team for inclusion) is a non- profit organization whose missions are to promote inclusion and equality, notably for people with disability and mental health issues.IPP (polytechnique institute of Porto) is a higher education institute with a special education department and inclusion for students and young people with special needs.Activities of the project :-In each partner country, setting up a country committee equally made up of young people with disabilities, (cognitive problems, severe learning difficulties, psychic disorders,…) family representatives, trainers and employers or representatives from the labour market (between 16 and 20 members in each country who have all signed the chart agreement and contract commitment to the project). The main innovation of this project has been to gather these 4 types of stakeholders who are not used to working together or even to meet at all.-Collecting data to analyse the existing situation in each country-Organising 3 study visits in London, France (Mayenne) and Porto with groups of 1 young person with disabilities, 1 family member, 1 trainer and 1 employer to observe the good practices in each country and compare viewpoints.The objective is to establish a collaborative work methodology to enhance the participant’s empowerment and involvement, notably by allowing young people to express their views (with observations books) within each country’s committee.Results :-A comparative Chart-A guidebook of good practices in 3 languages-An Easy to read version (also in French, English and Portuguese)-A website with tools freely available to all.Impacts- For trainers and employeurs: Change of point of view and breaking stereotypes (a person with intellectual disabilities cannot work!). New methods with particpation of the youths in their professional pathways and reflection on the employability concept.- For the youths: Greater self-confidence and projection into a future where an autonomous life is possible- For the families: Their difficulties have been heard, and networking (notably via the blog: www.mamansdeurope.eu- For the partenrs organisations, possible new collaborations and/or training courses are beeing envisaged.

CONTEXT/BACKGROUNDThe upskilling of Teachers and Trainers competences for fostering INCLUSION has been identified as a high policy priority by the EU in the Council Recommendation on promoting common values and inclusive education (EC Com2018/23), by the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2016 Report on the right to inclusive education) and by the UN AGENDA 2030 for Sustainable Development (Goals 4 and 8). Moreover, the 2018 EC Report “Education and Special Needs: policies and practices in education, training and employment for students with special needs in the EU” confirms that to integrate SEN students in Education and Training, there is a need to prepare Teachers and Trainers to use digital and innovative tools, such as the Virtual Learning Environments (VLE). In the frame of VLE, the use of VIRTUAL REALITY (VR) is considered valuable and profitable for SEN students in initial VET when applied for facilitating their access to WBL at local and international/Mobility level. VETREALITY represents a reply to the mentioned needs as it will provide the target group – VET Teachers/Trainers – the required digital competences for tackling this innovative change in the SEN students' learning process.MAIN OBJECTIVES• Foster innovative learning approaches and methodologies and provide digital skills for teaching and training, as outlined in the EU Digital Education Action Plan (EU DigCompEdu/2017);• Increase technological competences on VR applications and competences for facilitating SEN students’ access to WBL;• Promote VR in the frame of Mobility as a mean to incentive the participation of SEN students and assure equity and inclusion in all VET environments.NUMBER AND PROFILE OF PARTICIPANTSIO1-VETREALITY e-Compendium: 70 VET Teachers/Trainers will be selected at EU level and 56 stakeholders/VR experts will be identified by partners to participate to the 2 foreseen focus groups;IO2-VETREALITY Training Programme: a) Short-term Joint Staff Training Event (Pilot 1): 14 VET Teachers/Trainers will be selected among partner organizations to participate in a 5-day LTTA session in Graz/AT;b) National Pilots: 10 VET Teachers/Trainers per partner organization (70 at EU level) will participate to a 10-day training;IO3-VETREALITY Mobility Tool Box: 10 VET Teachers/Trainers per partner organization (70 at EU level) will participate to a 2-day pilots testing.ACTIVITIES AND METHODOLOGYVETREALITY Project is developed with a multidisciplinary approach designed to achieve the project objectives and ensures the delivery of the planned results, by integrating the methodologies specific for the following activities:• Management, including Quality Evaluation, Dissemination and Exploitation activities;• Development of 3 IOs;• Short-term Joint Staff Training Event in Graz/AT;• 6 National Multiplier Events and 1 Final Conference in Campobasso/IT.The activities are strictly interconnected, verifiable and preparatory to the next, with the progressive involvement of the beneficiaries and a clear and transparent division of work and roles according to partners’ expertise.VETREALITY will have the following RESULTS:• IO1: raising VET Teachers and Trainers’ awareness and knowledge on the best available VR applications to be used for facilitating the learning process of SEN students aimed at their smooth access to WBL (focus groups and collection of VR existing tools);• IO2: developing a training programme to provide the target group with knowledge, skills and competences needed for integrating VR technology into own teaching and training methods aimed at supporting SEN students’ access to WBL (EU and NA training programme and testing);• IO3: promoting SEN students’ involvement in Mobility, facilitating their integration thanks to VR technology and applications;• providing a sustainable model to other organizations and stakeholders at local/NA/EU level, interested in supplying innovative competences to teaching and training staff and fostering the use of VR in learning for supporting SEN students in the frame of WBL.In addition to the 3 core Intellectual Outputs VETREALITY will develop further results necessary to achieve its objectives in terms of sustainability: Communication and Dissemination Strategy and Quality Management Handbook and reports.VETREALITY will have an extended IMPACT on:• Direct participants (VET Teachers and Trainers) will acquire digital skills and innovative tools to foster an INCLUSIVE approach in the fields of WBL and MOBILITY;• SEN students will increase their participation to WBL and Mobility programmes;• Partner organizations will integrate the training programme in their curriculum and replicate it to reach more professionals;• Stakeholders and Associated Partners will access a wide range of materials in various languages thanks to the project website available for 5 years after the project end, ensuring a sustainable EU network of stakeholders in the field.

<< Objectives >>This project seeks to build an inclusive higher education system. Its ambition is to make it possible to improve the living conditions of persons with disabilities in higher education institutions and society at large. As a result, the project wishes to help institutions both in implementing it and in their role as connectors and coordinators in developing tools relating to governance, students, and research.<< Implementation >>To meet the project’s inclusive purpose, we develop 4 activity modules—the project’s management; For governance at the service of inclusion and diversity; Students: training and campus life; Developing accessible research, and regarding disabilities and within this framework, we develop a range of activities: recommendations guides and action sheets, standard surveys, training modules: videos; a dedicated platform.<< Results >>Regarding results, we have to contribute to making it possible to embrace a view of the institutions’ policy by naturally implementing acts that help people with disabilities. We have to take part through a kit to be used by institutions and persons to stimulate, train and promote academic success at the highest level, develop research, a campus life, raise awareness, change practices and set up processes that can apply to institutions and within society.

The promotion of inclusive education and lifelong learning for students and learners with disabilities is one of the priority areas set up by the European Disability Strategy 2010-2020. Moreover, in the Bruges Communiqué the EC suggests to increase the possibilities for disadvantaged learners in VET by offering alternative pathways, innovative VET training formats, more Work-Based Learning (WBL) in the main forms present at EU level. Further, The European Agency for the Development of Special Needs Education has published a study on the competences of an inclusive teaching in 2012, where 4 main competences are requested: valuing learner diversity; supporting all learners; working with others and continuing professional development. These are competences required and which are by far not reflected in the VET training programmes. Students with learning disabilities (LD) need, therefore, to have a personal plan of study which includes WBL experience and tailored on them and the enterprises, on the other hand, need to be trained to support the envisaged target group.The project objectives represented a reply to the above mentioned problems as it was inspired by the following factors: - Train teachers and staff working with the target group to make WBL or internship experience more fruitful and aimed to future job insertion even in an European context; - Develop flexible pathways which connect the VET formal school curriculum to WBL for students with learning disabilities; - Foster the implementation of ECVET principles and tools and develop an innovative approach to Mobility in order to facilitate the access for students with learning disabilities; - Support enterprise mentors and staff during the WBL/internship experience of students with learning disabilities.The main project results were:O1-INCLUVET Didactical Guidelines for training VET staff working with students with disabilities: they are a compact presentation of how didactical processes should be organised and implemented when dealing with students with disabilities/special needs; how to support them during the WBL/internship experience even at EU level in Mobility programmes; Three methodological stages were foreseen: 1) Preparation 2) Implementation 3) finalisation.O2-INCLUVET Training Curriculum for VET Staff: it includes a theoretical part and the supply of concrete competences to the target group when dealing with students with LD. It is an exhaustive training model elaborated at EU level in order to have a much more exhaustive approach to the WBL thematic and increase the participation of students with LD to Mobility projects. Supported Employment that is one of the key assets of the non-exclusionary policy pursued by the EU has been considered. 1) Preparation 2) Implementation 3) finalisation.O3-INCLUVET in-company Mentors Vademecum. It is a very practical tool to be distributed to Mentors in order to support students with LD during their WBL experience. Supported Employment has been also included. 1) Preparation 2) Implementation 3) finalisation.O4-Mobility Vademecum for accompanying persons of students with learning disabilities. It is a practical tool to support the accompanying persons, usually teachers not expert in disabilities, and even the EU Enterprises during the mobility and how to implement and develop LOs acquired in a EU context and how to evaluate the students. 1) Preparation 2) Implementation 3) finalisationThese Intellectual Outputs were connected with Multiplier Events, in order to reach the widest range of target groups and stakeholders possible. In addition to these 4 core intellectual outputs the INCLUVET project developed a number of further outputs necessary to achieve the set objectives: website and Dissemination materials; Dissemination Strategy; Quality Management Handbook; Learning/Training Teaching Activities.INCLUVET achieved an extended impact on: - Direct participants in the project: INCLUVET provided concrete competences for the targets on how to deal with students with learning disabilities during WBL experiences; how to evaluate students during their in-company training; how to foster company motivation to deal with WBL paths for the envisaged target group; - Partner Organizations: with the project they received an innovative approach for planning and managing flexible WBL experiences both at NA and EU level for the envisaged target with learning disabilities; - Other stakeholders: they are labour market authorities, political decision makers and policy makers on regional, NA and EU level; target group associations/cooperatives for disabled persons; they received an innovative tool to use in their dayly work with disabled people.On a long-term perspective, the benefits of the project will be on a systemic level with an increased quality of the VET system (renforced and updated skills of VET staff) which fosters the social and labour inclusion of students with learning disabilities.