Free-time activities The NPM commended free-time activities and holidays of several days organised by MD Maribor, and also encouraged them in the future, but assessed the selection method as less appropriate. Every adolescent should be given the opportunity to ski, go to the sea or sail; the NPM thus proposed that if such holidays cannot be provided for all adolescents who express such wishes, MD Maribor should prepare a plan or a fair selection method, which should be based also on other objective reasons and not only on success in school. In their reply to the preliminary report, the management of MD Maribor explained: “A fair and thoughtfully conducted selection is always implemented to select children and adolescents for projects in which not everyone can participate. Educational achievement is not the only criterion for participation in the project; the general progress of an individual is always assessed (this can be a newly learned skill in personal hygiene, or improved self-image, improved care when cleaning their room and tidying personal things, or improved attitude to school work, development of independence, responsibility etc.). Educational achievement is never the sole criterion observed for participation in projects. This finding also relies on a general assessment and poor familiarisation with the full situation. If you were interested, the staff who were on duty at the time of the visit could undoubtedly explain that many projects of adventure education take place in our home, in which every child has the opportunity to participate at least once. We have problems with motivating children and adolescents to attend projects of adventure education rather than with their inappropriate selection. Let me explain that in this school year, we implemented the following adventure education projects: 10-day winter holiday in Areh; seven days of sailing (twice); seven days of cycling on Pašman Island; 10-day summer holiday in Kaštel Lukšič; 14-day summer holiday on Brač Island; camping by the River Kolpa; 5-day winter holiday in Rogla; twoday trip to Budapest, and many one-day projects around Slovenia.” The NPM proposed that childcare workers in ZVI Logatec actively encourage adolescents to participate in various extra-curricular activities or introduce a system of minimum hours of activities of their choice which an adolescent must implement in a week. In their reply to our preliminary report, the management of ZVI Logatec explained: “The childcare workers already actively encourage adolescents to participate in various extra-curricular activities. But it is nevertheless true that there is frequently insufficient interest in such activities. Money is also one of the obstacles, since most parents do not have the financial means to pay for extra-curricular activities, which are often payable. In the past, the institution was able to contribute a certain amount of money, but due to the general social situation, this has been impossible for the past few years. We childcare workers thus frequently find ourselves in a vicious circle. In warmer months, we encourage adolescents to do outdoor activities and some of them have been responding positively.” The NPM proposed that ZVI Logatec offer help when making appointments with dentists, gynaecologists and other possible specialists, and raise the adolescents’ awareness about the importance of screening. In their reply to our preliminary report, the management of ZVI Logatec explained: “We dedicate special attention to the issue of health in the residential group, particularly prevention, hygiene and sex education. Most of our adolescents’ general practitioners are in Ljubljana, with whom we cooperate if necessary. As part of sex education, we motivate girls to see a gynaecologist, and also provide assistance if necessary. We raise awareness about oral hygiene and encourage adolescents to see a dentist. One of our main principles is independence and the assumption of personal responsibility, which is why we guide the adolescents to gradually arrange these visits themselves.” In VIZ Smlednik, the NPM noticed that some time had passed since the last implementation of an extra-curricular activity because of the absence of a mentor for them. We thus recommended that VIZ Smlednik actually implement extra-curricular activities in accordance with the schedule and that the possible shortfall in hours be supplemented. In their reply to our preliminary report, the management of VIZ Smlednik explained: “In the case of a shortfall in extra-curricular activity, the children were redirected to other extra-curricular activities, since the mentor was absent for a lengthy period. In this case, we were unable to provide a replacement mentor for the activity.” 98 IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DUTIES AND POWERS OF THE NPM IN 2016 NATIONAL PREVENTIVE MECHANISM UNDER THE OPTIONAL PROTOCOL TO THE UN CONVENTION AGAINST TORTURE AND OTHER CRUEL, INHUMAN OR DEGRADING TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT