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- Русский
It is with great pleasure that I welcome today's event, which is taking place on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the Out-of-School Time Activities Grant Programme for the support of students belonging to vulnerable groups of the population.
A programme which, through the implementation of a large number of targeted actions in the afternoon, aims to provide creative activities and personalised support for children and to minimise their potential social exclusion and marginalisation.
Just like the goal set with its implementation in 2013, the Programme, through the close cooperation between the Ministry, the school and the family, ensures a healthy and safe environment of activity, achieving the effective strengthening of the participating pupils.
The Programme includes actions that focus on cultivating children's special talents, enhancing their skills, improving their living conditions and strengthening the way they interact with their social environment. At the same time, these activities contribute to their learning development and to their healthy social and emotional development.
Confirming the importance and value of the Programme is the continuing upward trend in the number of requests from schools to participate in it. It is characteristic that in the current school year 2022-23, 787 individual children's actions are sponsored nationwide, while in the first year of operation of the Programme in 2013, the corresponding actions were only 160.
I will not elaborate further on the value of the Programme, since the personal testimonies of those directly involved in its implementation and the analysis by the Health Education and Citizenship Committee highlight its positive results in the clearest way.
What I would like to point out is that the Programme is part of the coherent policy developed by our Ministry for the effective support and strengthening, not only of children belonging to vulnerable groups of the population, but also of each and every pupil individually. The school environment is one of the most important areas for the exercise of preventive policy, as well as for the identification, support and empowerment of children facing difficulties in the wider environment in which they live and develop.
In this context, with the Health Education and Citizenship Committee as our agency, and in cooperation with other Ministries, Deputy Ministries and competent services, we aim to implement our commitments in relation to the National Strategy of the Cyprus Dependency Treatment Authority 2021-2028. In addition, we support policies and programmes that fall under the various thematic areas of Health Education and Citizenship, such as smoking, addictive substances and road safety. The Governance Programme itself stresses the importance of education as a compensatory measure towards children who are vulnerable.
We seek to make school establishments places of prevention of these phenomena. To this end, we place particular emphasis on:
- the development of students' social skills and critical thinking,
- the successful implementation of the learning objectives set by the school for each student through the curricula,
- the provision of a safe and supportive school environment, and
- the faithful application of legislation on school premises.
I am absolutely confident that, based on the plans I have mentioned and our willingness to cooperate and make use of the proposals and suggestions of the competent bodies, we will achieve our common vision of creating the necessary conditions to ensure the healthy and safe development of our children.
In conclusion, I would like to congratulate all those who contribute in various ways to the successful implementation of the Health Education and Citizenship actions.
In conclusion, I would like to congratulate all those who contribute in various ways to the successful implementation of the Health Education and Citizenship actions.
I would like to congratulate all those who contribute in various ways to the successful implementation of the Health Education and Citizenship actions. Recognizing the great responsibility we have both at the level of the Ministry and at the level of schools at all levels, I assure you that we will continue, as we should, to "keep an eye on the child", which is exactly the title of today's event.
IP
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