Project
About the NOROC project
NOROC is an acronym for the Norwegian-Romanian Initiative for Quality in Education, implemented between 2021-2023 in Romania by the Terre des hommes Foundation in partnership with the Physically Handicapped Children’s Support Association (Romania) and FAFO Norway.
The general objective of the project was to ensure children’s access to fair and quality education by supporting and implementing measures to prevent school dropout, especially in rural areas.
Based on the analysis of the needs identified through the applied questionnaires and field visits to the schools, the following investments agreed with the schools were made:
- IT equipment for 23 school structures (laptops, printers, multifunctional, smart boards), educational software recommended for digital teaching and learning and which are useful in teaching certain more difficult notions to children with SEN
- games to encourage creativity, critical thinking, games adapted to their ages such as: MGS chess kit, Monopoly, Dixit (secondary cycle), Don’t worry brother, Activity Junior, Game Wonders of the World (primary cycle)
- Outdoor equipment (training/hoodie, pants and sports shoes) was offered to all pupils in the project together as a prize for the progress made within the project. These will encourage them to continue participating in outdoor sports activities, as does the Movement, Game and Sport trainings.
Teacher training
As part of the teacher training program, the course support, the teacher training plan and the course delivery calendar were prepared and presented. The training focused on a) quality inclusive education; b) techniques and strategies for working with children at risk of dropping out of school (Movement, Play and Sport); c) techniques and strategies for working with children with CES; d) writing projects for multiplying the intervention. The courses offered to teachers were in the field of inclusive and quality education, with an emphasis on preventing school dropout and working with children with SEN. Safeguarding courses were also offered to ensure the safety and protection of students from the NOROC program. Teaching staff benefited from course support and information materials.
76 teachers trained in working with children and young people at risk of leaving school early
62 teachers were trained in working with children and young people with CES.
The trainer from the project and the educational expert elaborated wo courses on inclusive education and intervention methods and techniques for children with CES. These courses were held online, and each educational specialist within the project was informed about the importance of applying the legislative framework from the early stage of child intervention. The necessity of communication with parents in the creation of the educational support network was underlined. Concrete methods of intervention for children with CES were also presented, regarding the management of risk situations in the classroom and the motivation for continuing their studies in order to pursue a career specific to their personality.
Direct support for children
- Support for 610 children or young people at risk of school drop out
- More than 700 children from 5 counties participated in the afterschool program and benefited for 10 months from a program that consisted of remedial education activities, psychosocial activities, plus the hot meal program. In addition, the schools were also provided with teaching materials, IT equipment and supplies for all children.
County conferences (between September and October 2023 )
More than 120 people participated in the project’s regional conferences. The county conferences were held in Bacău, Dolj, Olt, Gorj and Vâlcea counties and aimed at participants from the educational field: representatives of schools in the project, representatives of new schools wishing to be part of the school network support, representatives of local public authorities, CJRAE, representatives of ISJ, representatives of civil society, school mediators.
The conferences had several goals: the dissemination of the integrated intervention guide, the exposure of the best practice models experienced at the school level by children and teachers and the creation of premises for the development of the sustainability of the project through the transfer of information to other schools, teachers, actors relevant in the field of education. Thus the foundations were laid for the development of a national network that would function as a promoter of the innovative measures developed within the project.
Advocacy Conference (November 3, 2023), more than 50 participants
It was organized to train the relevant actors at the local and county level (teachers, ISJ representatives, CJRAE representatives, school mediators, mentors, civil society representatives) from the community level and to design advocacy initiatives that prioritize the program of after school on the agendas of local and county public authorities in order to continue the activities within the project, the implementation of methodologies and best practice measures.
The following objectives were pursued:
o Creating a common space for communication and debate on the project’s methodologies and implemented good practice measures,
o Conducting an advocacy workshop to train participants in order to design and implement advocacy initiatives at the local level in order to attract supporters to support the continuation of the after school program.
The final conference (24 noiembrie 2023, Bucharest)
Over 70 people attended, such as representatives of the Ministry of Education, NGOs, teachers, mediators and mentors. The main objective of the event was to disseminate the results of the project and to discuss the solutions for improving the transition of students between educational cycles and preventing school dropout. Key sessions of the conference included the presentation of the integrated interventions guide and the best practice guide, followed by discussions on their applicability in the project schools. Also, the results of the monitoring and evaluation activities of the project were presented, highlighting the positive impact on the students. An important moment was the testimonial session, where teachers, students and mentors shared their experiences of the project, demonstrating the concrete improvements achieved in the school communities.
The project ’The Initiative ’NOROC in Education’ – A NOrwegian – ROmanian Initiative for Quality in Education’ benefits from a 998.000 € grant from Norway through the Local Development Program. The aim of the project is to improve the quality of educational services, especially in rural areas in 5 counties of Romania.
This document has been created with the financial support of Norwegian Grants 2014 – 2021. The content of this material does not reflect the official view of the Programme Operator, of the National Focal Point or of the Office of the Financial Mechanism. The information and opinions expressed herein represent the sole responsibility of the author(s).
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