EPC group and the European Council for Steiner Waldorf Education (ECSWE)

The EPC project carrier is the European Council for Waldorf Steiner Education. The EPC project group functions as the administrative body of the EPC and is accountable to the board of ECSWE. Major formal decisions around the EPC project have to be presented to the European Council as a whole. Further information can be obtained from epc @ epc-group.org.


Copyright

The copyright of the folder design of the European Portfolio Certificate for Steiner Waldorf schools is held by the European Council for Steiner Waldorf Education (ECSWE). Any other EPC folder designs need to be approved by the EPC group.

EPC folders and European Portfolio Certificates are used in accordance with the EPC guidelines. The copyright of the text of these Guidelines is held by the EPC group. The EPC group welcomes all who wish to use portfolio in general and the EPC Guidelines in particular for the design of their portfolio work. The EPC group encourages all EPC Guideline users to network individually and with the EPC group. Furthermore the EPC group would like to encourage the use of the EPC folder in addition to and in accordance with the Guidelines far and wide and is looking forward to written requests for translating of these EPC guidelines.  Reprints are possible in future if needed. For info send an e-mail to epc @ epc-group.org.


EPC License and Quality Assurance

Any school or pedagogical institution wishing to issue EPC folders must apply for a license through epc @ epc-group.org. A license will be issued by the EPC group when a written agreement is signed by the applicant, certifying that the applicant will work in accordance with the EPC guidelines and in particular, the standards contained therein, and that the applicant will assure this by setting up an internal quality control system, the results of which are regularly communicated to the EPC group.
Signing this agreement means that the school takes responsibilty for individual ownership of the EPC-idea and that it is a matter of self-determined control to ensure the quality acoording to the standards described in the guidelines. The ECSWE EPC-Project Group has developed a tool for self-assessment for schools working with EPC, which the school is required to use.
The agreement gives the right to the school to issue EPC folders; it can also use the EPC logo and participate in the toolbox on the website.
If there are sufficient indications that the standards described in the Guidelines are not being met and in case of obvious and serious misuse, the ECSWE EPC-Project Group has the authority to suspend or revoke the agreement thus withdrawing the EPC-License. 
The EPC-group welcomes feedback regarding the use of EPC, including suggestions for improvements of the EPC- Guidelines. The EPC-group reserves the right to modify the Guidelines from time to time. It will communicate with all licensed EPC issuers regarding any changes in the Guidelines.
The Guidelines are issued in English and must be translated into the national language and distributed to all teachers and tutors and users connected with EPC related portfolio work before EPC folders may be issued to the students. The translation must be authorised by the national federation represented within ECSWE. The English version of the Guidelines is authoritative.

 

The general aim of the EPC project and the Comenius EPC Partnership in particular was to develop a pedagogical tool.