BRIDGE

<< Background >>The project's partner organizations have long been active in the field of education and intervene in school settings with educational programs aimed at the 10-18 age group. BRIDGE was created to foster a shift in the pedagogical paradigm through the development of tools aimed at improving the relationship between school teachers and educators, and at fostering a broader educational focus across the class, not just on individual students at risk of dropping out.The needs BRIDGE seeks to address are: persistent difficulties among teachers in developing shared approaches with educators increasingly present in schools; difficulties in schools in dealing with non-formal and informal learning models; teaching and learning efforts limited to the development of knowledge and cognitive skills, and a lack of attention and methods capable of working on the development, strengthening, and improvement of emotional and social skills; climate unable to promote well-being due to the prevalence of prescriptive approaches, frontal lessons in which the influence of social and emotional aspects on learning is ignored.<< Objectives >>The BRIDGE project promotes well-being and mental health within classrooms through a shift in pedagogical paradigm. This approach views activities supporting the integration of students at risk of dropping out as not a separate or compensatory intervention, but rather an educational opportunity for the entire class. The approach embraces the school as a learning community where nurturing relationships and valuing differences become fundamental tools for developing emotional, social, and collaborative skills.From this perspective, activities dedicated to supporting vulnerable students are transformed into opportunities for shared growth: teachers, educators, and students are engaged in programs that foster empathy, cooperation, effective communication, and the mindful management of group dynamics. BRIDGE thus transcends the logic of emergency intervention, proposing an inclusive and systemic vision of well-being in schools, where integration becomes the driving force for the evolution of educational practices and the construction of more equitable and sustainable learning environments.<< Implementation >>The project's activities included: design, testing and monitoring, assessment, validation, publication on a digital platform, communication, and dissemination of a capacity-building guide for teachers and educators and a toolkit of classroom activities.Additional activities included: co-design, collaboration, and coordination to ensure the expected benefits for all partners; risk prevention; quality, cost, and time control for project plan compliance; peer-to-peer relationship development; communication and social media management; organization of partner meetings; and involvement of the project's broader communities.Finally, design and development of support materials for managers to disseminate project results within class councils; organization of final dissemination events; and compilation of Leant Lessons.<< Results >>The main results of the BRIDGE project are two validated tools. The first is a CAPACITY BUILDING GUIDE that supports teachers and educators throughout the school year in developing a structured path of professional collaboration. The guide promotes the building of a relationship of mutual trust, based on knowledge of each other's skills and the coordination of educational practices, with the aim of strengthening the coherence of teaching and improving the quality of the relational environment within the school.The second result is an operational TOOLKIT that provides teachers and educators with 68 activity sheets for working together in and with the class. The toolkit integrates disciplinary objectives with the development of transversal and relational skills, offering methodologies that foster participation, inclusion, and cooperation among students.In addition, the project has produced a communication toolkit specifically designed for principals to disseminate the project's results.