Development of a model for engaging school community work in basic education
OKM021:00/2021 Development
Promoting school engagement and preventing school attendance problems (SAP) are the priorities in engaging school community work (SKY). The essential goal of the program is to produce a national model for tackling SAP. The main focus is on preventive actions at school level. The national model will be prepared on the basis of local pilots and developmental assessment work.
Basic information Completed
Project number OKM021:00/2021
Case numbers VN/1791/2021
Set by Ministry of Education and Culture
Term/schedule 15.2.2021 – 31.12.2023
Date of appointment
Contact person
Minna Polvinen, Opetusneuvos
tel. +358 295 330 262
[email protected]
Contact person
Erja Vitikka, Opetusneuvos
tel. +358 295 330 058
[email protected]
Goals and results
General objectives
• To create and consolidate a national model for engaging school community work in cooperation with stakeholders.
• To support pupils' attachment to school and to reduce school absences.
• To strengthen the capacity of schools to support the achievement of basic skills and learning outcomes through the reduction of absenteeism and the strengthening of school engagement.
• To develop and stabilize indicators for the national statistics for monitoring pupils' absences.
Starting points
The Finnish National Agency for Education has published a survey about the current situation in municipalities struggling with SAP (https://www.oph.fi/fi/tilastot-ja-julkaisut/julkaisut/kouluakaymattomyys-suomessa). According to the survey there is a multitude of different local models to tackle SAP in the absence of national guidelines. Absences are often addressed too late and the models have not sufficiently taken into account preventive measures and early intervention. National monitoring of absences is currently lacking. The national SKY-model which is created as a result of the development work aims to improve these aspects.
Collaborative developmental work will be used to create a national model for addressing and preventing SAP. Through a uniform model, the equality of pupils will improve and the focus will shift from the treatment of chronic absences to their prevention and early intervention. Through increased presence, the capacity of schools to support the achievement of basic skills and learning outcomes will be strengthened.
The call for funding for pilot projects was launched in February 2021. The selected pilots started their activities by August 2021. The Ministry provides both training and couching to support local pilots. FINEEC carries out a pilot evaluation study on the basis of which the Ministry and the Finnish National Agency for Education will submit a proposal for a national model by May 2023. The operating model will be launched and established through curriculum updates and in-service training.
Ungrouped
Person
Role, Term
Polvinen, Minna
Opetusneuvos
Ministry of Education and Culture
Role: Project contact person
3.2.2021 –
Vitikka, Erja
Opetusneuvos
Ministry of Education and Culture
Role: Project contact person
3.2.2021 –
Sergejeff, Johanna
Kehittämispäällikkö
Ministry of Education and Culture
Role: Project contact person
3.2.2021 – 31.7.2023
Developing and statute drafting in the Government
The ministries implement the Government Programme, draft acts and other statutes, and promote reforms through different kinds of projects, working groups and bodies. Information on all this is available on the Government website.
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