COMENIUS focuses on the first phase of education, from pre-school and primary to secondary school, and it is addressed to all members of the education community in the broad sense – pupils, teachers, other education staff, but also local authorities, parents' associations, non-government organisations ...

COMENIUS supports school partnerships, projects for the training of school education staff, and school education networks. It thus aims to enhance the quality of teaching, strengthen its European dimension and promote language learning and mobility.

COMENIUS also emphasises certain important issues: learning in a multi-cultural framework, which is the cornerstone of European citizenship, support for disadvantaged groups, countering under-achievement at school and preventing exclusion.