Posa-t’hi

Title

Posa-t’hi

Affiliation(s)/ Institution

Ajuntament de Sabadell

Email addresses

mduran@ajsabadell.cat

Project funded by

Diputació de Barcelona

Promoter name and country

Ajuntament de Sabadell (Spain)

Type of provider

public

Area of implementation

• urban
• local

Context and motivation of the project - legislative background/obligations, institutional policy, institutional structures

New latent factors encountered in the city, such as school failure, absenteeism or the arrival of newcomers, reveal new needs that make it necessary to consider appropriate responses. Many of these young people who do not graduate from school are at a loose end or find they are lacking skills when it comes to making the transition to adult life, with serious difficulties in terms of focusing their academic and professional future, thus becoming part of a group at risk of social exclusion without finding the necessary external support. We wish to work on this lack of relationship between school and adult life and turn it into a situation with an increased number of well-prepared people. Often due to lack of knowledge of possible resources and sometimes due to a failure to monitor these young people who do not gain access to resources or who, after having gained access, do not take advantage of them due to lack of monitoring or support.

Aims of the project

Return as many young people as possible to the formal education system. Help secondary schools in providing tuition and guidance. Offer suggestions for pathways related to students’ interests. Answer queries from young people and their families.

Target group

• students
• ESL
• parents
• Guidance practitioners
• Teachers

Description of the target group

Students from the fourth year of compulsory secondary education (ESO) who have not obtained the secondary education diploma and/or young people over 16 who do not wish to continue within formal education.

Staff (selection, evaluation, training, promotion)

1 guidance counsellor

Methodological approach, activities implemented

The work method is based on close contact with the young people and their families. At the beginning, prior to referring students, a meeting is held with the tutors/guidance counsellors in the secondary schools. A meeting is then held with referred students and their families. Subsequently, one-to-one meetings with the young people are scheduled. During the process, research is carried out concerning the resources available in the local region. Once the academic year has begun (in September), the young people are closely monitored by the new training partners, through face-to-face contact or online (Facebook). The monitoring information is entered into a database that holds all the contact that has been made with each young person, as well as the training pathway they are following. At the end of the academic year (June), the young people complete the programme and the database is closed.

Results and impact - data of program internal/ external evaluation, beneficiary satisfaction, the impact of the didactical practices at individual and institutional level

From the data gathered over the years the programme has been running, it can be seen that these young people have enjoyed a high level of success: - 63% (data from the 2014-2015 academic year) of students referred initially do not complete the monitoring programme (after September) because they do not meet the requirement of not graduating. - Of the 37% who do complete the monitoring programme: o 74% take successful advantage of the pathway. o 26% do not take advantage of the pathway. The satisfaction of the young people and their families with the programme has meant that other young people who would not be part of the target group because they do not live in the city, do not study in a public secondary school, are not the right age, etc., have shown an interest in the programme and, although they are not eligible to be monitored, they are very interested in receiving information on other resources and services that could be of help to them.

Conclusions, lessons learned

School failure can be turned into a successful training pathway and bring young people back to the formal education system or provide them with tools to help them prepare for the world of work. Without the guidance/motivation/monitoring of the programme technicians, the programme would not be as successful, as all the young people have one thing in common: the need for ongoing support. Networking and coordinating resources are essential in the day-to-day work with the young people. The involvement of the family in the post-compulsory phase is essential.

Web references (url, social media presence)

The programme is positively supported on social networks, specifically on a Facebook profile: POSA-T’HI Sabadell (posathisabadell@gmail.com) This network allows for contact with the young people on an equal footing and the quick and up-to-date transfer of information.

Parameters on which the practice is applicable (check those appropriate)

• Governance and coordination
• Accessibility
• Methodologies of provision
• Measures and profiles
• Objectives and needs
• Competences and skills for practitioners
• Common framework and quality standards
• Evaluation of performance and effectiveness