The Family, Community, School Link (FCSL) programme aims to foster relationships between schools, families, and local communities. As stated in the National Education Strategy, the programme aims to transform and strengthen a cohesive support system for students through active family engagement, enhanced support for educators, and integrated partnerships with community organisations.
Initiated as a pilot programme in Maltese state schools during scholastic year 2024-2025, the FCSL initiative serves as a fundamental component of the Early Leaving from Education and Training Strategy (ELET), which was launched in July 2023. This strategy aligns with the European Union’s target of reducing ELET rate to nine per cent by 2030. FCSL primarily addresses prevention and intervention by embarking on a person-centred approach from an early age, aligning with the goals of the National Education Strategy 2024–2030.
In fact, one of the programme’s main aims is to support educators by developing opportunities that better enable parents and guardians to actively engage in their children’s education. To achieve this, the programme was introduced in four schools as a pilot programme, with the support from national and EU funds. The official launch took place in October 2024 in the following schools: St. Margaret College, Bormla Primary School; St. George Preca College, Ħamrun KA Primary School; St. Therese College, Msida Primary School; and St. Clare College, San Ġwann Primary School. In 2025, the programme is currently in the phase of including six additional schools, reaching out to more than double of the initial pilot’s plan in its first year.
Since its launch in October 2024, the programme has made significant progress, conducting over 800 interventions and addressing more than 300 cases. This success has been driven by the commitment of newly employed and trained FCSL outreach officers, within the Directorate for Planning and Strategic Foresight at the Ministry for Education, Sport, Youth, Research and Innovation. The FCSL initiative employs diverse models of operation according to the school context needs and works directly with the school leadership team, educators, social workers and all the psycho-social team through an integrated approach to maximise service use and ensure a holistic approach to support salient adults in students’ lives.
It is important to highlight the pivotal role of stakeholder collaborations in maximising the reach and impact of the FCSL initiative within the community. Outreach officers have worked closely with various public service departments, entities, NGOs and organisations, including but not limited to, the Richmond Foundation, Identità, Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, Speech Therapy Services, JRS Fondazzjoni Sebħ, and Spiro Mizzi Foundation, to create a network of support for students and their families. Ongoing efforts also aim to establish ongoing collaboration with organisations such as FSWS-ACTS, YMCA, Karl Vella Foundation, Aġenzija Sapport, Rise Foundation, Hand in Hand, Active Ageing, Positive Parenting, Inspire, ADHD Malta and Malta Dyslexia Association, to mention a few.
Since the initiative’s launch, several success stories have emerged. One of the key achievements has been the enhancement of parental engagement through strengthened communication between parents and teachers, particularly through online support platforms.
This has helped streamline interactions and ensured that parents stay informed on their children’s academic progress. Outreach officers have also provided vital support to children with disabilities and learning difficulties, helping families access necessary aids and services. Furthermore, efforts have been made to reduce student absenteeism by liaising with the psycho-social team and assisting parents in accessing services for their children. The outreach officers are also contributing to the national education strategy’s deliverables by supporting schools in developing training and outreach programmes. These programmes address topics such as sleep, health, wellbeing, digital skills, and general parenting techniques. To date more than 150 parents have attended these sessions which started in January 2025.
The early stages of the programme offered opportunities for growth and development, especially in the areas of communication and collaboration. Additionally, there was a focus on creating effective communication channels between all school stakeholders, including parents, teachers, learning support educators, senior management teams, and psychosocial staff. The overarching goal is to foster trust and reduce barriers to effective communication.
Ensuring regular school visits was also an essential component, as they are crucial for the continued success of the pilot programme and its alignment with the specific needs of each school.
The FCSL programme represents a comprehensive effort through a whole school approach, to strengthen relationships between schools, families, and communities. The programme fosters a more supportive environment that enables students to thrive academically, socially, and emotionally by prioritising prevention and delivering tailored support to parents and educators, while effectively utilising public service resources to maximise the impact and reach. As it progresses and adapts, its impact on student success and well-being continues to grow, offering a model for future initiatives in education and community collaboration through integrated approaches adopted within the Public Service.
