Objective of the activity –To increase access for primary school students from marginalized Roma community to regular teaching through assistants and mentors.                                                                                                                                                                                                         

In the Roma population in Žilina, only about 75% of people have completed basic education and therefore have a low chance of getting a job. The catchment schools for children from families living on Bratislavská streed are currently three primary schools – Jarná, Javorku and Gaštanová. These schools are attended by approximately 70 Roma students, including 30 children in the first stage of primary school. The education system is not yet sufficietly prepared to respond to social disadvantage, create an inclusive environment and take into account the cultural specificies and individual needs of children. Due to the higher number of children from MRC, these schools applied annually for support for the performance of a teacher´s assistant, but the allocated subsidies do not meet the real needs for pre-school and school education and training process and do not allow to provide the required number of assistants.

Access to regular tutoring will contribute to better development of 30 children from MRC attending primary school. As part of the activity, children will be able to repeat the curriculum in an innovative experiental form. The form of tutoring will be important, which will enable children to better understand the curriculum and attract their attention. Children will attend meetings twice a week in three groups of about 10 students in the school premises. Children will be tutored by 6 mentors. Mentors are members of the elementary school teaching staff and will rotate as needed between groups of students. The mentors will be assisted by their assistants, who will be selected among the students of the University of Žilina, who have already cooperated with the Community Center during the academic year 2019-2020. Children will have writing and art supplies, exercise books, a pencil case and interactive work aids.  In each classroom, there will be a locker for storing children’s writing utensils for the duration of the project. The reason is insufficient storage space in the place of residence of children from MRC as well as ensuring that children will have all the necessary tools during the project. At the end of the project, things will remain for the children.