Description
The "Success Academy" is an educational and developmental equal opportunities project for 1,700 children threatened by social exclusion. The target group include pupils in 120 primary schools in 25 cities. In addition, 1,700 volunteers will be involved to regularly work with children on a one-on-one basis to help them overcome learning difficulties and improve their confidence and ability to win. While focusing on educational and motivational support volunteers will also work with children to develop activities for the local community in response to diagnosed local needs. We will use the experience of our Partner from Iceland to ensure that the project is innovative and different from others projects. There will be a strong focus on project promotion. The project outcomes will be visible in a number of dimensions. The participants will gain practical experience in doing things for the local community and develop sustainable pro-active attitudes. Hence, the project will contribute to the growth of civil society.
Summary of project results
"The Success Acadamy project responded to problems faced by socially vulnerable students identified in collaboration with schools. An increasing social stratification has been observed in schools. Children from socially vulnerable families have been experiencing peer exclusion, loneliness and mockery. Approximately 1.7 million children aged 0-17 in Poland are poor or socially excluded. Socially vulnerable children often do not experience any development impulse in their community. The objective of the project was to provide equal opportunities in education and social skill development for socially excluded children to create better prospects for future success. Moreover, the project has promoted volunteering by involving 1786 youth volunteers who worked with smaller children on a one-on-one basis to help them solve school performance issues and motivate them to pursue their aspirations. It matched 1,786 student-tutor pairs across Poland; they spent 26,469 hours in motivation and education sessions. Meanwhile, volunteers implemented 178 activities with children in their local communities to solve local issues and improve public participation. The project used a broad range of methodologies such as tutoring, training for tutors, e-learning, empowerment workshops, success gala presentations, community engagement video and an evaluation report. The project beneficiaries included 1,786 children from socially vulnerable families (974 boys, 812 girls), 1,786 volunteer tutors (1,500 women, 286 men) and 131 schools. The initiative partnered with the project.Polska.is association from Iceland which shared its education approach based on individual engagement with children combined with their integration into the local community. The Partner offered its expertise and provided consultations. In addition, the project established working relationships with 131 schools; the collaboration was well planned and reasonable, which helped successfully recruit children exhibiting the biggest socialisation problems and thus requiring an individualised support."
Summary of bilateral results
The partnership with the Association of the Iceland-ProjektPolska.is project "ACADEMY OF SUCCESSES" has contributed to strengthening the results of the project. The project partner learned, among others, about innovative methods for building partnership with the child, the principles of effective motivation of the child, methods of analyzing working with children, integration efforts of civil society. This knowledge helped to achieve good results, both quantitative and qualitative. Close cooperation in the project helped to strengthen the integration of various social groups (1,786 children, 1,786 volunteers and 131 partner schools) and contributed to significant development of civil society through organization of 178 social events. The Icelandic partner increased the quality of activities, mainly through exchanging experiences and implementing Icelandic good practices of volunteers working with children. From April to September 2014, the Icelandic partner participated actively in preparing the draft (empowerment workshop, study visit to Cracow). An ongoing contact was maintained with the project partner, replacement materials, presentations, and tips were shared throughout the project implementation. The partner was constantly informed about the progress of the project. The cooperation exceeded the established framework – new project were jointly prepared. A study visit was organized for representatives of the Project Promoter, empowerment workshop for consultants was conducted. Cooperation in the development of e-learning module for volunteers and promotion and dissemination of information about the project in the Partner’s community greatly affected the visibility of project activities. Bilateral partnership based on the participants’ complementary competences and on experiences from different countries has helped to achieve the set goal and also resulted in strengthening the synergies, thus improving the effectiveness and success of the project.