Project of the Primary school  “Okučani”:
Let's Give a Chance to Changes

Specific project’s objectives:
  • To raise the capacity of staff and schools to conduct inclusion
  • To raise the quality of cooperation between key actors in the implementation of inclusion.
Project’s main activities:
Raising awareness activities:
  • A press conference on presentation of the project;
  • Regular radio show on a local radio station “Bljesak” will inform about certain activities once in a month or when it’s needed;
  • School website will update information on the project along with photos of all project activities;
  • Presentation of the project  to pupils at the beginning of the school year;
  • Presentation of the project  to parents at the first Parent Teacher Association meeting;
  • Preparation of  flyers with basic info on  the projects;
  • Preparation of a roll-on banner with highlighted information about donors, implementers and project name in Croatian and English. It will be placed at the main entrance of the school.  
Raising the capacity of staff and schools to conduct inclusion:

This activity will include training of 54 teachers, three professional associates and the school principal  to better identify the needs and problems of individual pupils and what measures to take for improving the functioning of each student.

Trainings will be conducted through workshops divided in 2 sections.

The themes of the first section of workshops are:

  • - Conducting the homeroom class
  •  - Rules and boundaries in education
  • - Sociometry
  • - The development of positive self-image.

Participants will receive materials for the implementation of the gained knowledge with pupils and lecture for ‘’Developing positive self-image’’.

The themes of the second section of workshops are:

  • - Pupils with special educational needs
  • - Pupils with special educational needs and their status in the current regulations
  • - How to understand the pupils with special educational needs and how to help them to grow up?
  • - Specialized cooperation with parents of pupils with special educational needs
  • - Pupils with behavioural problems  
  • - Understanding violence and its prevention
  • - Prevention of Violence at the regular school
  • - Practical "tools" in the ordinary work:
    • - Diary of observations
    • - Precondition for announcement of pedagogical measures and reduction of marks for student behaviour
    • - How to deal with violence, the suggestion of the school protocol.

Participants will receive printed educational materials: ‘’Pupils with special educational needs’’,’’ Pupils with behavioural problems’’ and ‘’Practical tools for prevention of violence ".

Improving the conditions of work in schools
  • Providing help of defectologist for pupils and advisory work with their parents.
  • Equipping defectologist’s office with furniture, didactic tools for teaching and a camera.
Developing cooperation, joint activities and initiatives
  • Cooperation with pupils – Besides the existing Pupils’ Council, two new pupils’ bodies will be formed Children’s Forum (for pupils from 1st to 4th grade) and Pupils’ Club (for pupils from 5th to 8th grade.) Each body will have teacher-mentor, their own logo, and a work programme- with approval of  the Council of Teachers and Expert Service (defectologist and pedagogue)
  • Cooperation with parents - Besides the Parents' Council, the Parent's Club, will be formed to represent the interests of parents and focus on including parents in activities of raising the level of parental skills, developing healthy lifestyles among children and youth, prevention of violence, promotion of human rights and improve life in the local community.
  • Cooperation with the local community - Establishing a Council for Partnership with the local community and signing Memorandum of cooperation with all the stakeholders with aim to  improve the living conditions of children and youth in the community and carry out activities accordingly. Meetings will be held once a month and members of the school will be school director and defectologist’s.

At the head of Parent's Club will be school’s pedagogue and it will have a work programme, document approved by the Council of Teachers and Expert Service.

Project management activities

According to the needs of the project activities, regular meetings of the project team, the project manager and the person responsible (1 per month), with the school staff (5 during the project) and the school accountant (each week) will be held.

Two roundtables on promotion of inclusive policies for parents
  • Children and young people with behavioural problems - capacity community response - Halt program.
  • Pupils with special educational needs - improving the conditions of education through cooperation

Schools will participate along with representatives of all three municipalities, police stations, the Office for Social Affairs and the Centre for Social Welfare. Lecturer will be an eminent representative of the profession related to the topic of the roundtable.

Marking  important dates with raising awareness activities on inclusion issues
  • National Day for the Elimination of Violence against women 22 September 2014
  • World Children's Day 03 March 2014
  • International White Cane Safety Day 15 October 2014
  • International Day for the Eradication of Poverty 17 October 2014   
  • International Day for Tolerance 16 November 2014
  • World Children's Day 20 November 2014
  • International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women 25 November 2014
  •  International Day of Disabled Persons 03 December 2014
  • Human Rights Day 10 December 2014
  • UNICEF day 11 December 2014 
  • International Women's Day 08 March 2015
  • International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, 21 March 2015  
  • International Day of Children's Books, 02 April 2015
  • International Day of Families, 15 May 2015   
Evaluation:
  • Systematic monitoring through evaluation forms for each activity, at the beginning and at the end, recording and photographing will provide relevant information on the project’s implementation. Evaluation will be conducted on leadership and user’s level.
Closure of the project-Final Conference:
  • Presentation of the project activities for the local community and media representatives. Children’s Forum and Pupils’ Club will also organize activities to show project and its results to the public.
Project’s target groups
  • Direct beneficiaries:  pupils (514), teachers (54), assistants (3), school principal, parents, (514), local community and civil society organizations (10)
  • Indirect beneficiaries:  the entire local community (4224)