The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education RTE 2009 Act, grants the fundamental right to every child between the age of 6 to 14 years to avail full time elementary education in a formal school. Despite the Act in place, out-of-school children is a hard reality, it remains a constant challenge for the Govt. to enroll these children in schools and retain them. Humana People to People India (HPPI) addresses this national issue through implementing Kadam Programme specifically designed for Out-of-School children (between the age of 7-14 years) in PPP mode which provides structured theme based learning to acquire knowledge, skills and behaviour to prepare them for curriculum based learning in schools. The programme informs about the specific methods designed to ensure bridging the existing learning deficits of children and adequately prepare them to adapt to the change in lifestyle in the formal schools. Based on the Step-Up (Kadam in Hindi) methodology, this programme enables children to learn on their own pace in the classroom. Kadam is a proven methodology which fills the learning gaps in children and eases the mainstreaming to formal schools. The scope of the programme goes beyond mainstreaming to support the child in the journey of education through –

1. Bridging the existing learning deficit, the programme adequately prepares children to join the formal school with more confidence and conviction. It is achieved through encouraging them to participate in extracurricular activities and involving them in theme based learning. 
2. Promoting peer learning group called TRIOs, These learning groups are significant part of the Kadam methodology. In TRIOs children work together in group of 3 to complete tasks, share learning materials and participate together in cooperative group work with other children. 
3. Ensuring the retention of children in schools for 6 months through regular visits to the Primary school and guiding children through various facets of life. The process creates a special bond between teachers and children where the teachers will mentor the entire learning process for children. 
4. Orienting of Govt. School teachers on Kadam methodology, where teachers will be provided the Kadam Teaching and Learning Materials.
5. Demonstrating processes that are desired to achieve the true objectives of establishing Special Training Centres to mainstream out-of-school children to Govt. schools

The Kadam Out-of-School Children Programme is currently covering 14,338 Out-of-School Children in 473 Kadam centres established across all districts of Haryana under the 3-year MoU with Haryana School Shiksha Pariyojna Parishad (HSSPP). Children from the disadvantaged communities, migratory families and other special groups who dropped out from the school or do not have access to quality education in formal schools due to various reasons are attending these centres. The key highlights of the programme are given below-

• The Programme mobilises Out-of-School Children and enrol them to special training centres- “Kadam” and asses their learning gap as a first step.
• Kadam provides accelerated learning (skills and formal subject based) through innovative 10-steps and theme based programme (including extra-curricular activities) to plug child’s learning gap.
• Kadam Toolkit comprises of Assessment Booklet and Children’s Exercise Books for all children, Theme Guide for Teachers, Teachers Manual& Financial Literacy module.
• It builds a strong learning foundations and societal skills essential for children to acclimatize them to the change in life in formal schools.
• Children participate in the programme for 6 months to 1 year in order to reach his/ her age appropriate level.
• Once the child attains the age appropriate learning, he/she is mainstreamed in the formal school and followed for next 6 months for retention.
• HPPI also shares the methodology with school teachers in the catchment area in order to reduce the drop out and retain the mainstreamed children for sustaining efforts. 
• Special focussed monthly activities with parent and community engagement on retention of children during the project cycle.

Kadam centres are established preferably in Govt. Primary Schools or any other place easily accessible to the children. All the activities in the centre are conducted and coordinated through a dedicated teacher who is trained to run processes on the Kadam methodology.