Thanks to the Inclusion Project, School Attendance by Roma, Sinti and Caminanti Children Increases

The National Project for the Inclusion and Integration of Roma, Sinti and Caminanti Children has succeeded in involving more and more schools and pupils while also significantly improving school attendance nationwide. During the 2022/2023 school year, the project reached 123 schools and 408 classes, with a total of 719 students. Only two years ago, for the 2020/2021 school year, there were 91 participating schools and 396 classes, with a total number of participating Roma and Sinti pupils of only 590. One of the Project outcomes to be highlighted is also a significant improvement in school attendance at national level: the average attendance of Roma and Sinti pupils was just over 50% in 2020/2021, rising to almost 70% in 2022/2023. The increase mainly concerns pupils enrolled in middle schools (from 11 to 14 years of age). These are the positive outcomes of the 2021-2023 three-year period of the National Project for the Inclusion and Integration of Roma, Sinti and Caminanti Children, promoted by the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Health and the Istituto degli Innocenti, as the organisation responsible for technical and scientific assistance. The national seminar at the end of the three-year period took place at the Istituto degli Innocenti in Florence. It was an opportunity to reflect on the journey made during the three-year period and its outcomes. However, it was also an opportunity to share key elements and guidelines for the 2024-2029 plan.

National project for school, housing and service network

The National Project for the Inclusion and Integration of Roma, Sinti and Caminanti Children takes place in 13 Italian metropolitan cities: Bari, Bologna, Cagliari, Florence, Genoa, Messina, Milan, Naples, Palermo, Reggio Calabria, Rome, Turin and Venice. Implemented in 2016 within the framework of the 2014-2020 Inclusion PON (National Operational Plan), the Project continues along the path taken in 2013 within the framework of Law no. 285/97 by significantly expanding over time the involvement of target areas, schools, children and families.

The Project aims at:

• improving school inclusion and educational success of Roma, Sinti and Caminanti children and adolescents;
• fighting early school leaving;
• improving access to social and health services for children and their families;
• consolidating multi-sectoral local governance and creating a collaborative network between member cities.

The project envisages actions that are mainly focussed on three areas: schools, housing and the local service network. The direct target of the project is Roma, Sinti and Caminanti children and young people from 3 to 14 years of age and their families. However, fundamental to its success is the work on the indirect target i.e., all non-Roma, Sinti and Caminanti children and young people, school directors, teachers, and administrative, technical and auxiliary staff of the schools involved in the project, social and health workers, associations and, more generally, local networks for inclusion.

Monitoring and Evaluation of the National Project

As part of the national project, the Istituto degli Innocenti provides technical assistance through guidance, tutoring and also monitoring and evaluating local initiatives. The result of this activity was presented at a national seminar hosted by the Institute. Participants were actors involved in local projects such as project contact persons, teachers, service and third sector workers and community figures. The work mainly focused on three themes:

• The meaning of work in educational contexts: between cooperation and reduction of early school leaving;
• The participation and leadership of Roma and Sinti communities.
• Access to services and health promotion.

The seminar was also an opportunity to showcase the good practices implemented in the 13 metropolitan cities involved in the Project. In fact, a small exhibition was set up in the Institute with an exhibition panel dedicated to every city to illustrate the activities carried out and the experiences made there to promote the inclusion of Roma, Sinti and Caminanti children.