Spotlight: The “Experts Group” at CDP La Blanca Paloma (Spain)
At CDP La Blanca Paloma — a publicly funded VET centre in La Zubia, Granada — inclusion is not a policy document. It is a living, daily practice. Each year, around 360 students enrol across programmes in Nursing Care, Social Integration, Hairdressing, and more. Among them, approximately 48 students in 2024–2025 had specific educational support needs.
The “Experts Group” is the centrepiece of the centre’s inclusive model. In this initiative, VET students collaborate directly with the Padre Villoslada Occupational Centre, working alongside adults with intellectual disabilities. Students do not observe from a distance — they design personalised support plans, implement them in real workshop settings, and evaluate outcomes with feedback from occupational professionals. The cycle moves through four structured phases: initial observation, planning, implementation, and evaluation.
Why Was This Practice Selected for the W.I.N. Collection?
This practice was selected because it translates the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) into concrete, everyday action within a standard, publicly funded VET centre. It demonstrates that with pedagogical commitment, flexible teaching methods, and structured collaboration with external partners, inclusion becomes the norm — not the exception.
The model also addresses something rarely discussed: the impact of inclusion on the students themselves. VET learners who participate in the Experts Group consistently show improved engagement, stronger social competencies, and a deeper sense of professional purpose. Prejudices are not lectured away — they are dismantled through direct experience.
The W.I.N. project aims to share practices that other VET providers across Europe can genuinely replicate. CDP La Blanca Paloma’s Experts Group meets this standard: it is cost-effective, built on existing human resources and institutional cooperation, and has been running sustainably for several years. Already embedded in the centre’s educational model — not a pilot, but a proven approach — its connection to work-based learning and real professional contexts makes it directly relevant to any VET provider committed to preparing all learners for employment.
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the Human Resource Development Centre (HRDC). Neither the European Union nor HRDC can be held responsible for them.
