Kastor in Kuurne becomes a full-fledged welfare facility

“The boarding school will become a fully-fledged welfare facility, so that the children who stay there can receive the best possible support,” said Flemish Minister of Welfare, Public Health and Family Hilde Crevits, who visited Kastor this afternoon. It concerns children and young people who have come from a disturbing parenting situation and who can temporarily stay with Kastor and receive support to be able to return home or to live independently.

“Kastor is not a boarding school in the traditional sense, but it is a place where children stay who mainly need extra care and guidance. Therefore, it is a good thing that Kastor can now become a welfare facility. This transition is part of a broader operation in which 21 institutions that now belong to education are looking at how students can be better supported because they have special care needs.”

21 boarding schools

In July last year, the Flemish government decided to give 21 boarding schools where children with special needs stay the opportunity to transition to well-being. In many cases this concerns boarding schools where children with disabilities stay and for which a classic boarding school formula offers insufficient guarantees for the right care and support. Kastor in Kuurne, on the other hand, is a place where children and young people come out of a disturbing upbringing situation. From January 1, 2023, Kastor, which is part of the GO! can obtain provisional recognition as a welfare institution. Due to the moment in the middle of a school year, this is an intermediate step towards definitive recognition from September 1, 2023.

Because the needs of the students are different everywhere, the transition will look different for each boarding school involved. The Flemish government has provided a budget of 15 million euros for this transition, and therefore to meet the extra care and guidance needs of the pupils involved, on top of the resources that are already being deployed from education.