3.11. Targeted support - disadvantaged socio-economic background

AFEV is a French organisation that implements initiatives that put parents from disadvantaged socio-economic background at the centre of their approach. It is a non-profit organisation involved in the provision of parenting support in disadvantaged urban areas. AFEV has recruited a network of 8,000 students all across France who volunteer to provide temporary tutoring to parents.

The aim of Arany János programmes in Hungary is to help disadvantaged students in their secondary education, ensuring that they get a school leaving certification at the end of their education and can go to university or find a place in the labour market.

ATD quart monde is a French NGO involving individuals who experience or have experienced poverty.Among other initiatives, it works with ‘folk universities’ (universités populaires) in France, with the aim to generate and gather expert knowledge from its members - participants on a number of issues, including parenting and perception of school.

Beanstalk, a Children’s Literature Charity in England, was founded in 1973. Working closely with partner schools, they recruit, train and support volunteers to provide reading support for children between ages 3 and 13
The volunteers work one-to-one with children (with each volunteer working with one to three children), coming to the school for three hours each week over the course of a school year. To help build the child’s confidence and create trust, they may read, play and talk with the children. The Beanstalk book box is an important resource with appropriate books and games
Volunteers are asked to make a commitment to work with children for a full school year. Over time, the volunteer and the child build a trusting relationship, and the volunteer is able to learn more about the challenges children experience as they are learning.
The Charity currently reaches approximately 11,000 children across England annually.

In Irish schools, different initiatives to facilitate social inclusion and equality include breakfast clubs, lunch clubs, chess clubs and homework clubs. Schools promote the benefits of providing an early morning breakfast - this includes improved school attendance and retention, improvements in punctuality, interaction with adults, allowing students to have fun whilst at the same time developing social skills, meeting nutritional needs and developing positive links between the school and the family.

The Care to Learn scheme in the UK-England can help with the cost of childcare, including deposit and registration fee, childcare taster session for up to 5 days, keeping childcare place over the summer holidays, and transport to the childcare provider. This paper provides a short description and results of the most recent evaluation of the measure.

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UNICEF Serbia and the civil society organisation Centre for Education Policy with the support of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development Republic of Serbia  implemented the project “Combating Early School Leaving in Serbia”.

This project aimed to contribute to decreasing drop-out and early school leaving of children and adolescents through development, establishment, and implementation of the school-based model for early identification of children at risk of dropping out and intervention in situations where dropping-out is taking place.

Combating drop-out and ESL in Serbia has been recognised as a policy priority area.  The Strategy for Education Development in Serbia 2020 (SEDS 2020) calls for the provision of high-quality education for all, an increase of students’ coverage and attainment at all levels of education by maintaining the relevance of education and increasing efficiency. The Strategy implementation is primarily focused on the development of human capital in Serbia, thus underlines importance of the inclusion of pupils from vulnerable and marginalised groups (Roma and children from poor families, children with disabilities and from rural areas etc.).

The Danish Production schools were created in the 1980s with the aim of combating youth unemployment. Production Schools offer alternative education opportunities to improve labour market integration. The fundamental aim of this type of school is to create a practical learning environment to support young people to complete and earn qualifications in general and vocational upper secondary education and/or maintain a job. The students are offered the opportunity to develop professional, social and personal skills through counselling, participation in practical work experience and production in different workshops ranging from areas such as metalwork, carpentry and textile work in theatre, media and music-based workshops. The focus is on social, personal and physical skills which are complemented by more formal knowledge and skills. Learning processes are organised through workshops and classroom teaching, but every young person is free to organise an individual course where they may challenge themselves and build their confidence.
The most significant challenge for production schools is to prepare and motivate “non-academic” students for the ordinary school system. The last legislative change in 2006focused the aims of Production Schools so that its most important task has been to build a bridge to vocational education and training through relevant practical and academic qualifications. In 2009, there were over 6,000 students in production schools. The student capacity at each school can vary from 20-25 to over 200. Generally speaking the schools are small, with half of the schools accepting fewer than 50 students. Today there are 78 Production Schools in Denmark.

Discretionary Bursaries provide support for disadvantaged students who don?t come within the remit of the vulnerable bursaries annual one-off payment for support for studying for items such as clothing, books and other equipment, transport, meals, study visits for disadvantaged 16-18 year old students who are not defined as ?vulnerable?. It also covers young offenders who are not in custody.

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