Private institution of additional education and the implementation of social projects “Center for Social and Psychological Assistance”

Portfolio of social competencies: programs of additional social education for children in difficult life situations

CSS contribution, rubles

3 456 858

Total budget, rubles

3 888 358

Implementation period, months

14

Organization site

Beneficiaries

Children

95

Families

89

Project idea

The project will engage primary school students in difficult life situations, including orphans and children without parental care, as well as those from foster and low-income families. Why them? The answer is simple - children from these categories share common challenges: learning difficulties, lack of motivation, and poor communication with peers and adults.

In order to help children in difficult situations, the project has developed 4 supplementary social education programs:

1) “I Know. I Can. I Do." (skills in handling information, text, and speech);

2) "Beneficial Game Library" (role-playing functions and positions);

3) "My Safety" (safety skills in everyday and extraordinary situations);

4) "The Alphabet of Emotional Literacy" (the ability to recognize and express one's emotions).

The programs will run in two periods: September-November 2023, and January-March 2024. For peer interaction, master classes, sports and creative events of the "Success Academy" profile shift will be organized.

For adults (parents, specialists, educators), training is being launched under the "Circles of Care" program: this is a series of face-to-face sessions (in Kirov) or webinars (in Nizhny Novgorod and Kostroma).

After the completion of the project, a regional conference "Social Competencies of Students in the Younger Grades of School - Overcoming Difficult Life Situations" will be organized for 70 supplementary education system specialists from three regions. Also, the compilation "Supplementary Social Education Programs for Students in the Younger Grades of School with Learning and Communication Difficulties: A Pilot Project" will be published.

Relevance

In Kirov, there are 600 foster families. According to the assessment of L.M. Lobastova, the head of the Social Support and Guardianship Department of the Kirov administration, significant changes have taken place in foster families during the pandemic: almost 90% of the foster families' composition has been updated due to newly arrived permanent residents in Kirov; among the children, the category of orphans has significantly increased, and more than 3.6 thousand underprivileged families are registered at the Kirov Center for Social Assistance to Families and Children.

Such families face numerous problems, and one of the most critical, frequently mentioned by foster parents and guardians, is the interaction between the foster family and the educational institution. When a child from a difficult background begins to struggle with their studies, parents do not always understand how to help, and over time this starts to impact the family relationships and the child's overall behavior, including their interaction with educators and peers.  If a child did not receive proper development and education during the preschool period, they are bound to face difficulties during their school education. If parents are unable or unwilling to assist, the child's motivation declines, leading to further problems. The situation can escalate to the extent that some families, feeling desperate, start pondering over returning their child to a state institution.

It's of utmost importance to alter the situation and offer such assistance and support to children and parents. The project's programs, such as the "Circles of Care" program for adult education, could serve as a "lifesaver", because only a competent adult, who understands how to provide pedagogical support, can successfully bring up a child.

Social effect

Improvement in the understanding of the school curriculum among primary school students from vulnerable groups in the cities of Kirov, Nizhny Novgorod, and Kostroma.

KPI

64
number of primary school students in difficult life situations to be educated according to supplementary social education programs
30
number of primary school students in difficult life situations participating in the "Academy of Success"
50
number of responsible adults from the children's immediate environment, who will learn the techniques of pedagogical support for primary school students in difficult life situations
4
number of supplementary education programs for primary school-aged children in difficult life situations
100
number of copies of the collection "Supplementary Social Education Programs for Students in the Younger Grades of School with Learning and Communication Difficulties: A Pilot Project"

KPI

65
number of primary school students in difficult life situations to be educated according to supplementary social education programs
30
number of primary school students in difficult life situations participating in the "Academy of Success"
50
number of responsible adults from the children's immediate environment, who will learn the techniques of pedagogical support for primary school students in difficult life situations
4
number of supplementary education programs for primary school-aged children in difficult life situations
100
number of copies of the collection "Supplementary Social Education Programs for Students in the Younger Grades of School with Learning and Communication Difficulties: A Pilot Project"

Project Results

Children's outcomes from the project:

They have acquired the skill of conscious and correct reading aloud in full words, taking into account individual abilities, learned to absorb the content of a text, understand it, and present factual information; respond orally to questions, substantiate their responses with examples from the text; pose questions about the factual content of a work; engage in discussions about what they've read;

They have studied the rules of safe behavior at home, on the street, personal hygiene, the procedures for calling emergency services, how to interact with strangers and animals, road safety rules, safe internet communication, and simple first-aid techniques;

They have enriched their emotional vocabulary, familiarized themselves with the causes of emotions in people, and learned to express and recognize basic emotions in themselves and others;

They have learned to recognize commonalities, identify differences, determine main and secondary factors based on the context of a task;

They have learned to construct logical chains from interconnected and independent concepts;

They have learned to divide complex or composite objects into individual parts or elements, identify existing connections between objects, apply a general assertion to a specific object, and attribute to it properties common to many other items.

 

Furthermore, educational and methodological complexes for four supplementary education programs have been developed. The complex includes an supplementary education program, the creation of informational and methodological materials, and workbooks filled with tasks for each session. The educational and methodological complexes are developed in accordance with the Federal State Educational Standard for Primary General Education, and they aim to foster "universal educational activities" that encourage children's ability to self-develop and self-improve through conscious and active assimilation of new social experiences.

Project progress after CSS funding

The organization aims to continue the delivery of supplementary education programs for primary school students, partly funded by parents and partly by social certificates from the "Regional Navigator for Supplementary Education in the Kirov Region" of the Kirov City Administration's Department of Education.

A training seminar for supplementary education teachers is planned, to share methods and techniques for supporting primary school students with learning difficulties, and the application of educational-methodological complexes in work with other categories of children.

Educational-methodological complexes have been handed over to project partners in the cities of Kostroma and Nizhny Novgorod. Our colleagues plan to utilize the supplementary education programs to implement their own support schemes for families with children at risk.

The organization is planning to continue its search for donors to fund further educational programs for families with children experiencing difficult life circumstances.