Erasmus+ supports schools and other organisations active in the field of school education that want to organise learning mobility activities for school pupils and staff. A wide range of activities are supported, including job shadowing and professional development courses for staff, individual and group mobility for pupils, invited experts, and other activities. Mobility for pupils and staff in school education aims to provide learning opportunities to individuals and to support internationalisation and institutional development of schools and other organisations in school education. The objectives of the action include supporting professional development of teachers, school leaders and other school staff, improving language learning and language diversity in schools, and making learning mobility a realistic possibility for any pupil in school education. Our guide on what Erasmus+ is explains the programme.
Last updated: November 2026.
Which two ways can a school apply?
Schools and other organisations active in school education can apply for funding in two ways:
📅 Short-term projects: short-term projects provide applicants with an opportunity to organise various mobility activities over a period of six to eighteen months. Short-term projects are the best choice for organisations applying for Erasmus+ for the first time, or for those that wish to organise only a limited number of activities.
🏅 Accredited projects: accredited projects are open only to organisations holding an Erasmus accreditation in the field of school education.
Erasmus accreditations are open to all organisations that want to organise mobility activities on a regular basis, and previous experience in the Programme is not required to apply for an accreditation. Applicants can apply for an individual Erasmus accreditation for their organisation, or for an Erasmus accreditation for mobility consortium coordinators. Short-term projects are open to schools providing general education at pre-primary, primary or secondary level (including organisations providing early childhood education and care), and to local and regional public authorities, coordination bodies and other organisations with a role in the field of school education. Organisations holding an Erasmus accreditation in school education cannot apply for short-term projects.
Short-term projects in school education come with these limits:
🔢 One per round: per selection round, an organisation may apply for only one short-term project in the field of school education. Organisations that receive a grant for a short-term project under the first round of applications may not apply for the second round of the same call for proposals.
🔢 Three in five years: within a period of any five consecutive call years, organisations may receive a maximum of three grants for short-term projects in school education. Grants received in the 2014-2020 period do not count towards the limit.
🧑🎓 Participants: an application for a short-term project can include a maximum of 30 participants in mobility activities. Preparatory visits and participation of accompanying persons will not count towards the limit.
✅ Activities: to be eligible, applications must include at least one staff or learner mobility activity.
Applicant organisations must be established in an EU Member State or in a third country associated to the Programme, and applications are submitted to the National Agency of the country where the applicant organisation is established. Our guide on Erasmus+ accreditation in the youth field explains the youth side, our guide on National Agencies explains who receives applications, and our guide on the Organisation ID explains the OID.
Can your school join without applying?
Organisations can join the Programme without submitting an application by:
🏫 Join a consortium: joining an existing Erasmus+ mobility consortium led by an accredited consortium coordinator in your country that is accepting new members in the consortium.
🌍 Host participants: hosting participants from another country, as any organisation can become a host for learners or staff coming from a partner organisation abroad.
Becoming a hosting organisation is a valuable experience and a good way to create partnerships and learn more about the Programme before applying yourself. Our guide on what Erasmus+ is explains the other parts of the programme.
What can pupils and staff do abroad?
A wide range of activities are supported, including job shadowing and professional development courses for staff, and individual and group mobility for pupils. Here is what school staff can do:
👀 Job shadowing: participants can spend a period of time at a hosting organisation in another country with the aim of learning new practices and gathering new ideas through observation and interaction.
🍎 Teaching or training assignments: participants can spend a period of time teaching or providing training to learners at a hosting organisation in another country.
📚 Courses and training: participants can benefit from a structured course or a similar kind of training provided by qualified professionals based on a pre-defined learning programme and learning outcomes.
Staff activities must take place abroad, in an EU Member State or in a third country associated to the Programme, in the country where the host organisation is legally established. Here is what pupils can do:
👥 Group mobility: a group of pupils from the sending school can spend time abroad learning together with their peers from another country, and teachers or other qualified education staff from the sending school must accompany the pupils for the entire duration of the activity.
📖 Short-term learning mobility: pupils can spend a period abroad to study at a partner school or perform a traineeship at another relevant organisation abroad, and an individual learning programme must be defined for each participant.
📖 Long-term learning mobility: pupils can spend a period abroad to study at a partner school or perform a traineeship at another relevant organisation abroad, and an obligatory pre-departure training must be provided to all participants.
Group mobility of school pupils must take place at a hosting school, and exceptionally at another venue in the country of the hosting school, if justified by the content and quality of the activity. Here is what a school can host or prepare:
🧑🔬 Invited experts: schools can invite trainers, teachers, policy experts or other qualified professionals from abroad who can help improve the teaching and learning at the receiving school.
🎒 Teachers in training: applicant organisations can host teachers in training who want to spend a traineeship period abroad.
🧳 Preparatory visits: preparatory visits can be organised in preparation for any type of learner or staff mobility, except 'courses and training', and a maximum of three persons can take part in a preparatory visit.
Our guide on inclusion support explains support for people with fewer opportunities in youth projects.
Who does what in your school's project?
The applicant organisation is the key actor in a Key Action 1 (learning mobility of individuals) project: the applicant organisation drafts and submits the application, signs the grant agreement, implements the mobility activities, and reports to the National Agency. As a sending organisation, the applicant organisation will select participants and send them to a hosting organisation abroad. For two-way exchanges or joint activities with one or more partner schools, each participating school should apply for Erasmus+ funding or the schools can join an existing consortium. All activities supported under Mobility for pupils and staff in school education must follow the Erasmus quality standards.
Beneficiary organisations (applicants whose grant agreement has been signed by both parties) should provide their participants with language learning support before and during the mobility activities. Erasmus+ funds the Online Language Support platform, which is free and open for use by all Erasmus+ participants. The selection of learners that will take part in project activities should take into account key factors such as motivation, merit, as well as personal development and learning needs of the participants. A supporting organisation is an organisation assisting the beneficiary organisation in practical aspects of project implementation that do not concern core project tasks. Involvement of a supporting organisation is subject to approval of the National Agency, and the beneficiary organisation remains ultimately responsible for the results and quality of implemented activities. Our guide on Online Language Support explains the platform, our guide on how to run an Erasmus+ project covers the grant agreement and reports, and our guide on how to write a strong Erasmus+ application covers the assessment.
Where do you find partner schools?
eTwinning is the perfect environment to find partners for future projects. Schools are encouraged to join eTwinning, an online community funded by Erasmus+ and hosted on the European School Education Platform. eTwinning is accessible to teachers and school staff vetted by the eTwinning national support organisation. Teachers and schools participating in eTwinning receive support from their National Support Organisations (NSO), which assist schools during the process of registration, partner finding and project activity. Erasmus+ provides these other tools to find partners for mobility activities:
🔎 European School Education Platform (ESEP): the European School Education Platform offers an online partner-finding tool; by registering on the platform, you can post partner-finding announcements and search through announcements made by other organisations.
📞 Training and Cooperation Activities: Training and Cooperation Activities are regularly organised by Erasmus+ National Agencies and include contact seminars, online events and other partner-finding opportunities for Erasmus+ applicants and beneficiaries.
📂 Project Results Platform: the Erasmus+ Project Results Platform allows you to search for all accredited organisations and approved projects.
Our guide on how to find partners for an Erasmus+ project compares the tools for every field.
Can schools also run partnership projects?
Yes: in Cooperation Partnerships, projects in the field of school education and adult education are strongly encouraged to use the European School Education Platform (including eTwinning), or the adult learning platform EPALE, to work together before, during and after the project activities. In Small-scale Partnerships, projects in the field of school education and adult education are strongly encouraged to use the European School Education Platform, eTwinning and the Adult learning platform (EPALE) to work together before, during and after the project activities. Our guide on Cooperation Partnerships and our guide on Small-scale Partnerships explain the two formats.
Frequently asked questions
Does our school need Erasmus+ experience?
No: previous experience in the Programme is not required to apply for an Erasmus accreditation. Short-term projects are the best choice for organisations applying for Erasmus+ for the first time, or for those that wish to organise only a limited number of activities. Our guide on Erasmus+ accreditation in the youth field explains the youth side.
How many short-term projects can we get?
Within a period of any five consecutive call years, organisations may receive a maximum of three grants for short-term projects in school education. Grants received in the 2014-2020 period do not count towards the limit. Our guide on National Agencies explains who receives applications.
Can a group of pupils go together?
Yes: a group of pupils from the sending school can spend time abroad learning together with their peers from another country. The sending school must design and implement the learning activities in cooperation with a partner school in the hosting country. Teachers or other qualified education staff from the sending school must accompany the pupils for the entire duration of the activity. Our guide on how to find partners for an Erasmus+ project compares the tools for every field.
Can we host a teacher in training?
Yes: applicant organisations can host teachers in training who want to spend a traineeship period abroad. Hosting teachers and educators in training is available for participants who are enrolled in or recently graduated from a teacher education programme (or a similar kind of education programme for trainers or educators) in another EU Member State or third country associated to the Programme. Our guide on how to run an Erasmus+ project covers the grant agreement and reports.
Who applies, the school or a teacher?
Schools providing general education at pre-primary, primary or secondary level, including organisations providing early childhood education and care, and local and regional public authorities, coordination bodies and other organisations with a role in the field of school education are eligible to apply. The applicant organisation drafts and submits the application. Our guide on dissemination and impact covers the sharing of project results.
What is the first step for your school?
Short-term projects are the best choice for organisations applying for Erasmus+ for the first time, or for those that wish to organise only a limited number of activities. Applications are submitted to the National Agency of the country where the applicant organisation is established. Organisations can open a page on Youth Works Hub to publish opportunities and posts. Youth Works Hub checks what organisations publish from their own pages, but the content organisations share from their own profiles is entirely the responsibility of those organisations. The Youth Works Hub pages below cover the next steps.
Related pages: Erasmus+ accreditation · how to run an Erasmus+ project · how to write a strong Erasmus+ application · how to find project partners · dissemination and impact · National Agencies explained
👉 Erasmus+ projects: youthworkshub.org/?tab=erasmus-projects
