Abstract:

Across Europe, schools are grappling with rising levels of stress, anxiety and burnout among both students and teachers, trends intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic and long-standing inclusion challenges. Wellbeing In Schools is a three-year Erasmus+ KA220 cooperation partnership that responds to these pressures by embedding evidence-informed, mindfulness-based interventions (MBI) within everyday lower-secondary classroom practice in five countries (Czechia, Slovakia, Greece, Ireland and Finland).

The project’s development design combines large-scale desk research, curriculum co-design and digital innovation. A systematic review of high-impact studies on school-based mindfulness and social-emotional learning, alongside an analysis of 17 mindfulness apps, identified effective components, delivery logics, accessibility features and engagement mechanisms suitable for 11–15-year-olds and their teachers. These findings informed decisions about programme dosage, core practices, inclusion strategies and digital functionality.

Building on this evidence base, partners are co-creating a flexible MBI curriculum and lesson plans that can be integrated into a wide range of subjects and school routines. The curriculum offers both short daily practices and dedicated lessons structured around psychoeducation, guided audio practices and reflective activities such as discussion and journalling. Topics such as stress regulation, attention, self-compassion, relationships, gratitude and mindful technology use are sequenced to support the gradual development of emotional awareness, self-regulation and resilience.

A key innovation is the personalised assessment tool and mobile app that link students’ self-reported wellbeing challenges to tailored mindfulness practices. Short, accessible statements presented with visual supports generate individual profiles that guide recommendations within the app, while repeated use enables students and teachers to monitor change over time. The app also provides an audio-video library, progress tracking, reminders and journalling features, and is designed to be multilingual and usable both in class and at home.

Inclusion is embedded using the STEP adaptation methodology, which supports teachers to adjust space, task, equipment and people so that MBI activities are accessible to learners with diverse abilities, cultural backgrounds and language profiles. A pyramidal training model, in which trainers cascade the toolkit and app to colleagues, supports scalability and sustainability across countries and school systems.

The project’s needs analysis, research synthesis and design logic, show how a large-scale, cross-national partnership can translate fragmented evidence on mindfulness in education into a coherent, inclusive wellbeing offer for schools. It will invite discussion on how such integrated digital-pedagogical models can inform policy and teacher education in the current landscape.

Keywords:

School wellbeing, mindfulness-based interventions, Erasmus+ KA220, lower secondary education, curriculum design, mobile app, assessment tool, inclusive education, teacher professional development.