Our quality standards: how ELA complies with Erasmus and European principles

The Erasmus Learning Academy believes in and sets for itself high standards of quality, in line with its mission to foster excellence and quality improvements in education and training. Driven by passion and motivation for our work, we don’t leave any stone unturned when it comes to offering the highest quality and continuously improving our courses. The Erasmus Learning Academy holds the Erasmus+ accreditation as well as the Italian Ministry for Education accreditation to provide teachers and education staff trainining courses.

When organising international training courses, we fully comply with the Erasmus quality standards and the principles set out in the European Quality Charter for Mobility. More than merely following these principles, we fully believe in them. With over 10 years of experience organising and participating in international training courses, we know how these principles stand at the core of a quality experience and how they make the difference in terms of both personal satisfaction and systemic impact.

If you are working with other course providers, we recommend checking whether they know and comply with these principles.

Our 10 guiding principles

Listen, listen, listen (and talk)
Make excellence the minimum standard
Be flexible and open to change
Always experiment with new things and learn from errors
Grow and enable the people around you to grow
Amaze the user and make them a fan of yours
Focus on the solution and on what you can do
Clarify priorities and goals
Focus on the objectives and be ahead of the deadlines
Thank yourself and strive for something more

How we comply with the Erasmus Quality Standards

Information, transparency and registration

We provide advance and complete information about each course both before registration and after. Our website is among the most comprehensive in the sector, and before the start of training all participants receive a detailed infosheet describing learning objectives, methodologies, programme and practical arrangements. Through the infosheet and constant email communication, we inform participants about necessary preparation and the equipment recommended for making the most of the course. We are happy to cooperate with sending institutions during the preparation phase and to support project coordinators and participants.

We offer a straightforward, accessible and transparent application and selection process. Schools that are waiting for project approval can pre-register and reserve a place, with the possibility to cancel without cost if the project is not approved.

Transparent costs and cancellation policy

Our costs are transparent and we clearly explain all fees and the services they cover. Our training courses are tailored to be fully funded by Erasmus+ and we offer different options to ensure the best comfort and quality at a price within the Erasmus+ grant. Once confirmed, we have never cancelled a training course (except for events outside our control such as Covid-19). In the agreement signed during registration, cancellation terms and conditions are clearly stated, and for causes of force majeure we offer the possibility to reschedule without any cancellation fee.

High-quality teaching and methodology

Where we stand out is when it comes to high-quality teaching. We focus on using effective, interactive and up-to-date pedagogical approaches tailored to participants’ learning needs and competence levels, making extensive use of practical activities and real-life examples. Each course is unique — the programme is always adapted based on the expectations shared by participants at the beginning of the course.

We always strive to foster interaction, reflection and new perspectives, facilitating sharing and productive dialogue between participants in a supportive learning environment. We make extensive use of digital tools and training methods to enrich and complement the learning process.

Our trainers

Our trainers are all permanent internal staff members who regularly deliver international courses for teachers and can guarantee the same high quality of instruction across all courses and sessions. They are experienced in training teachers and education staff, understand their needs, and know how to interact with a multicultural audience.

Continuously updated content

We continuously update and refresh the content of our courses. Every year we add new courses based on the most recent education trends, challenges and needs. We regularly participate in Erasmus KA2 innovation projects to stay on top of the latest developments and research new ideas and education needs.

European dimension and networking

We actively participate in the network of Erasmus organisations — hosting participants from other countries and sending our staff abroad through Erasmus+ KA1 mobility projects, taking part in European conferences, and participating in Erasmus+ KA2 innovation projects and strategic partnerships. Our courses contribute to the European policies supported by the Erasmus+ programme and reflect the values of the European Union.

We always foster networking and exchange among course participants. To ensure an international group composition, we accept only a limited number of participants per country.

Participant support and logistics

We support participants before, during and after the course, addressing questions and requests in a timely manner. For each course there is a dedicated contact person in charge of providing all necessary information and support, especially in exceptional circumstances. Our team is composed of experts from all over Europe who speak fluently over 10 languages, able to support participants from every point of view, including the linguistic one.

We provide board and lodging in the same venue where the training takes place, ensuring the best comfort as well as effective time management. Our courses cover a total of 35 hours over 7 days. Social, cultural and networking activities as well as study visits complement the classroom activities.

Inclusiveness

We organise our courses in an inclusive way, without any type of discrimination and paying particular attention to allow equal access to participants with special educational needs.

Feedback and continuous improvement

To ensure the maximum quality and keep improving, we collect feedback from participants through a daily and final evaluation. We consider this feedback very important to tailor each course in real time. By polling participants’ opinions on a daily basis, we can spot anything that could be improved and react as quickly as possible. We also use these evaluations to assess whether we can improve our work, create new courses or develop new services.

Follow-up, dissemination and certification

We provide guidance to participants on further steps they can take to build on the outcomes of the course. We share all presentation materials, practical activities and additional documents so that participants can share what they learned with their colleagues, maximising institutional impact and the transfer of acquired knowledge into practice.

For each course we create a summary video promoted on our social media channels and website, and we write a blog article sharing the activities and outcomes — giving visibility to participating schools and sharing results with the wider public.

We support participants in every step of certification and validation of learning outcomes, with specific focus on European instruments and Erasmus+ requirements such as staff mobility/learning agreement, quality commitment and Europass mobility certificate. At the end of the course, each participant is awarded a certificate of attendance — and, if requested, the Europass Mobility Certificate — including a description of the course, learning outcomes, dates, venues, and the name of the course provider and instructors.

How we comply with the European Quality Charter for Mobility

In addition to the Erasmus Quality Standards, we fully adhere to the principles of the European Quality Charter for Mobility:

Information and guidance — We provide every participant with access to clear and reliable sources of information and guidance on mobility, including details of the Charter and the roles of sending and hosting organisations.

Learning plan — We draw up a learning plan describing the objectives and expected outcomes, the means of achieving them and the evaluation measures, taking account of reintegration issues.

Personalisation — We tailor the mobility based on participants’ needs and ensure the training course fits personal learning pathways, skills and motivation.

General preparation — Before departure, we can provide participants with general preparation tailored to their specific needs, covering linguistic, pedagogical, legal, cultural and financial aspects.

Linguistic aspects — We support participants before, during and after the course. Our team speaks over 10 languages and can fully support participants from the linguistic point of view.

Logistical support — Our venues are easily accessible and, based on our extensive experience in mobility projects, we provide detailed information and assistance concerning travel arrangements, insurance, residence permits, social security and any other practical aspects.

Mentoring — We provide continuous mentoring to advise and help participants before, throughout and after their stay.

Recognition — We have extensive experience in recognition of learning outcomes and assist participants and sending organisations in the recognition and certification process, including issuing the Europass mobility certificate.

Reintegration and evaluation — We run daily and final evaluations to monitor and assess all aspects of the training and ensure its quality. Where appropriate, we run ex-ante and ex-post evaluations to assess learning outcomes and competences acquired. After the training, we support participants to enhance their reintegration.

Commitments and responsibilities — We draw up and sign with each participant a learning agreement and quality commitment, and we monitor that the training course complies with these standards.