The Territorial Support Centres (CTS in Italian) are born as territorial networks in which teachers – also with the involvement of local authorities and associations – support the diffusion of teaching tools and aids, with the aim of improving, through new technologies, school integration and inclusion of students with different abilities.

The evolution of the context in which schools operate today, especially in light of the opportunities offered by technologies, requires an in-depth analysis of the actions carried out in the last decade by the Territorial Support Centres, in order to identify the areas for improvement on which investing resources, and define the future role of CTS.

The project “The cornerstones of inclusion. Restarting from the Territorial Support Centres” intends to enhance and relaunch the work carried out in recent years by the CTS and give an organic structure to the plurality of actives carried out, by redefining the role of the CTS, developing their potential, strengthening their ability to network and indicating trajectories of innovation. At the same time, the initiative intends to provide policy makers with operational indications useful for the design and implementation of policy measures capable of optimizing and enhancing the services offered by the CTS network.

In order to better understand the reality of CTS and understand their characteristics, strengths, and critical issues, Indire has set up a monitoring and analysis activity aimed at reading the organizational and management aspects of the CTS and to make an inventory of the available instrumental resources.

The monitoring action, starting in mid-September 2019, makes use of an online survey questionnaire aimed at returning a description of the Territorial Support Centres. The human resources, collaborations, equipment and various activities of the CTS will be identified, and the steps necessary to make the network more active will be highlighted, also in light of the changes that have occurred in recent years in their users and in the tools available to support inclusion.

The monitoring will concern the updating of the active network, the organization (instrumental equipment, consultancy, management of aids, relations with the territory), planning (experimentation and research activities, appointment of a Technical Scientific Committee), training (activities carried out for school staff, for families, for students, updating activities, delivery methods).

The qualitative and quantitative data collection will complement the material already prepared by the Ministry of Education within the National Registry of Teaching Tools and Aids, established and implemented by the State Mint Polygraphic Institute.

Starting from 16 September 2019, each CTS will receive a link via email from which to start filling out the questionnaire. All CTS present on the national territory are called to collaborate in the monitoring.

The support email address to contact in case of doubts or requests during the compilation phase is:  monitoraggio-cts@indire.it