A new method of working with children based on backyard pedagogy was initiated by The Foundation “Grant Fund for Płock” in 2013.
The concept of our work is focused on the assumption that street pedagogy activities are addressed mainly to children and young people coming from environments that are difficult in terms of upbringing, spending most of their time in urban space, not using the day support centres addressed to them. On the other hand, the main assumption of the activities is direct work with the child in “his/her living environment”, to stimulate and encourage them to constructive action and alternative to “being on the street” to spend their free time through animation, preventive, educational and educational activities.
We assume that the main result of the task will be a significant limitation of the social marginalization process for children covered by the program, and through the special care of the street pedagogue and participation in the social space, the relationships between children and the environment will improve. The immediate effect will be to reduce the scale of risky behaviour of children, including primarily alcohol consumption, psychoactive substances and entering into conflict with the law. The implementation of the project in an occupational form will strengthen the participants’ need to undertake similar activities in the future, activate them to constructive activity and will influence their functioning in society in the future. In a shorter but very important from the point of view of further implementation of the tasks, the perspective will allow to protect some of the children covered by the program before referring to care and education centres.
Currently, our street workers can be found in three Płock housing estates, selected after consultation with employees of uniformed services and social assistance. They take care of children from the Dworcowa housing estate; they run classes on the Dobrzyńska housing estate and can be found in the Płock Old Town.
Our pedagogues do not have desks or chairs, they use lawns, playing fields, parks, courtyards. They have a willingness to work, a head full of ideas, enthusiasm and imagination. And board games, skipping ropes, balls, or what you can play in the city space.
The primary goal of street working is to reach out with professional help to children and youth at risk of social exclusion, who grow up in families showing stratification of social problems and remain outside the sphere of influence of aid, educational, care and educational institutions.
The work for us was the work of Warsaw street workers who were associated in the GPiAS Praga Północ Association. Tomek Szczepański and Andrzej Orłowski shared with us their knowledge about working on the street, trained candidates for pedagogues and substantively support the entire period of initiating and running the project.
We carry out street work on the basis of external funds received in competitions and funds from our Founders: the City of Płock, PKN ORLEN and Basell Orlen Polyolefins.
