Identification of vulnerable students
Objective: Increasing the ability to identify students with special needs derived from their disadvantaged socio-economic situation before they start school
City: Barcelona
Principio del formulario
Final del formulario
Description
Information about the situation of poverty and the protection of children are used as vulnerability criteria to identify students with social special needs. This information is provided by Social Services and the Childhood Protection Services. This early identification allows the educational local authority to articulate different social benefits for the most vulnerable students (seats reservation, free school meal, free extracurricular activities, family orientation…)
Opportunities
- Early identification of vulnerable students is a key issue for improving the balanced distribution of students across the city’s schools. Information about the number of vulnerable students to be enrolled in schools is necessary to ensure a balanced distribution among schools.
- Identification of vulnerable students must activate other anti-segregation measures such as seats reservation or economic support for students.
Limitations
- Identification strategies require a high degree of coordination among several services (Social services, kindergardens, health centers, psicopedagogycal services and schools). The design of common and particular protocols for them to detect and share information may be limited by their particular-professional points of view and interests.
Resources
https://www.sindic.cat/site/unitFiles/7849/Informe%20Deteccio_NEE_cat_ok.pdf
Improving low-demanded schools’facilities
Objective: Improving low-demanded schools’ infraestructures and facilities to make them more attractive for middle class families
City: Barcelona
Description
Barcelona has promoted several actions addressed to the improvement of low-demanded schools. In recent years families have increased their co-financing of furniture, devices and material in schools. Differences among schools according to socioeconomic compositions results in differences of capacities of schools to renew their materials and facilities. Thus, educational authorities have launched a plan to better finance facilities in low-demanded schools to avoid the rise of these visible differences.
Opportunities
- Investing in low-demanded schools allows to renew the image some schools have that make them unattractive for some families and improve educational opportunities linked to the provision of materials and devices.
Limitations
- These measures may have a high cost
- It could be understood as the acceptance of the copayment of families in public education
Resources
Pedagogical transformations of low-demanded schools
Objective: Transforming low-demanded schools (pedagogical projects) to make them more attractive for middle class families
City: Barcelona
Description
Magnet Schools programme is a measure oriented to increase the demand of low-demanded schools. It is inspired in the US experience. Adapted to the Catalan context, it is based on the settlement of an alliance between a segregated public primary school (high percentage of vulnerable students) and a public or private institution of reference and excellence in a specific field of knowledge (Picasso Museum, National Theatre of Catalonia, National Museum of Contemporary Arts, Science Museum -CosmoCaixa-, Mathematics Research Centre, The British Council, among others).). These alliances are aimed at contributing to the development of innovative and quality education projects by the schools with the objective to attract new families by providing high quality education. Three different promoters work developing such alliances in the city, two private foundations (Fundació Jaume Bofill and Fundació Catalunya La Pedrera) and the Institute of Culture of Barcelona). This iniciative is supported by other public administrations such as the Catalan Department of Education, Barcelona Regional Council and Consorci d’Educació de Barcelona.
Opportunities:
- The impact on the schooling conditions of those attending to a Magnet school is clearly positive.
- These programmes materialise the collaboration among many different organisations at the political level (promoters) and at the school level (alliances).
- The programme provides participant schools with training and support for 3 years that can contribute to the maintenance of the improvement beyond the schools’ participation.
Limitations:
- Magnet schools’ impact on demand behaviour is uncertain and therefore their ability to tackle school segregation is limited.
Resources
https://magnet.cat/
https://www.fundaciocatalunya-lapedrera.com/en/tandem-schools
https://www.enresidencia.org/ca
Free School Meals and free school fees
Objective: reducing the economic barriers for vulnerable students
City: Barcelona
Description
Vulnerable students (socioeconomic special needs) are granted with partial or completed school free meal. Additionally, vulnerable students who participate in the Shock Plan Against School Segregation get school material and excursions for free. Vulnerable students enrolled in private schools because of the Shock Plan are exempted from paying the school fees.
Opportunities:
- Free school meals ensure that vulnerable students would have at least a complete meal per day.
- Free school meals are an indirect measure for preventing absenteeism from those students who go home for lunch and do not go back to school in the afternoon.
- Free school fees for vulnerable students guarantee their better distribution among schools, as far as access to publicly funded private schools does not depend on families’ capacity to cover extra costs associated to private schools.
Limitations:
- Budgetary restrictions challenge the administration’s capacity to guarantee the same conditions to all the vulnerable students.
Support for Extra-school activities
Objective: reducing the economic barriers to access extra-school activities for vulnerable students
City: Barcelona
Description
Different measures are addressed to enhance the participation of vulnerable students in extra-school activities:
- Funding accessibility to excursions and school camps (Improvement Plan, Catalan Department of Education)
- Grants for Sport and Environment Programmes (Barcelona City Council)
- Grants for summer camps (Barcelona City Council)
- Guidance and support to vulnerable families have been promoted to stimulate vulnerable children to engage extracurricular activities. It is necessary to provide an easier access to the information about the supply and to guide these families during the enrolment process.
Opportunities
- Reducing the economic barriers for vulnerable students to access extra-curricular educational activities can improve their educational experiences and outcomes and reduce inequalities among the youth in the city.
Limitations:
- The participation of vulnerable families in extra-school activities is still low, even when costs are not a barrier.
Resources
https://serveiseducatius.xtec.cat/segarra/wp-content/uploads/usu1148/2019/09/PRESENTACIO-POEFA-2019.pdf
https://www.plaesportescolarbcn.cat/ca/subvencions-efhe_302069
A communitarian answer to school problems: “From the teaching team to the educational team”
Objective: enhancing the communitarian approach in the schools
City: Barcelona
Description
The Neighbourhood Plan is a 4 years strategy implemented by the City Council of Barcelona in the most vulnerable areas of the city. It is aimed at improving and enhancing the social capital of their inhabitants, so they can set objectives and actions to collectively improve their living conditions.
Within the “Education and public health” dimension, the Programme “From the teaching team to the educational team” consists of the incorporation of socio-educational and emotional professionals to schools to enlarge their communitarian perspective and, in particular, to emphasise the relevance of mental and emotional health for wellbeing in schools.
Socio-educational professionals are incorporated to schools to work together with the teaching staff during 4 years. The programme expects that these professionals will improve the tools of teachers to manage daily activities with vulnerable students and families. At the same time, beyond particular tools and methodologies, the Progamme aims at enhancing the communitarian approach among schools’ staff.
Opportunities
- Teachers can increase their professional abilities and their capacity to manage the students’ complex living conditions.
- As a result of the communitarian involvement of the schools, students’ and families’ engagement with the school and the school activities beyond education curricula may increase.
Limitations
- The ability of the schools of maintaining the communitarian approach once the programme finishes is still to be tested.
Resources
https://www.educacio360.cat/de-lequip-docent-lequip-educatiu/
https://www.edubcn.cat/rcs_gene/extra/01_documents_de_referencia/informes/InformeAvaluacio_NousPerfilsProfessionals_maig2020.pdf
Educational opportunities improvement Plan
Objective: Increasing the resources of high complexity schools
City: Barcelona
Description
In order to improve the conditions of those schools with a high percentage of vulnerable students two lines of action are developed. First, the increase in the number of teachers that will allow the reduction of the ratio teacher/students. And second, the transfer of funds to schools and Families’ organisations for the organisation of cultural activities and camps, and for the acquisition of materials for the school (according to their educational project).
Schools considered as being of high complexity are always prioritised to receive more teachers and resources for facilities and materials both in the ordinary distribution of resources and in relation to extraordinary funds or programmes. The idea of this prioritisations, regardless of the origin of the funds, is to strengthen the most vulnerable schools.
Opportunities
- Targeting resources to the schools with high percentage of vulnerable students may compensate for the impossibility of their families to co-pay for some activities that other schools can develop due to the available resources of their students’ families.
Limitations
- Being classified as high complexity school may generate the non-intended effect of stigmatisation.
Shock Plan against school segregation
Objective: Guaranteeing the detection of vulnerable students, their balanced distribution across the education system and the allocation of compensatory resources to ensure that they have equal opportunities to succeed in education
City: Barcelona
Description
The Shock Plan against Segregation and for Equal Opportunities and Educational Success (SP) has two goals. First, it aims to reduce the concentration of socially disadvantaged students by ensuring a more equitable distribution among schools in the city of Barcelona, including both public and private subsidized schools. Each school must reserve a number of places for vulnerable students, which must be a proportional quote of the total number of vulnerable students living in the reference catchment area. Second, the SP ensures gratuity of access to school activities and educational services to beneficiaries. It guarantees gratuity of books and materials, excursions, and other supplementary educational activities. School Free Meals are also granted to beneficiaries.
The SP started in the academic year 2019/20. It has gradually increased its coverage, starting with first grade of preschool education (3 years-old, P3) and lower secondary (12 years-old, ESO1,) in 2019/2020 and adding every year a new school grade. Therefore, in 2020-21 the SP covered 4 grades (1st and 2nd grades of preschool and secondary education: P3, P4, ESO1 and ESO2, for its acronyms in Spanish).
The balanced distribution of socially disadvantaged students is based on the early identification of vulnerable students before the enrolment process starts. Social Services participate together with educational local services, in this early detection phase.
Once vulnerable children have been detected, the educational local authority contacts their families and informs about the existence of the Shock Plan and the place reserved for the child in case they accept to participate in the programme. The pre-allocation of places is established with the aim of ensuring a balanced distribution of vulnerable children among public and private subsidised schools in each catchment area. Students registering into the system when the regular enrolment process has been closed must present a late application. The local education authority assesses the child’s risk of vulnerability and proposes a school place to the child following the same procedure set for all students at the beginning of the academic course and, therefore, taking into account the balanced distribution of vulnerable students among schools in the area.
Prior to the approval of the plan, high-level bilateral discussions were held with the heads of the municipal Social Services and representatives of the publicly funded private schools’ associations. All public policies of the educational local authority are approved by a Board of School Principals compounded by 6 representatives of the Catalan Department of Education appointed by its Minister, and 4 representatives of the City Council.
Once the Plan had been approved by the Board of Schools Principals, a round of presentations was held among the agents involved: primary and secondary principals’ board, educational services, publicly funded private schools, and specific sessions at the Municipal School Council and at the District Councils, and at the School Guarantees Commissions (where all sectors are represented) to gather impressions prior to implementation.
Opportunities
- The centrality of the issue of school segregation in the agenda gives it public visibility and may increase the awareness of the several involved actors about it.
- The Plan is also an opportunity to improve the detection of vulnerable students through the cooperation and coordination of different actors and, more broadly, to introduce a way of working more transversally among all the education actors in the city.
Limitations
- Lack of capacity to identify all vulnerable children before school enrolment
- High implementing costs
- It may be difficult to retain vulnerable families in highly social class where they feel minoritized.
Free activity school in specific districts
Objective: to even out differences between students in the city districts and provide an equal offer to the inhabitants regardless of income, level of education or place of residence.
City: Oslo
Principio del formulario
Final del formulario
Description
Oslo is providing free part-time place in the activity school (AKS). The introduction of the scheme has led to a strong increase in participation and it has given far more students the possibility to participate in the community after school. Free AKS has a socially equalizing effect, increases students’ knowledge and promotes learning and well-being through a more practical and varied school day. All students in Oslo are offered a free part-time place at the 1st grade. In addition, in eight districts all schools offer free AKS to all students in grades 2-4. The municipality decides the frame of the measure and the relevant local schools implement it locally.
Opportunities
- In general, evaluations shows that participation in the activity school is beneficial for all children. Before the measure of free places in AKS, many children in deprived areas did not participate. At school with free access, the participation has elevated to almost 100%.
Limitations
- The commitment is depending on political priorities in the yearly budgets.
Resources
https://www.oslo.kommune.no/skole-og-utdanning/aktivitetsskolen/#gref
Recruiting and retaining skilled leaders and teachers in vulnerable areas
Objective: to raise the reputation of the district.
City: Oslo
Principio del formulario
Final del formulario
Description
There is a need for highly competent and motivated teachers in the schools in Groruddalen (vulnerable neighbourhood in Oslo). They need teachers and school leaders who know how the school, along with the rest of the “team around the child”, can help reduce the importance of social background for future opportunities. These teachers and managers have a demanding job, and there is a tendency that teachers prefer to work in other less deprived areas after a few years.
The city of Oslo has therefore focused for several years on recruiting and retain skilled leaders and teachers in vulnerable areas by, among other measures, offering higher salaries. The frame of the project is a defined district – hence it is defined by geography – one area in Oslo with high share of immigrants and recipients of social benefits. The project receives national and municipal funding and is led by the local city administration in collaboration with the national government, education sector, employment sector and local environment. The project started in 2007 with the timeframe of 10 years. In 2017 there was a new agreement to continue for another 10 years until 2026.
Opportunities
- The final evaluation of the initiative shows good results in many areas. Several local areas have been strengthened and more people thrive in their local communities.
Both at national and municipality level have learned a lot from this project; on how to implement a holistic approach and how to collaborate across sectors and disciplines to achieve this.
Limitations
- Despite good results so far, there are still local areas facing major and complex challenges. There is a need to develop services and local communities to include more people in view of participating in working life and local communities. To ensure a positive change and create opportunities for those who live there, a comprehensive coordinated approach is required to combine both national and municipal instruments. The new initiative (2017-2026) provides the opportunity to identify and develop knowledge about such challenges and create arenas where actors from different sectors and disciplines can work together to develop good solutions.
Resources
https://www.oslo.kommune.no/slik-bygger-vi-oslo/groruddalssatsingen/#gref
https://www.oslo.kommune.no/slik-bygger-vi-oslo/groruddalssatsingen/groruddalssatsingen-2007-2016/#gref
https://blogg.hioa.no/byer/2017/03/24/ciens-seminar-omradeloft/
Second language training for students with low knowledge of local language
Objective: to provide language support to pupils with a mother tongue other than Norwegian.
City: Oslo
Description
All students, both in primary and secondary education, have a legal right to adapted Education. Pupils with a mother tongue other than Norwegian has the right to special language education. They may also be entitled to mother tongue training and / or bilingual vocational training if they need it.
- Special Norwegian language training is a reinforced, adapted teaching in Norwegian.
- Bilingual vocational education offers teaching in Norwegian and in the student’s mother tongue.
- Mother tongue instruction offers teaching in the student’s own mother tongue.
- Special Norwegian language tuition and bilingual vocational training are provided at the school the pupil attend. Mother tongue education can be provided at another school.
It has not been determined how long the pupils can receive special language instruction, but special language instruction shall be a transitional arrangement until the pupils have acquired good enough Norwegian skills to follow ordinary instruction. Special Norwegian language teaching and bilingual vocational training are given within the ordinary number of hours, while mother tongue instruction is offered in addition to the ordinary number of hours.
Opportunities
- The special language training was evaluated in 2016. Most of the informants in the evaluation consider introductory offers as very positive. This is stated by pupils, teachers, school leaders and school owners in both primary and secondary education. «Many students benefit greatly from the teaching of introductory courses, including teaching in Norwegian and the other program subjects. Introductory services also serve as a good introduction to the Norwegian school system and are also an important arena for socialization for many students” (Rambøll 2016: 89).
Limitations
- However, the report points out that in many cases the offer is not well enough adapted to the individual pupil, and that the transitions between different schools and between special language teaching and ordinary education do not work satisfactorily. In many schools, it is challenging to get teachers with competence in teaching the target group.
- Another important measure to ensure comprehensive education for the target group is better cooperation between teachers and between schools and school owners (municipalities). In order to establish a good connection between special language teaching and ordinary teaching, it is necessary that the teachers work closely together. This applies to both teachers in special Norwegian, bilingual vocational training and mother tongue teachers. Many people find the transition between upper secondary school and upper secondary education particularly challenging. A good collaboration between school and school owner can facilitate this transition for students.
Resources
https://www.udir.no/globalassets/upload/brosjyrer/5/veiledning_morsmal_sprak_min.pdf
Indexes of segregation and attractiveness
Objective: to identify vulnerable schools those eligible for compensatory measures.
City: Milan
Principio del formulario
Final del formulario
Description
The city of Milan has introduced in its policy design the use of a set of indicators to understand which are the vulnerable schools and also those potentially eligible for de-segregation or compensatory policies. The main indicators are the index of segregation (already known in the scientific literature) and the index of attractiveness (built by the administration). This latter is calculated as the difference between the variation of the enrolled students in the last ten years and the variation of the same-age residents in the catchment areas during the same years. For the sake of accuracy, sub-indexes should be calculated, such as index of attractiveness for Italians, for foreigners
Opportunities
- These indexes represent a valuable guide to target schools with compensatory measures and de-segregation policies
Limitations
- For an appropriate analysis, the use of these indexes should be accompanied by an analysis of the socio-cultural and economic profile of the territory sourrorunding the school. This kind of analysis presupposes more resources than the indexes calculation, then it is often left behind or just partially done.
- These indexes, being quantitative measures, risk to stigmatize certain schools. They should be use very carefully, especially in case of communication purposes.
https://www.chiamamilano.it/notizie/segregazione-scolastica-ecco-il-piano-integrato
Pre/Post school program
Objective: Facilitating the access to pre/post school service in segregated schools for children coming from more disadvantage families
City: Milan
Principio del formulario
Final del formulario
Description
Description The City has decided to change the access criteria to the pre and post school programs for a smaller group of segregated schools in need to implement theirs appeal.
Opportunities
- Pre and post school programs are an incentive for families to enroll children because of the need of work-family conciliation
- The attendance of extra hours of schools, especially for children from families with few resources, provides the opportunities of accessing activities, learning environments and relational experience that are precious for the child development and are not accessible at home
Limitations
- Currrently there is no an evaluation of the impact of this measure
Resources
https://www.comune.milano.it/servizi/pre-scuola-e-giochi-serali-iscrizioni
“Open Schools”
Objective: Promoting schools as civic centres especially in disadvantaged and at risk of exclusion neighbourhoods
City: Milan
Principio del formulario
Final del formulario
Description
The “Scuole Aperte” (Open Schools) project aims to develop the concept of school as a civic center, a place of inclusion and overcoming of any discrimination, open to the territory and at the service of the community through the activation and support of initiatives for the expansion of the educational offer, the reorganization of learning environments, the opening of school buildings to the territory during extracurricular hours, to ensure that every child/youth has equal opportunities for educational success and personal growth, to counteract the phenomena of segregation and white flight. The project, launched in 2019, is addressed to 74 schools with priority given to segregated schools.
Opportunities
- Opening school to the neighbourhoods, especially in the disadvantaged ones, can have a wide spectrum of positive impact in terms of social integration, beyond the school segregation itself.
- The school becoming a reference for the neighbourhood population is a significant step towards making the school itself more visible and acknowledge by families and children
Limitations
- Families who are more likely to avoid the local school are also the one less likely to consider the school in its role of civic centres, looking for different services or the same services in other areas or in the private market
Resources
http://www.scuoleapertemilano.it/i-progetti/scuole-aperte-2-0
http://www.vita.it/it/article/2019/02/12/milano-rilancia-con-scuole-aperte-20/150652/
Changing the school reputation
Objective: To change the school image – from “a school filled up with non-Italian pupils”, to “a dynamic school with international students”.
City: Milan
Principio del formulario
Final del formulario
Description
Through financed projects, the Parents Association of a segregated school (Scuola Cadorna), promoted for 4-5 years different methodologies in order to change the school image – from “a school filled up with non-Italian pupils”, to “a dynamic school with international students”. They work on the re-labeling, on the website design and try to open the school also to parents (i.e. Italian language classes).
Opportunities
- Working on the re-labeling and the narratives associated to a school is a soft intervention that can anyway have important effects on the reputation, which plays a significant role in driving families’ choices
Limitations
- The intervention is soft and its effect is very limited if not accompanied by other measure enhancing attractiveness
Resources
https://www.istitutocadorna.edu.it/