ESC: Road to Participation 2023

The school Compañía de María is located in the city of Puente Genil in the region of Andalusia. It's an educational institution comprising around 700 students aged 3-16 and 40 teachers. The school has 3 departments with students with special needs, such as: mental dysfunction, Down syndrome, autism, Asperger syndrome and physical dysfunctions. The school is located in the city center, near the main local facilities. The values on which the school bases its way of education are: respect, honesty and empathy for other people. The purpose of education is to educate the young generation to live in today's world. The facility participates in several projects whose principles are based on promoting creativity, cooperation, and the use of information and communication technology, including in the "Collaborative groups at school", "Colabora at school" project related to ICT. In addition, the school is known by the “Lestonnac Groups”, these are groups built on voluntary participation, in the out-of-school environment; they are offered in our school, from the ages of 9 or 10 up to High School. These groups help our students to grow as a person, highlighting the values of respect and responsibility. In our meetings we organize Gymkhanas, school camps where fun, games and amusement play an important role in the development of the gatherings. Concerning Volunteering, we also have to mention that we actively collaborate with our Non Profit Organization “FISC”, which supports development projects in the most needed countries as well as in local areas. 2. The main topics of our European projects are focused on Inclusion and diversity, Environmental sustainability and responsibility, Digital education and Active participation in the network of Erasmus organizations.