Foundation to launch new service for underachievers

The Foundation for Educational Services is to launch a new service that will act as the intensive care unit of the state education system. It will take children who are at high risk of educational failure and give the short, sharp boost to their literacy and numeracy skills that they need to revive their flagging prospects.

Hilti Central, as the unit is being provisionally called, will supplement the existing pilot Hilti Clubs that the foundation operates in six primary state schools and the further 12 that it plans to open in schools by the next scholastic year.

The foundation is an autonomous agency set up by Education Minister Louis Galea last year to work hand in hand with the Education Division in stemming illiteracy. Its Hilti Clubs, each with places for around 34 children of all levels in small groups, provide a family-focused literacy programme after school hours.

Twice a week for a term, children at the clubs are taught reading and writing skills in an enjoyable way, while a family member or other significant adult - usually the mother - is instructed in how to help their child with literacy at home.

Participation is voluntary, and children may re-register at the end of the term.

The feedback received from parents so far (see box) indicates that the Hilti Clubs are achieving their aims, said Sandro Spiteri, the National Coordinator of the foundation`s Institute for Child and Parent Learning Support, which will be responsible for running Hilti Central.

Hilti Central will start operating in a couple of weeks` time from Hamrun. It will be linked to a family literacy consultation service that will be provided to parents of children considered to be highly at risk of school failure, and cater for children from different schools not already served by the local Hilti Clubs.

Pupils with literacy difficulties will be referred to the service by the Education Division, and Hilti will take on those whose underachievement is due to factors that may include social or emotional difficulties.

The main focus of the consultancy service will be purely educational, explained Mr Spiteri. Children who, it is discovered, have a specific learning disability will be referred to other appropriate service providers within the Education Division for further help.

The service team, made up of a parent support officer, a child support officer and a coordinator, will assess the educational needs of both child and parents and come up with a strategy to boost learning that would be implemented by the parents, the child, the child`s school and teacher.

This approach to family-focused educational support has already been piloted by the foundation.

In one case, for example, a mother was at wits` end trying to help her underachieving son. Through the support she received, her stress and the bitterness she felt towards the school were dissipated, and she learnt how to approach the school in a constructive manner.

She also learnt how to work constructively with her child at home and he is now making progress in his schoolwork with her support.

Both Hilti Central and the Hilti clubs are for the moment focusing on reading, writing and communication skills, and will later develop the strategies for capacity-building in numeracy, Mr Spiteri said.

Explaining the philosophy behind the Hilti Programme, he said: "Our primary aim is to introduce family-focused literacy programmes in line with the idea of parent participation in child education. The parent and child are considered as one unit. We strive to provide opportunities that enable parents to strengthen their ability to nurture their child`s learning and growth. We aim to strengthen the curriculum of the home."

The UK and US were pioneers in the implementation of after-school family literacy programmes, but most countries had now followed suit, he said.

But he stressed that the Hilti Programme was only one of a range of initiatives being adopted in Malta. The others included the Complementary Education Service and the Specific Learning Difficulties Service of the Education Division; the university`s Literacy Unit and Let Me Learn Project; and the Writing Project run under the aegis of the Institute of Linguistics.

These various programmes, run in conjunction with the Curriculum Management Department of the Education Division, do not duplicate each other`s efforts, he added.

Regarding the existing six Hilti clubs, Mr Spiteri said there was no doubt that, apart from the child`s educational development, there were other, very positive spin-offs.

Parents were developing as parents, learning, for example, how to praise the child, or how to help them have a healthy mix of work and play. The parent-school relationship was also improved.

And parents were beginning to revision themselves as adults who could continue to learn throughout their lifetime.

Another spin-off was the training being provided to the team of teachers working at the after-school clubs, who are recruited from the school at which the club is based.

These teachers practise mixed ability teaching, the development of individual education plans and profiling - all important concepts highlighted by the national curriculum.

Naturally, Mr Spiteri said, the schools were very happy with this.

Parents` praise for Hilti Clubs

The following comments were passed by parents participating in the Foundation for Educational Service`s family literacy programme being run at one of the six pilot Hilti Clubs.

¤ "I had at first declined to participate in the programme as I was too busy. Once, though, I happened to attend a meeting and realised what an opportunity I was missing. After that I attended regularly and also went to centres in other towns to talk to the parents and share my experiences and those of my son."

¤ "At the club we can see for ourselves what our children are being taught by its teachers, and we`re reassured when we see them enjoying themselves, even though they`re learning."

¤ "No parent in our group feels that the programme is only for a certain type of parent. We are a very mixed group, united by the fact that we are parents."

¤ "This is an investment in our children. Mostly, it is an investment in ourselves."

¤ "As a parent, I am becoming confident in working with my daughter. Before I used to be unable to control her. Now I realise that I did not experiment. I would use the same method that I used with my other children who were good at school. I used to feel a failure with my daughter. Now I know that I have to use a different approach."

¤ "The club`s teachers don`t divide the children into those who are good at school and those who are not. They are all treated equally.

"My son has gained so much confidence because he does not feel that he is treated as a slow learner. We can see how the teachers move around the pupils, reassuring those who are having difficulties, helping them in a special way without sending the message that they are weak."