Academy schools and free schools can apply for Erasmus+ funding from November 2026. The question comes up regularly and the answer is straightforward: operating outside local authority control makes no difference to eligibility. If your school is registered and delivering statutory education, you qualify. This guide covers everything academy and free school leaders need to
Youth and sports organisations in the UK are fully eligible for Erasmus+ KA1 and KA2 funding from January 2027. This includes youth clubs, sports clubs, charities and voluntary sector bodies working with young people, as well as organisations using sport as a tool for social inclusion or rehabilitation. Eligible activities include professional training and job
This article is part of IBD's series on who can apply for Erasmus+ funding in the UK. The full guide covering all institution types is the place to start if you are new to the programme. This article goes deeper on faith schools specifically. Key Takeaways Faith schools of any denomination are fully eligible for
What is Erasmus+ for FE and VET institutions? Erasmus+ funds staff and learner mobility: real people going abroad to study, train or work in a professional environment. For Further Education (FE) and Vocational Education & Training (VET) institutions, it is the most directly relevant part of the programme. Your students can spend weeks inside a
The UK returns to Erasmus+ in January 2027. For European schools, VET colleges and sending organisations that lost their UK partnerships when Britain left the programme in 2021, the option is back. Erasmus+ work placements in the UK are available again, and the demand from European institutions to send students here is already building well
Independent schools can apply for Erasmus+ funding from January 2027. This surprises a lot of people. In twenty years of working with UK schools on international mobility programmes, IBD Partnership Group has fielded the same question dozens of times from independent school heads, bursars and international coordinators: can independent schools in the UK apply
Who can take part in Erasmus+ is a question IBD hears constantly, and the honest answer is: far more institutions than most coordinators expect. Schools, FE colleges, universities, VET providers, adult education bodies, youth organisations, and sports clubs all have defined routes into the programme. So do their students, apprentices, teachers, youth workers, and volunteers.
After six years outside the programme, the United Kingdom is back in Erasmus+. The agreement was signed in Brussels on 15 April 2026, and the first funding call is expected to open in November 2026. For coordinators planning a project that includes the UK, preparation starts now. Key Takeaways The UK rejoining Erasmus+ in
IBD Partnership Group has been delivering Erasmus+ projects since 2005 and has worked with the Turing Scheme since it launched in 2021. We have run both programmes across dozens of countries, for primary schools, FE colleges, universities and youth organisations. What follows is not a theoretical comparison. It is based on two decades of
The United Kingdom returns to Erasmus+ from January 2027, reopening one of Europe's most established destinations for international mobility projects. Schools, colleges, vocational education providers, and universities across Europe are already preparing Erasmus+ partnerships involving the UK again, particularly for work placements, school visits, job shadowing, and group mobility projects. There is a reason Britain
