“Early Years Education in Faculteta Roma Community”
Opened in 2015, Svetogled community centre in Faculteta is the first step in our Early Years Education Programme, which aims to reduce the school drop-out rate among Roma children and so increase access to education for this vulnerable group.
The programme is being achived by:
- Creating places (centres) where professionals will work to build social skills, tailored to the cultural and individual needs of the children from the most marginalised communities;
- Supporting children from Roma communities in the process of acquiring the necessary skills for inclusion in the education system;
- Working in small groups with the aim of creating and moderating interactions between children, supporting the process of socialisation;
- Inspiring and maintaining motivation among parents for the long-term involvement of their children in the education system;
- Long-term work with children and families to research and develop activities that will lead to increased integration.
Target groups:
- Children (3-5 years old)
- Parents and families
The first project in the programme aims at providing a safe place where children from the Roma community of Faculteta will be able to receive care, training, support and encouragement, free of charge. Specialists in the field of pedagogy, psychology and social science are part of the multi-ethnic programme team.
We work in the community to improve the level of school attendance amongst Roma by creating a group of parents and families whose common goal is to see their children successfully attend primary school. Helping Roma children (and in some cases, their parents) to learn basic skills will help them to enter primary school on a level footing with their classmates and peers.
The activities included in the programme are aimed at reducing marginalisation in education and social adaptation in early childhood. By widening access to education, the Programme aims to help more Roma children overcome their disadvantages, break out of poverty and deprivation, and, in time, enable more Roma people to gain legitimate employment.
