--- title: "Back to school: Kadam Step Up" description: Worldwide, more than 258 million children and youth are out of school. They have dropped out for different reasons‚ including poverty and having to provide for their families. --- [Blog | Humana Volunteer's Thoughts](https://humanavolunteers.org/blog) # [Back to school: Kadam Step Up](https://humanavolunteers.org/blog/what-qualities-do-you-need-to-become-a-humana-volunteer-0) Written by [Humana Volunteers](https://humanavolunteers.org/blog/author/humana-volunteers) | Sep 18, 2024, 7:00:00 AM Worldwide, more than 258 million children and youth are out of school. They have dropped out for different reasons‚ including poverty and having to provide for their families. Once out of school, these young people fall behind in their personal development and have few possibilities to get an education. And we all know that quality education is the key to…. well, almost everything. > *Worldwide, more than **258 million children and youth are out of school**. They have dropped out for different reasons, including **poverty** and having to provide for their families. Once out of school, these young people fall behind in their personal development and have **few possibilities** to get an education. And we all know that **quality education** is the key to… well, almost everything.*   ## **Letting children be the drivers of their own learning** **Humana People to People India** have worked hard to remedy this unfortunate situation for more than **20 years**. In India, many children are forced to drop out of school, and once this happens, they are essentially left behind because mainstream schools are unable to **scoop them up and put them back on track**. However, with the right kind of support, these **out-of-school children** are capable of catching up with their peers. **Education specialists** at Humana People to People India realised this and developed an **innovative method** to give these children and youth a second chance at education: **Kadam**. The aim of the **Kadam (“step-up”) programme** is to “mainstream” out-of-school children back into the school system again, by providing **holistic academic support** to them. Through the programme, the children can catch up and acquire the **academic knowledge** and **skills appropriate for their age**. Once that has been achieved, they can re-join the **formal school system**.     ## **Reclaiming childhood through the gift of education** The **Kadam Centres** provide a mix of **academic learning** and **skill-based experiences**. Furthermore, children are surrounded by **supportive teachers** who focus on each individual child. **Thematic learning** is carried out every month to develop the **social, emotional, and life skills** of the children. Kadam’s **unique methods and tools of assessments** also help children **track their own development**, and let teachers assess the children’s learning processes. The idea is that the children progress, step by step, at their own pace. When a child reaches a **learning level appropriate to their age**, they go back to the **formal schooling system** after an **end-line test**. Sometimes a child is ready to go back after a few months at the Kadam centre, sometimes it will take longer. Since the inception of the Kadam programme in **2014** and up until the end of June **2022**, the Kadam method has reached **266,969 children**, across **nine Indian states**.     ## **What the Kadam students say** > *“Initially, I was not confident about going to a classroom at all. I was not sure how the other children would treat me. But, after coming to the **Kadam Centre**, I found other children to be just like me.* They were all very welcoming, and from the very first day, the **tutor madam** kept us engaged through many different **games**. At the Kadam Centre, the classes are conducted through **different activities**. All the students are divided into groups of three called ‘**trios**’, and they help each other during these activities. This **method of learning** with my classmates and my tutor’s enthusiasm has given me a lot of **confidence**,” says **Rani**, who is **12 years old** and a **Kadam student** in Haryana.     ## **International recognition** Finnish not-for-profit organisation **HundrED.org**, which seeks and shares inspiring innovations in K12 education, has selected the **Kadam Step Up programme** as an innovation that “**lets children be the drivers of their own learning**.” “Kadam, The Step Up Programme is a comprehensive set of **tools and techniques** to enable children to **close their learning gaps**, and for teachers to guide and facilitate the learning process. Each child is assessed to determine their **entry point** with **age** as the determinator for achieving learning level goals. **Continuous and formative assessments** are integrated as a participatory part of learning.”     > *”All children have a right to get good quality education in a child-friendly environment which can help them to explore their capacities to the fullest.”*  > > - Humana People to People India   [View full post](https://humanavolunteers.org/blog/what-qualities-do-you-need-to-become-a-humana-volunteer-0) ```json { "@context" : "http://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Humana Volunteers" }, "dateModified" : "2024-09-18T07:00:00.688Z", "datePublished" : "2024-09-18T07:00:00Z", "headline" : "Back to school: Kadam Step Up", "image" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "height" : 1000, "url" : "https://144171586.fs1.hubspotusercontent-eu1.net/hubfs/144171586/Blog%20entries%20%281%29.jpg", "width" : 2400 }, "mainEntityOfPage" : "https://humanavolunteers.org/blog/what-qualities-do-you-need-to-become-a-humana-volunteer-0", "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "height" : 60.0, "url" : "https://144171586.fs1.hubspotusercontent-eu1.net/hubfs/144171586/Logo%20Humana%20Volunteers%20no%20background%20effecto.png", "width" : 60.0 }, "name" : "Humana Volunteer's Thoughts" } } ```