Ensuring Access to Quality and Inclusive Education for Vulnerable Children at the North Gaza Governorate The education system in Gaza Strip has been hit hard. The 2022 Humanitarian Needs Overview showed that the education system in Gaza Strip faces several challenges and obstacles. Approximately 600,000 Palestinians (56 per cent females) across the oPt, including around 13,400 Children with Disabilities (CWDs), need humanitarian assistance to access education in 2022. Nearly 74 per cent live in the Gaza Strip. The report stated that among the longstanding issues affecting access to education include insufficient and/or inadequate safe school infrastructure, the May escalation on Gaza, which led to the early termination of the school year. These challenges have been significantly compounded by the outbreak of COVID-19. All of these challenges put children at huge risk of losing access to education with increased possibilities of drop-out and be left behind for the marginalized groups of children mainly children with disabilities (CWDs) and children living under poor conditions. Thus, this project will contribute to the 2022 HRP Education Objective 2: “The basic needs of vulnerable Palestinians living under occupation are met through the provision of quality basic services and improved access”. The project will focus on supporting safe back to school by improving the student’s academic performance and remediate the learning loss caused by the political instability and implications of COVID-19 for vulnerable children students (Out of school children and Children with disabilities aged from 7 to 15 years, and children at high risk of dropping out aged from 12 to 15 years) from the North Gaza Governorate. 
Under this project, PSCF seeks to support vulnerable children in lower and upper elementary grades from 2 to 9 to ensure better access to education. PSCF proposes to deliver a project which will directly improve the children’s learning outcomes and psychological wellbeing, through removing barriers to regularly receive education services that enable them catch up with their peers, dismantling barriers to their current education, rehabilitating of safe and protective learning school environment, and re-integration of OOSC in education system.
The project extends to 12 months and intends to be implemented in coordination with known, registered and reputable 2 community based organizations in full coordination with Ministry of Education. 
Under this project, a total of 440 vulnerable children will be targeted who have been identified as suffering from low academic achievement, psychological and behavioural disorders, physical disabilities, hearing and visual impairments. The project will target particularly those who are failing to meet minimal standards in the subjects based on the school achievement records in the past year. Special tests will be prepared to determine which students are in need of support. The project will focus on the basic skills in the Arabic language, English language and Mathematics.
The project will build on well-designed catch-up/remedial programs implemented by PSCF and will benefit from materials developed and tested. 
PSCF will use methodology already proven effective through the on-going and previous projects implemented by PSCF team. The target children will be instructed by a well-qualified teachers. 
Moreover, considering the psychological impact of COVID-19 and the political instability on students, the project will provide psychosocial support through the implementation of PSS services including individual and collective counseling sessions to improve the overall psychosocial wellbeing and learning loss of students. As well, parents of these children will be oriented about self-care, first aid psychological support, and stress release. Furthermore, it will support students with disability through rehabilitating the school environment and upgrading resource rooms as well as providing children with assistive devices to ensure their equal access to inclusive quality learning opportunity.