All in School

November 19, 2019

Over a period of three years, the “All in School” project will identify and enrol 34,000 OOSC into primary education. It will also aim to retain an additional 20,000 primary-school students who have been identified as at-risk of dropping out of primary education. The project will be implemented in the Colombian regions of Barranquilla, Cartagena, Choco, Medellin and the border territories with Venezuela.

The children reached through this project face multiple barriers and risks that prevent them from accessing or staying in school. Barriers include child labour, poverty, violence, poor infrastructure, the costs associated with education (uniforms/stationary) and child prostitution.

The All in School project has three core objectives:

Increased access to primary education for OOSC in the project areas of Colombia;
Increased retention of students/learners at risk of dropping out in primary education; and
Improved institutional capacity of local education authorities to implement and sustain access and retention programmes for OOSC and at-risk students in their territories.

Project activities consist of a series of door-knocking enrolment campaigns, a media campaign, the distribution of school kits and uniforms, school-feeding and transportation programmes, teacher training in psychosocial support for at-risk children, capacity-building initiatives and after school academic support.

Barriers:

Poverty
Lack of school infrastructure
Community and parental attitudes to education
Violence & crime
Freedom of movement

Solutions:

Provision of schools kits, uniforms and school feeding
School construction
Mobilization and enrolment campaigns
Psychosocial support/Teacher training
School transportation

Unique Project Elements

Monitoring and Evaluation
The All in School Project will apply a developmental evaluation approach. This will involve compiling key indicator data by adapting and applying UNICEF’s 8 step monitoring approach throughout the length of the project. Achievement towards the short and medium term projects target on access and retention will rely on the National Ministry of Education SIMAT and SIMPADE tools. SIMAT provides individual information of every child from his/her enrolment until their transfer, exit or graduation. SIMPADE compiles student data (nuclear family and their institutional context) to assist school administrators to make decisions that improve school permanence (retention rates).

Innovations
Supporting Shakira’s fight for the fulfilment of education as a fundamental right Pies Descalzos focuses on two lines of work:
- Quality Public Education and Tools for Life which gives teachers and school managers support to establish an innovative teaching system that involves a combination of curricular, extracurricular (art, music and sport) and psychosocial activities
- Building innovative and architecturally designed learning spaces
FPD focus not only on enrolling new students, but nursing those who are at risk of dropping out of school. Giving them socio-emotional training and the tools to recognize their capabilities, change their quality of life and transform their communities.