Budgeting for school supplies at the start of the school year can be particularly daunting for low-income families, turning a time of excitement into one of anxiety.

In Austria the ‘Schulstartklar’ (Ready to Start School) initiative, a cornerstone of the national programme to fight material deprivation, aims to ease this burden by providing vouchers to pupils from households receiving minimum income or social assistance. 

Each pupil receives a voucher worth EUR 150, allowing them to buy essential supplies like exercise books, calculators, and school bags. Volkshilfe Solidarität, an Austrian NGO dedicated to social services, plays a crucial role in the distribution of the vouchers, along with a series of other partners.

This programme builds on a previous initiative run with the Red Cross from 2015 to 2021 under the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived. During that period, the programme distributed around 300 000 school start packages tailored to different school types, directly supporting low-income families. 

By moving to a voucher-based system, families now have the flexibility to choose what their children need most. This way, the programme ensures that each student starts the school year prepared and equipped, reducing stress for parents and fostering a more positive start to the school year for children.

‘Many families are already worried in the summer about the expenses they will have to face when school starts’, says Judith Ranftler, Head of Social Work, Research and Social Policy at Volkshilfe. ‘Thanks to the Schulstartklar! project, children can start the new school year with some financial relief.’

In addition to material support, the programme also promotes social inclusion by providing information on services such as social markets, leisure activities, energy advisory services, and violence prevention. These resources are shared through consultations, brochures, and digital platforms, focusing on reaching families with children.

Since its launch, the programme is serving more and more families with 43 372 vouchers redeemed in 2022 and 45 513 in 2023, underscoring its importance to many Austrian families. In the future, the aim is to digitalise the distribution of the vouchers in order to simplify access to the benefits and make it more convenient for parents and children.

Through initiatives like Schulstartklar, the ESF+ continues to play a crucial role in supporting social inclusion and fighting poverty and ensuring that every child has the chance to start the school year on equal footing, prepared and ready to learn.