Following the successful implementation of the 'Primokiz approach' in Switzerland, Germany, and currently under implementation in Romania, the Jacobs Foundation and ISSA are teaming up again, this time in Slovenia.

ISSA Member, Education Research Institute – Step by Step Center for Quality in Education joins ISSA in this renewed partnership. Under the project, Slovenia Grows with You, partners will scale up the impact of Primokiz by further leveraging the strengths of ISSA as a network to make the approach widely available.

Bringing Primokiz to Slovenia 
Just as the partnership under Romania Grows with You, Slovenia Grows with You, aims to raise awareness about the importance of holistically addressing the needs of children and families in a coordinated manner. It pushes the agenda forward in developing and implementing local comprehensive early childhood strategies in the country. The three-year project will pilot new ways of designing, planning and delivering responsive and demand-driven services for the youngest children and their families through enhanced cooperation and coordination at local and national levels.

Scaling-up the approach for a wider reach
Recognizing ISSA’s long-lasting experience in the early childhood field, at the end of 2018, the Jacobs Foundation and ISSA signed an agreement granting the Primokiz license free-of-charge to ISSA, with the aim to use its mechanisms and strengths as a network to make the approach available to more and more countries, scaling up the impact of the approach.

In addition to piloting in Romania and Slovenia, the partnership with Jacobs Foundation enables ISSA to identify the best approaches to scaling-up the Primokiz approach in other countries. ISSA will use the power of its large network to support such endeavors through a learning community of Primokiz implementers internationally.

Several activities to support the development of such a learning community are set to begin in 2020 including webinars, Joint Learning Labs, and ISSA’s Peer Learning Activities. In 2021, the first cross-country learning workshop is planned to bring together Primokiz implementers in Switzerland, Germany, Romania, and Slovenia to share experiences and learn together.

Primokiz assists in developing comprehensive early childhood policies
Jacobs Foundation launched the Primokiz approach in Switzerland, with the aim to support municipalities, cities, and cantons to develop comprehensive Early Childhood Strategies. The approach has two important features: it connects administrative entities with the political sphere and private actors in the field of early childhood (horizontal and vertical cooperation); and it highlights the fact that early childhood is a transversal issue for which the education, social services and health sectors are jointly responsible. You can learn more about the program’s beginnings and adaptations here.