Council conclusions on reducing early school leaving

For this reason, the EU and the member states acknowledge the need to actively pursue efforts to achieve, and where possible exceed, the Europe 2020 target. The Council asks to pursue implementation of the 2011 Council Recommendation by continuing the process of developing and implementing comprehensive strategies, with a strong emphasis on prevention, and by ensuring the committed participation of and long-term cooperation between stakeholders from all relevant areas (notably education and training, employment, economic affairs, social affairs, health, housing, youth, culture and sport).
The Conclusions emphasise generalised, equitable access to affordable, high quality early childhood education and care, and collaborative (‘whole-school’) approaches to reducing early school leaving at local level.