Comenius 2.2c Funding
Comenius funding is available from the European Commission to enable primary and secondary teachers to participate in professional development courses lasting between one and four weeks. Comenius 2.2c funding is of particular interest as it provides in-service training grants for language teachers, with some 6,000 – 7,000 teachers in total obtaining grants each year under this programme. Through Comenius 2.2c funding, language teachers are awarded individual grants for in-service training courses, enabling them to attend Anglolang’s two-week Teachers’ Refresher Courses
What is Comenius?
Comenius is the first of eight programmes (known as "actions"), within the SOCRATES European Community Programme for Education. Its objectives, as defined by the European Commission, are as follows:
“…to enhance the quality and reinforce the European dimension of school education, in particular by encouraging transnational cooperation between schools, contributing to the improved professional development of staff directly involved in the school education sector, and promoting the learning of languages and intercultural awareness.”
For more information about Comenius, please see the Comenius home page
Similar information is also available from the British Council's Socrates page
Eligibility
To qualify for Comenius 2.2c funding, teachers must come both from an eligible country and an eligible institution. Currently, the Comenius programme is open to participants from the following countries:
- The fifteen Member States of the European Union: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom
- The EFTA/EEA countries: Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway
- The associated countries from Central and Eastern Europe: Bulgaria, the Czech Republic,Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.
- Cyprus, Malta and Turkey.
The Comenius programme applies to all institutions involved in school education. It also applies to those bodies responsible for school education systems and policies at local, regional and national level, to associations working in the field of school education, social partners, companies and trade organisations It should be noted that, in most cases, individuals can only participate in Comenius through their ‘home’ institution.
In addition, applicants for funding under Comenius 2.2 should fall into one of the following categories:
- A teacher teaching an official language of the EU as a foreign language
- A foreign language teacher trainer
- A primary teacher who will teach foreign languages at some point in the future
- A teacher teaching language across the curriculum
- A student teacher
- Non-teaching education staff, (inspectors, advisors, heads of institutions, counsellors, etc.) involved in the teaching of foreign languages
- Tutors, mentors or other educators working with pupils at risk of exclusion, children of migrant workers, gypsies, travellers and occupational travellers
Value of Comenius 2.2c Grant
The maximum grant is currently 1500 Euros. The grant is to help cover course fees, travel to and from the country of study and subsistence costs.
Finding a Course
There is no longer a central database of Comenius courses: Comenius grants are available for teachers wanting to attend Anglolang’s teachers’ refresher courses. You must advise your National Agency that you wish to apply for a course at Anglolang. You will still need to pre-register with Anglolang before submitting an application to your national agency.
Application Procedure
(i) Contact your National Agency to obtain an application pack.
The National Agency will also be able to provide information about deadlines, which differ from country to country. Most countries operate a number of rolling deadlines throughout the year.
(ii) Contact Anglolang in order to pre-register for the course. You will receive from us a letter of enrolment which should be submitted to your National Agency along with your application form. You should also submit to the National Agency a detailed course description, which Anglolang will send to you.
Anglolang does not require a deposit until a full course registration has been made, normally after you have been notified of the results of your application.
(iii) Apply to your National Agency, ensuring that you submit the application by the appropriate closing date. Make sure you quote in your application Anglolang’s contact details and the relevant course title and dates. There is no course code for our teachers refresher courses.
(iv) Teachers are normally told whether their funding application has been successful at the latest 6 weeks before the course start date.
Other Opportunities
Besides Comenius, other European Commission funding opportunities are available. Contact your National Agency to find out more about the different funding streams which are available.
Adult educators can apply for funding through Grundtvig 3. Contact your Grundtvig 3 National Agency for further details.