The teachers, through the daily contact with the children, and due to the difficulties in using the Greek language, identified learning weaknesses in a large number of students, while some were identified as being at risk of illiteracy. It was therefore necessary for educators to be informed about the 8 basic skills (b.s.), to learn about innovative ideas and practices for their cultivation, and to design and shape learning environments that cultivate the 8 b.s. of the 21st century taking into account the diversity of each child (learning level, origin, language ability, etc.). There was a great need for our students to develop their language skills by learning the Greek language and for multilingualism to emerge as an asset; to cultivate interpersonal, numerical and scientific skills, basic computer skills and information access skills. It sought to foster critical thinking, collaboration, inquiry, experiential discovery and active citizenship. It was also sought for the students to get to know the natural and social environment around them, to discover the culture and cultural heritage of the country that hosts them, to relate it to their own tradition and culture.
Our school is a multicultural public primary school in the center of Paphos town, in a degraded area where due to the economic crisis many immigrants have settled in search of a better standard of living taking advantage of the low rents and consequently the low cost of living. The advent of the pandemic 2 years ago, as well as the beginning of the war in Ukraine, exacerbated the economic crisis and led to chain price increases of basic goods and consequently to an increase in the cost of living. In addition, many of the families faced unemployment and the struggle for survival became even more difficult. In the total of 340 students aged 6-12 (grades A-F), the majority of students (95%) were immigrants from Northern European and Asian countries. Refugees from Ukraine had also enrolled in our school. Given the fact that the students' parents worked many hours resulting in the children staying at home alone or wandering around the neighbourhoods, this poses risks. The teachers, realizing the difficulties, decided to support the students by submitting a proposal for funding in order for the students to cultivate basic skills of the 21st century