Protocol signed for preschool project in Ribeira Grande - Communication

Secretaria Regional da Educação, Cultura e Desporto

The Regional Secretary for Education, Culture, and Sport, Sofia Ribeiro, presented today the pilot project aimed at promoting success among preschool students in Ribeira Grande.

The project will be implemented through a cooperation protocol signed among the Regional Secretariat for Education, Culture and Sport, the Ribeira Grande City Council and the Ribeira Grande Basic Education School.

"The project applied to preschool falls within the Azores 2030 Education Strategy to promote success for all our children. For this to happen, we must work not only in terms of the age group but also in terms of the work we do with each child, through individualised work. This is precisely what we are starting to do in partnership with the municipality of Ribeira Grande," she explained.

According to the government official, the municipality has "less favourable indicators in terms of school success," and for this reason, it has been included in this pilot project.

Sofia Ribeiro explained that students are initially "assessed in a game context to analyse a series of skills that "are essential for their progress at a later stage when they enter elementary school."

The project began as part of the EPIS - Entrepreneurs for Social Inclusion programme, which has been running for a decade in several basic education and secondary schools across the Region. 

"We have already presented the results of the progress made in the EPIS programme, which are positive. With this pilot project, we intend to assess it properly, determine how the partnership with the municipality and the work carried out by the school are progressing, and know how it is perceived by the children and its suitability in the work dynamics," she explained.

Sofia Ribeiro stated that, once the pilot project has been assessed, the Regional Secretariat intends to extend the programme to other schools in other municipalities.