Oktopus is an individual, needs-oriented and flexible support service for pupils affected by
truancy and school failure from Year 5 onwards
in the district of Ludwigsburg. If necessary, the outreach workers travel throughout the entire
district. Parents and guardians, who are often highly stressed themselves
, are actively involved. Under the motto "Be smart, don't turn blue!", the
octopus acts as a likeable mascot on the internet, on Instagram and on attractively designed
flyers and brochures to promote the project. In the district of Ludwigsburg
, this is now a firmly established point of contact for parents,
teachers, school social workers, youth welfare offices, police, doctors and therapists in the area of school absenteeism.
Julian Bach, Oktopus project manager at Caritas Ludwigsburg-Waiblingen-Enz, and his
employees explained to the members of the working group that the project is "literally flooded with inquiries
" and that the project's workload is very high. A major advantage of
Oktopus is that the individual, often comprehensive support needs of the child concerned
can be met in full. "The focus is always on building relationships with the pupils
," says project employee Lierin Hanika. She and her colleagues
are very flexible in this regard and also accompany the young
people and their families to court appointments if necessary, which is a great relief for them. Tandem support
is also possible, where one member of staff primarily looks after the child's interests,
while the other helps a parent, often the mother, to reflect on their own role
and develop solution strategies.
Pupils who take part in the project have to deal with a wide range of challenges
: finding their identity, psychological difficulties, unwanted pregnancies,
bullying, fears of various kinds and social challenges, stress
at home such as divorce, violence, conflicts within the family or even delinquency
can play a role in school refusal. Even seemingly banal problems
such as long journeys to school by bus and train can overwhelm young people who are already reluctant to go to school
and contribute to the development of an attitude of refusal. The
project staff anticipate that the number of
cases will continue to rise sharply in the coming years, partly due to the effects of the
long school closures.
Heiner Pfrommer, Head of Social Affairs for the Ludwigsburg district and also Chairman of the regional ESF working group, thanked those responsible for the project: "Thank you very much for the comprehensive insight you have given us into the project today and for your important work for young people in school difficulties."
The Oktopus project emerged from the predecessor project "Fallmanagement Schulverweigerung", which has successfully acquired ESF funding every year since 2014. Other projects funded by the regional ESF Plus in the district of Ludwigsburg in 2022 are AVDual (support for young people at vocational schools with the aim of finding an apprenticeship), Level 3 (low-threshold offer to develop new career prospects) and SAM Plus (low-threshold outreach offer to reduce factors that hinder placement and improve employability).
The ESF office at the Ludwigsburg District Office (Stephanie Mayer, phone 07141 144-42052, e-mail: stephanie.mayer@landkreis-ludwigsburg.de) will be happy to answer any questions about ESF-Plus in the Ludwigsburg district and the funded projects. For further information on the Oktopus project, interested parties and those affected can contact Caritas Ludwigs-burg-Waiblingen-Enz at oktopus@caritas-ludwigsburg-waiblingen-enz.de.
Background:
The ESF Plus is an important labor market policy instrument of the European Union (EU) for promoting employment in Europe. Since the European Economic Community was founded in 1957, it has improved employment opportunities, supported people through training and qualifications, helped to reduce disadvantages on the labor market and combated poverty and social exclusion. It is the EU's most important financial and funding instrument for investing in people. The Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Social Affairs, Health and Integration is supported in its regional funding activities by the regional ESF working groups, which are based in the city and district councils and have their own funding contingent.
