Knowledge Hub

ISSA New Member Community Educational Foundation (CEF) “School for All” is one of the successful Kazakhstani NGOs that implements innovative educational initiatives based on democratic approach in teaching to make it more effective, meaningful, relevant and useful. The Foundation cooperates with other academic and research institutions in the country and abroad.

CEF “School for All” oversees projects with partner organizations relating to Inclusive education and teacher leadership, and advocates for policies to improve access and quality of education. Besides, the Foundation publishes academic articles and conducts qualitative and quantitative research to learn about current issues, improvements and other aspects of the education sector. Moreover, CEF “School for All” provides in-service training and mentoring for teachers of all levels, develops and publishes methodological guides and teaching materials, attends and presents at the local and international academic conferences.

“Through our last three years’ experience, we can share the idea of non-positional teacher leadership development that empower teachers as agents of change and help building innovation-friendly professional cultures in schools,” says Gulbadan Zakayeva, director of CEF “School for All”.

Becoming the ISSA Member, CEF “School for All” hopes to collaborate and build partnerships with the other members, share the information, promote good practices, design and apply joint proposals to the international organizations.

“We have achieved significant success in the development of inclusive education at the Higher School of Kazakhstan and we have made a crucial contribution to making the Inclusive Education course mandatory for all pedagogical specialties of universities in our country,” says Gulbadan Zakayeva, director of CEF “School for All”. We have developed and published a number of methodological materials, including the manual "Fundamentals of Inclusive Education", conducted more than 10 trainings on inclusive education and trained over than 300 teachers of pedagogical colleges and universities. During COVID-19, we have created an online course "Inclusive Education", which has become an important educational and information resource not only for students and university teachers, but has also become accessible and open to a wide range of stakeholders.”

In CEF “School for All” they strongly believe that their efforts and achievements will contribute to the development and transformation of education in Kazakhstan.

Based on an interview with Hana Zylfiu-Haziri, Program Manager Kosovo Education Center

As a membership organization, ISSA unites and supports professionals to deliver responsive, high-quality, and equitable services to all children and their families. For its broad diverse base of members, it offers a wide variety of opportunities to co-create and share knowledge and professional development and networking events. This blog presents how, as a result of a professional development opportunity offered under ISSA’s initiative REYN, the Kosova Education Center has made a programmatic shift by including advocacy in their work, vision and mission.

The Kosova Education Center (KEC)

KEC is a non-governmental organization funded in 2000 with the idea of focusing on provision of in-service teaching training programs. But lately Kosova Education Center has grown and now the organization focuses on 4 pillars: quality education; human rights; networking and participation in policy making; and educational research in general. KEC has also its own primary, secondary and gymnasium schools, and currently runs different projects and programs employing 30 people. Among many initiatives, KEC is working on the one that we shed light on in this blog - KRAEEYN - Kosovo Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptian Early Years Network through which KEC supports equitable access to education for Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian children, which still live in a vicious circle of poverty and social exclusion. On how KEC managed to integrate the advocacy component into its work we will learn from Hana Zylfiu-Haziri, a Program Manager at Kosovo Education Center.

How a professional development on advocacy led to an organizational shift?

According to Hana, initially KRAEEYN supported professionals and paraprofessionals in a grassroot level, as well as small organizations that supported Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptian children at the local level. Then, KRAEEYN participated in a professional development opportunity, organized by ISSA, with a focus on advocacy. It consisted of two trainings held in Sofia and Zagreb, respectively.

Back in Pristina after the trainings and sharing of the knowledge gained among KRAEEYN members, the network decided to shift its mission by integrating the component of advocacy in their existing mechanisms. Nowadays KRAEEYN is better positioned and engaged in advocacy actions at local, regional, and national levels to reach institutions and key stakeholder and decision-makers to influence the policy change at national level. KRAEEYN remains as a strong voice advocating for professionals and paraprofessionals working in the field making sure their needs are reflected in local and national action plans.

Although the topic of advocacy was familiar to her, Hana used to consider it as a big activity in which you have to gather people, and to do, and to plan. However, during the training and discussion with other national REYN representatives from 10 different countries, Hana and her team realized that they were actually doing so much advocacy, without knowing it, and “it was like an opening of our minds”. And so, they just have to be conscious that they are doing it and go for it, and maybe invite other people to join the initiative.

Hana says: “And this is when actually we decided to get into it. Since we are already doing some small steps, let's try to do something much bigger which doesn't require money or planning, and where only we have to think whom to reach”. And she concludes: “So these are the things that have influenced us, everything has been influenced by advocacy and now we are shifting completely as a network, we are doing more and more on advocacy”.

“One of the aspects that I found key to learn about advocacy is something I’m trying to put in practice in my work: how important is to find the right people to be with you and to act together as one voice. Now I see that so many things I have done and maybe I didn't succeed because I did alone. Now, all the time I'm trying to have more people on board”.

Hana also stressed that such professional development activities offer many opportunities not only to learn from the trainer but also from each other, from the peers attending such trainings. Hana shares: “Such professional development opportunities offer the chance to seat with representatives from different organizations and countries, with whom you listen to and learn from. In the training in Sofia, I was there with my program colleague. On our way back home, we had five or six hours of travel ahead of us, and this was excellent opportunity for us to reflect on the training, the content as well on the inspiring examples other participants presented during the sessions.  It encouraged us to plan our future activities and make some nice plans. For instance, we heard from Croatians about an advocacy campaign they had done with soccer players, and also the Bulgarian team had some nice examples. And that was a point when we said … okay, we have to do something in this direction as well. It is very good that we are supporting paraprofessionals and professionals and we should continue supporting them, but as a KRAEEYN we are a voice that can be heard, so we have to change our way of being perceived”.

Hana continues commenting on the importance of the peer learning that takes place during such opportunities: “As we talk, things are coming to my mind, and the last REYN meeting that we had in Zagreb in 2019, was really nice. Not only because it was organized by you (ISSA) and that everything was good.  We had the opportunity to reflect, to share, to think together, and to work as a team.  It was really valuable, especially learning from the others what they are doing, and trying to see what can we do in our network, and how can we adapt or change current actions. That meeting was really good, really good one”.

ISSA’s support and influence goes beyond the training on advocacy

During the interview Hana stressed that ISSA has provided lots of professional development opportunities to its Members, which have also benefitted KEC and have been a great opportunity for them. One of them are the Peer Learning Activities (PLA). Specifically, Hana mentioned that they had submitted twice a proposal for the Peer Learning Activities: On the first one, at national level with three other organizations from Kosovo, Hana says “we have worked on 10 preschool institutions on improving their pedagogical practice, which has led to build in community of learners within the institutions.” The second, at international level with another ISSA member in Albania, led to a huge network of institutions from both countries to meet and where the teachers from both countries had the chance to speak, talk and share. Hana adds: “We had also the conference, where we provided a booklet with activities that teachers have created in their classrooms”.

According to Hana, both projects taking place under the PLA’s built on ISSA’s Quality Resource Pack. KEC presented ISSA’s Principles of Quality Pedagogy to the Ministry, which decided to approve them as a national document.

Hana stressed: “The document is there and teachers, even though they cannot be so much present at the moment, they are still using it. They have a system of monitoring their quality and what is also good is that the Faculty of Education has included parts of the Quality Resource Pack in their syllabuses as well. So, it all started with professional development opportunities”.

Motivations to participate in the professional development opportunities

When asked what motivated KEC to participate in these professional development opportunities, Hana mentioned that they knew that they were good chances for them to learn and share, and they wanted to be active in such activities. Hana said: “In the first case, when we applied for PLA we knew that we could do something together with other organizations from the ISSA network. For example, in our work with Albanian peers, we share a common “language” when referring to our similar situation in education we know where the problems are, what is needed and how we can we support our educational system.

In advocacy, what motivated me was more like I wanted to learn more: I needed to know more about what advocacy is and what can I do with it at national level. The training helped me first of all to understand some things and then I shared with colleagues. It actually helped me to reflect about my work as well, and not only on the current project, but also in other projects where I'm involved. And now I always try to enforce the component of advocacy also in the other projects”.

Why would Hana recommend to participate in such kind of professional development opportunities?

Hana said that first of all, she would strongly recommend to herself to continue be part of these kind of professional development opportunities and she will continue as much as she can. And she continued by saying: “But why would I do it? Because for sure they will benefit as we did it. First of all, every time you learn something, you share, for instance, we had that nice opportunities from professional development activities we have developed, we had the case when we developed a project, so there are really nice opportunities for our network to learn, to share, and to be part of different activities and initiatives”.

Interview with Zsuzsa Laszlo: the ISSA Network’s Persona Doll learning community  

Over the last 15 years, Partners Hungary Foundation has been providing Persona Doll training for ISSA Members, resulting in a significant number of early childhood practitioners incorporating the dolls into their practice within the region. The diversity of participants engaged in ISSA Peer Learning Activities and Joint Learning Labs contributes significantly to the enriching experience of the training for the entire group. In this interview, Zsuzsa Laszlo, an experienced Persona Doll Certified Trainer, shares her valuable insights, providing a deeper understanding of this approach.

What is the Persona Doll method, and why is it meaningful?

The Persona Doll is a method for encouraging discussions about emotions and feelings among children aged three to eight. It offers a non-threatening and enjoyable means to address issues of equality, challenge stereotypes, and discourage discriminatory thinking in young children. The method also encourages critical thinking, fosters empathy, and empowers children to confront instances of unfair treatment.

Originating in the UK and widely successful globally, the Persona Doll method provides an efficient and playful approach to tackle stereotyping and promote equality. Designed for professionals in early childhood development, this innovative tool isn't only useful for addressing prejudice-related conflicts but is also effective in handling various conflicts among children.

The method centers around a lifelike rag doll (approximately 60 centimeters tall), endowed with personality traits by the professional, such as family background, characteristics, favorite foods, and belongings. This Persona doll "visits" the children, creating an opportunity for professionals to broach sensitive topics through everyday stories. This approach encourages discussions that might have been difficult to initiate otherwise.

The method aims to transform teasing and exclusion into attitudes of respect and care. To implement the method effectively, sessions should occur bi-weekly, and in the interim, professionals gather stories from the group's experiences that generate significant discussion or recurring problems (teasing, bullying, conflicts, etc.), situations where occasional verbal warnings prove ineffective.

An example of a story that generates discussion in the classroom is the following: A Roma girl who is new to kindergarten shares that in her previous school, she was told, 'I don’t like Roma.’ As the preschool children sit in a circle, they react with surprise or empathy, saying things like 'Wow, that happened?' and 'Oh, that’s very hurtful', but also 'They should be punished or hit'. While the preschool teacher facilitates the discussion, the children come up with ideas and try to find a solution for the new girl.

The Persona Doll method is specifically designed for preschool and primary school teachers but is equally suitable for teaching assistants, preschool and school social workers, as well as preschool and school psychologists.

What are some of the most unexpected outcomes or success stories you've encountered through using Persona Dolls in educational settings?

All of our stories are unique in their own way, but perhaps we can highlight stories where the Persona Doll method thrives independently within kindergartens. For example, at one kindergarten in the region, we initially started with just one teacher, and now there is a thriving learning community where teachers collaborate, plan together, and only come to us for support and mentoring when needed. We believe that true success lies in the autonomy of the Persona Doll, where its magic continues to flourish independently.

How do ISSA’s PLA and JLL contribute to the use of the method?

Our aim is to create a vibrant professional community within ISSA at two levels. Firstly, by offering Peer Learning Activities (PLA), we provide the basics for professionals who are interested but not yet familiar with the method. Through Joint Learning Labs (JLL), we establish a learning hub with intense mentoring and peer support, assisting individuals at all levels of practice and serving ISSA with a dynamic professional learning environment. We aim to build a community where anyone with a basic understanding of the Persona Doll Method can receive support, feedback, and peer mentoring. Our ultimate goal is to increase the number of professionals actively engaged in the field of diversity and equity within ISSA.

Being part of the ISSA Network has enabled us, to spread the Persona Doll approach across a diverse group of dedicated professionals internationally and to establish connections with organizations we might otherwise never have known about. It is almost a mini network we started.

What are the plans for 2024? Any opportunity for ISSA Members who haven’t done it yet to get some training on Persona Doll?

In 2024, we are offering JLL for practitioners who have a basic understanding of Persona Dolls. Together, we will learn, collect case studies, and offer solutions for a wide range of situations occurring in kindergartens. At the end of the year, we will compile a handbook based on these stories for the Persona Doll community within ISSA. Looking ahead, we aim to offer more training opportunities for those interested in experiencing the magic of Persona Dolls in the long run.

Learn more about ISSA’s Joint Learning Lab on the Persona Doll Method.

Many recent neurological studies have shown that violent and malicious educational practices impact a child’s emotional development and self-esteem. Questioning, defining, and understanding them in order modify our reactions becomes essential.

This is the topic addressed in the Peer Learning Activity (PLA)* entitled Gentle violence and ordinary educational violence: Tackling the issue and fostering children’s development of self-esteem and identity, hosted by Le Furet.

This PLA focused on these questions, aiming to help professionals question their practices and build quality within their teams. Participants learned to identify “ordinary educational violence”, develop active listening and respectful collaboration, and create evaluation methods to track their progression.

Read the interview with Gillian Cante, Chair of Le Furet, as she shares more on the theme, how it is used in Le Furet’s work and why she recommends others participate in PLAs.

Can you share a brief overview of the PLA you hosted online? (the topic, participants, number of sessions)

The workshop we ran was called ordinary violence and subtle violence, which is a sensitive theme for a lot of childcare providers. We really wanted to bring up notions of how we are with children, not what we know to do with children and how we know to take care of them, but more just about our professional posture and the subtle things we do that can send a different message to children and affect them emotionally in their development. We spend so much time with them in childcare. So we thought this is a very important subject to touch upon. So, we ran a session over four days, two and a half hour sessions, so a total of 10 hours. So it was quite a substantial program.

We could have done quite a bit more, but we knew that the time was limited. And so we ran this over two weeks at twice a week, and we had a total of 25 people who were signed up. We found ourselves with about seven participants, but very happy to have such a small group because it was dynamic. And we were able to do some interesting group work with them. 

What was the most meaningful part of hosting a PLA for you and your organization? 

One of the most meaningful things about hosting this kind of activity is meeting people from different backgrounds. I think it's also a big part of the value of ISSA -- these intercultural opportunities to meet others. 

Childcare is so based on our cultural perceptions and who we are as people. I think that being able to do a lot of sharing and group work was immensely enriching for everybody who participated. 

We had quite an interesting group, which meant that everybody brought their personal experiences and cultural references. To be able to share that was enriching. I wasn't expecting how enriching that would be.

Tell us were the main outcomes of your PLA, despite or due to being organized online?

One of the advantages of hosting a PLA online, and we might all be able to recognize this advantage, was being able to record what we were doing. Although I'm not a great fan of going and doing replays, I found it very interesting to go back and hear what some of the participants were saying – to go over and relive the moment. So that was, that was an interesting outcome to have. Because the technology [Zoom] allowed us to create classrooms, we still could get into groups and work and I could go into one group or the next to see how they were doing. It also enabled us to share some videos and some tools that were online. 

I'm hoping that the participants have come away with some more knowledge on how much attention we should pay to our subtle behaviors and our position as an adult -- this big, dominant position as an adult. And how seriously we should take that role and question our posture with children.  

One of the outcomes is that the participants will talk about this topic in their work. We did not have many childcare minders or childcare providers. We mainly had people who were involved in associations like our own who accompany professionals. So we're hoping that this subject will be transmitted throughout these programs elsewhere.

What would you like to let other ISSA Members know about hosting or participating in an online PLA? 

I congratulate ISSA for organizing this because I can only imagine the logistics behind getting everyone together. I'd have to say for anyone who's going to host a Peer Learning Activity, you should feel comfortable because we were accompanied very strongly by the ISSA team. Many thanks to Eva [Izsak] and everyone who helped us out -- answering those little questions that we had. We weren't thrown out there in the dark to try and figure this all out ourselves. 

I can highly recommend doing an activity regardless of the size of your organization. It's a very feasible activity to run. Obviously, technology helps out. You have to make sure you're comfortable with talking to the camera, but you're also talking to someone across the other side in the PLA, and we were able to create quite intimate groups.

Doing the PLA online is the opposite of what you might think. We created an intimate group, and we're able to talk openly and share. 

Can you share an example of how the topic of your PLA is important in your work?

Our organization has had over 20 years of working on questions of equality and combating discrimination in all its forms in early childhood. So the subject of ordinary violence is so pertinent to us. It's a subtle way that we discriminate in a lot of practices.  

Our postures are influenced by our beliefs and our social and cultural backgrounds. When we get into the field of early childhood, we have to do a "self-check" and make sure that we're on board with the importance of the role we're fulfilling for children in their first stages of development. We need to grow a deeper understanding of ourselves and the child's social and emotional needs.

The work that we've been doing is in this area is a cornerstone of all the work we do at Le Furet. It influences us in all of the training courses we run and the accompanying work we do with other networks and professionals.

Where can we find more information about this topic?

You can find more information on this topic on the Le Furet website, which is in French. For those who don’t know Le Furet actually means ferret, a little animal that digs and digs – a very curious animal.

The author who developed this outlook on ordinary violence is named Christine Schuhl, she is a good reference on this topic in French.

 

*Every year ISSA Members benefit from Peer Learning Activities (PLAs), which aim to build Members’ capacity, deepen their knowledge and act as enabling spaces for Members to co-create new knowledge. You can learn more about Peer Learning Activities offered in the ISSA Network here.

Listen to the interview clip.

This month, ISSA Member International Child Development Initiatives (ICDI), launched the book Intergenerational Learning in Practice, which is published by Routledge[1]. Intergenerational Learning (IGL) brings together young children and older adults, or those who are at “two ends of the lifelong learning spectrum.” The book leverages ICDI’s successful IGL initiative Together Old and Young (TOY)[2], which in partnership with other organizations, has built a case for IGL involving young children and older adults, with evidence demonstrating how it helps to improve feelings of wellbeing, decrease loneliness and enhance social cohesion. 

While there are many promising practices that bring together young children and older adults taking place around the world, the knowledge and expertise in this area has not yet been combined in one resource. This unique publication brings together the most current research as well as practical examples. The book is set to become the IGL go-to for practitioners, leaders, and researchers across sectors.

It also presents a special opportunity to highlight some noteworthy practices taking place in the ISSA Network. Editors of the book, Margaret Kernan and Giulia Cortellesi of ICDI discuss the importance of intergenerational learning, what this book is all about, and their other work on the subject.

How did TOY start and what makes it such a meaningful initiative? 

Giulia:
We started looking at this in 2011 when we were seeing societal and demographic changes in Europe that are still happening. It is about migration - so children growing up away from their grandparents. It is about age-segregation - so children growing up in institutions with other children and older adults segregated in aged care facilities. We also have the fragmentation of social life in our neighborhoods. There are towns where young families are living in certain neighborhoods and other neighborhoods that become the homes for older adults.

Margaret:
Isolation and loneliness was and is another big issue. IGL addresses these concerns. Children benefit from having focused attention from older adults or mentors who have time for them and are interested in them and give an understanding of what it was like to be a child years ago. It is also a way for children to develop social skills, norms of behavior. Older adults benefit from feeling needed, involved, valued and being more physically active. The engagement with the children has a very positive effect on their health and well-being. It is important to emphasize that both groups learn from one another.

The broader family network also benefits. Parents really value their children having more contact with older adults, particularly parents who are really busy or do not have a strong relationship with the children’s grandparents. It also contributes to the general community health, creating a sense of social cohesion in the community. It gives communities the feeling that they look after one another and everyone has a role in the community and a contribution to make. Often it is the young children and older adults that are forgotten in discussions about the sustainability of communities. The focus tends to be on the employed generation so IGL gives value to these two age groups.

Giulia:

When we look at social inclusion we also look at it from a diversity standpoint. We believe that IGL can contribute to the promotion of intercultural dialogue. If older adults are involved as volunteers or mentors for young children with a minority, migrant or refugee background it is easier for the family to adjust to the new reality and it is easier for the hosting society to overcome stereotypes and build relationships with the newcomers or minorities. This was also the rationale of the TOY for Inclusion project[3]. The project gives older adults from the Roma community a chance to share their knowledge, their passions, and their traditions with children from various backgrounds, which helps the majority overcome stereotypes and prejudices against Roma. 

We see this as a growing movement worldwide. We would like to see this become structural childcare and aged care.

"Intergenerational learning is a catalyst, a mobilization tool for communities." 

- Giulia Cortellesi, ICDI

What communities is IGL for - do you focus only on urban communities or is it also for rural communities?

Giulia:
This is for everyone, everywhere.

Margaret:
A lot of learners participating in the TOY Online Course at the moment are talking about how relevant IGL is for their rural communities because people are feeling more isolated in rural communities. The TOY initiative makes absolute sense because it reminds them of what multi-generational community interaction can mean—and what it used to mean in the past. It is a reminder that it is healthy for different age groups to spend time together.

Giulia:
Intergenerational learning is a catalyst, a mobilization tool for communities. It can be a tool or it can be a goal in itself. Sometimes you want to facilitate intergenerational learning because there is a lack of relationship between the generations. In some other cases, it is a tool to use to reach more indirect goals like social cohesion, inclusion, and so on.

Say there is a park that needs to be redesigned, who do you consult and how do you consult them? We propose a way that is friendly to all ages instead of just consulting one age group. Instead of building new spaces in a community for one age group, why don’t we think about sharing sites? We can have childcare and aged care under one roof and staff that is trained to work with the different services.

Margaret:
It can be an approach to address many issues in all communities.

What does IGL look like? 
Giulia:
It can take many different forms. It can be formal or informal. In the Netherlands, a group of older adults is supporting teachers in primary schools as teacher assistants. They receive training to support teachers and students. They are actually embedded in the school system.

Sometimes it is about institutions cooperating together and creating shared sites; in some other cases it is organizing activities or events together. There is an example of a multigenerational summer camp in Italy. For the last 5 years, they offer a summer camp for older people from a care home and children whose parents are working, so they can spend their time together during the school holiday. There are intergenerational activities purposely designed for them during a period of 6 weeks.

Margaret:
And it isn’t just about meetings between frail older adults living in residential care homes. It is also about recognizing the role of active adults who may be in their 60s and 70s, possibly retired or with some free time who would like to give something back to their community as volunteers. They can share their hobbies and interests with children in different settings such as in community arts centers, libraries, museums, or visit children at home to read to stories children.

"This is a living topic, people are aware of the importance of connecting these age groups..." 

- Margaret Kernan, ICDI

What can you tell us about the book?

Margaret:
We were really keen to invite authors from different backgrounds. In the book you’ll see chapters from people who are experts in pedagogy in early childhood and working with families and community. You will also read insights from people who are expert in older adults, gerontologists.

There is also a chapter written by two architects from Denmark who describe themselves as spatial practitioners and describe with lots of photos and drawings how age-inclusive spaces might be developed.  

This is a living topic, people are aware of the importance of connecting these age groups and it is something that is being discussed in Australia, United States, Canada, as well as in different countries in Europe. So, the book has contributions from many different countries and contexts.

Giulia:
We wanted to have a book where there was enough theoretical contribution, as this is a new field of research it was good for us to bring together people from different disciplines to write about pedagogy, architecture, etc.

And, we also wanted this to be an inspirational book for those who want to start their own intergenerational initiatives. So, we tried to collect as many examples of practice as possible and also give some practical tips. All the chapters in the second half of the book contain suggestions and tips for implementation.

You will read about intergenerational learning as a way to promote environmental sustainability, as a way to promote cultural transmission, as a way to promote social cohesion, as a way to promote age-friendly planning and design.

We also managed to bring in some well-known intergenerational initiatives like the TV program broadcast by Channel 4 in the UK and replicated in other countries. It is now in four or five countries. There is a chapter in the book from the first group who did it.

Why was it meaningful for ICDI to write this book now? 

Margaret:
TOY is a programme which ICDI has been leading for 7 years now, and it was really time to bring the research and the practice of IGL to a broader audience. As far as we know, no one else has written a book on intergenerational learning focusing on young children and older adults. 

It was also an opportunity to give our partners a chance to write about their work and reach an international audience.

Who is this book for?

Margaret:
Practitioners, researchers, community development workers, primarily but it could also be for architects and town planners. It is a very multidisciplinary area of work and it really benefits from perspectives from planning, from pedagogy, from housing, from social care. This work is rooted in the community. It is best understood when you think about it from the perspective of the child, from the perspective of older adults, from the perspective of community workers, and families. We’ve tried to reflect that in the selection of the authors—IGL is multi-sectoral and the understanding of the topic is enriched if you look at it from all these different perspectives.

We really would like the book to be a recommended or even essential text for courses about working with families in the early years, but also in social care. Our publishers, Routledge are primarily marketing this book for practitioners and leaders in Early Childhood Education and Care, but it is equally relevant for people working in social care or aged care, or community development. 

If you are a researcher or lecturer and you are really interested in reading the most up-to-date research in this area, this book is also useful for you. If you are thinking about developing new research on IGL then the first half of the book is particularly useful for you.

If you are a practitioner interested in developing this new way of thinking and working then there are some inspirational practices and really practical tips and tools in the second half of the book to help you.

Giulia:
We also recommend the book to those taking the TOY Online Course[4]. This is a self-paced online course for ECEC, social care and community development practitioners worldwide runs twice per year, and is free. We recommend the book as a companion to the course. See more about the online course below.

What other materials/tools do you have related to IGL?

Margaret:
The TOY course includes discussion forums, video lectures, quizzes, and readings. It is very reassuring for those taking the course to hear that there are people doing similar work in other parts of the world—all with the belief that these two age groups need more attention and that there are huge opportunities to link young children and older adults.

We are also hearing from those in the course that they would really like to start this work but they need support from us and the course in thinking about a plan. So, we provide planning templates on the course which is very helpful for them.

Giulia:
This is the direction in which our TOY for Quality programme[5] goes to as well. We’ve developed a self-assessment tool, which is also included in a chapter in the book. We define 6 dimensions of quality in IGL and we provide guiding questions and indicators so that groups of practitioners that would like to start, or are involved in IGL, can reflect on their own practice and also identify areas for improvement.

We are really building the tools that practitioners and services need to scale-up their IGL work.

Where can you access all these tools and resources?

The book provides loads of first-hand experiences and case studies. ISSA has been lucky enough to witness some of these practices first-hand. If you are interested in reading about some of the case studies buy the book and visit the TOY Blog.

The next TOY online course begins in March 2020, learn how to join here.

[1] https://www.routledge.com/Intergenerational-Learning-in-Practice-Together-Old-and-Young-1st-Edition/Kernan-Cortellesi/p/book/9781138363465?fbclid=IwAR2-r3eAkq8H_RgdYPjlI90TR8tBFhy4Bvzk3neUXhWYeArUvNg3b3a7WmM

[2] www.toyproject.net

[3] www.toy4inclusion.eu

[4] http://www.toyproject.net/project/toy-online-course/

[5] http://www.toyproject.net/project/the-programme/

EDUCAS project awarded with Epos quality label for 'Good practice in 2021'

In March 2022, Epos agency, responsible for the implementation in Flanders of various programs and actions, such as the Erasmus+ programme, has granted the EDUCAS project with an
'Epos Quality Label for Good practice in 2021'. 

Over the past three years, the EDUCAS project has been working to contribute to creating child and family friendly learning spaces in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) centres. The project consortium has published the following seven resources during the project to help professionals create ECEC environments that support children’s development holistically.

EDUCAS Toolbox - Wonder and Beauty: Connecting ECEC spaces and educare

The EDUCAS Toolbox aims to support coordinators, coaches, trainers, professionals that seek to stimulate professional development paths with ECEC staff with the aim to create child and friendly learning spaces in ECEC centres. 

The Toolbox includes pedagogical approaches, methods and tools used during the EDUCAS project to support professionals in improving ECEC environments with an educare approach.

You can access the full Toolbox here and download your copy in English, Dutch, Italian or Lithuanian.

 Watch the video recording presenting the Toolbox.

Policy recommendations - Strengthening the importance of SPACE and EDUCARE approach

Educating and caring for young children is a big responsibility, challenge and commitment. The recently released “Policy recommendations for strengthening the importance of SPACE and EDUCARE approach in early childhood systems” aims to provide a comprehensive set of recommendations for policymakers at EU and national levels, funders, and other ECEC stakeholders.

These policy recommendations are based on the findings and insights from the EDUCAS project implemented in Belgium (FL), Italy and Lithuania, an extensive literature review, country policy recommendations, and other international documents developed by project partners.

Read and download EDUCAS Policy recommendations here.
 

EDUCAS Case Studies

Throughout the three years of the project, partners in Belgium (FL), Italy and Lithuania have undertaken a thorough examination of existing visions and methods related to organizing ECEC environments in their contexts. With the support of two ECEC centres in each country, they have developed action research paths locally that are tailored to the contexts in which the six ECEC centres are working.

Each case study presents the action research coordinated by each project partner, and developed together with the ECEC centres involved.

• Belgium (FL) – Re-thinking ECEC spaces/materials by reflecting on practice
• Italy –  The Space in mind
• Lithuania – Building collaborative learning community
   

The points of view of families, professionals and children

The EDUCAS project started the Continuous Professional Development Paths (CPD) in the three countries involved with specific focus groups involving families and staff in the ECEC centres partners of the project.

The aim was to get a better insight of the needs, ideas and beliefs of staff and families concerning the theme of the project, and to elaborate a bottom-up participatory implementation path (case study – action research).

The report titled “The points of view of families, professionals, children” presents a summary of the analysis of the focus groups with staff and parents, and of the drawings and interviews with the children in Belgium, Lithuania, Italy.

Download and read here.
 

The meanings of spaces in ECEC centres: a literature review

This literature review investigates the meanings, relevance, and importance of physical indoor and outdoor space in ECEC services for children from birth to school age.

Special attention is placed on the educare approach and on the involvement of children and families in the discourse.

Drawing from the findings of the literature review, implications for practice are discussed and some key recommendations are provided.

Access the literature review here.
 

EDUCAS project in a nutshell? Watch this video

ECD activity cards 

Children’s right to play, leisure and education is threatened during and after emergency situations. Many young children living in refugee homes arrive in their host country after a dangerous journey, and potentially traumatic experiences. Life has changed, and the new living environment is different — and often not child friendly. Many parents suffer from high levels of stress and find it difficult to provide their children with the comfort, support and incentives they need to develop and learn.

The ECD Activity Cards were developed by UNICEF and ISSA as a practical tool to support the planning of Early Learning and Play Groups (ELPG) as part of the daily management of Child Friendly Spaces (CFS) in refugee homes. The cards are designed to create physically and psychologically safe spaces where children feel welcome, valued and empowered to learn and develop — helping to alleviate psychological distress and re-establish stability.

The ECD activity cards can also be used to strengthen parent-child bonds and to support educational and accountable care by providing caregivers with ideas for activities they can use to help children play and relax.

Available in Bulgarian, English, Romania, Russian and Ukrainian.

Diversity+

The high quality, inclusive Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) is an essential foundation for children’s successful lifelong health, learning, social integration, and personal development. It can also help close the achievement gap for children from vulnerable and disadvantaged groups and provide them with the best start in life. Yet, ECEC facilities, approaches and services have not always been designed and professionals prepared to meet the pluralistic needs of all children and their families.

What Diversity + project aims to?

To address these challenges Diversity+ aims to provide ECEC professionals, managers and practitioners with governance, benchmarking, recognition and professionalization tools to help them transform their practice and open up to diversity that exists among children and families.

What are we going to do?

This three-year project will develop concrete and practical resources that offer a structured and supported approach to quality inclusive service design. The toolkit will contain:

• A Diversity+ Charter to set out the minimum requirements for an ECEC organization to be considered as “Diversity positive”;
• An interactive digital Assessment tool which ECEC practitioners and managers will be able to use to assess current services and track improvements;
• A “European Qualification Framework” (EQF) profile and training resources to profile key knowledge, skills and attitudes required to respond to the individual needs of children from different backgrounds or with special educational needs
• A set of thirty interactive games that will help ECEC practitioners to work with children on recognizing and addressing biases, prejudice, discrimination, and exclusion, to sustain critical thinking in children, and support them to speak out for themselves and others, and threat everybody with empathy and respect regardless of their origin, gender, background, level of abilities, language and other existing differences.

Who is involved?

The project is led by the Italian partner CIAPE, and it involves other partners such as Link Campus University in Italy, Aspire-Igen in UK, Fondatsiya na Biznesa za Obrazovani in Bulgaria, Skola Dokoran in Slovakia, and Schola Empirika in the Czech Republic. ISSA contributes to the project by providing technical support for the development of different tools and resources, and leads its dissemination activities.

 Diversity+ Toolkit 

Diversity+ Charter

A set of minimum requirements that ECEC services and institutions have to meet to accommodate different types of diversity and be classified as inclusive and diversity positive (Diversity+). The Diversity+ Charter aims to provide practical guidelines and recommendations on how to make the ECEC environment more inclusive. Read more.

Download: ENGLISH | BULGARIAN | DUTCH | CZECH | ITALIAN | SLOVAK 

Read more about the Diversity+ Charter

Diversity+ Footprint Assessment Tool

Based on the European Quality Framework for Early Childhood Education and Care, this interactive digital tool is meant to support ECEC officers - often not specialised in diversity inclusion - to assess current services and mostly understand in a visual way the concrete, necessary steps needed to improve their provision. The organizations rated as having an ‘excellent’ Diversity footprint get a Certificate likely to increase the prestige of the organisation itself and encourage others to undertake a similar path.

Apply the tool in ENGLISH | BULGARIAN | CZECH | DUTCH | ITALIAN | SLOVAK

Read more about the Diversity+ Footprint Assessment Tool

EQF of Diversity Ambassador in ECEC environments

The "European Qualification Framework of Diversity Ambassador in ECEC environments” is expected to improve ECEC HR management, to profile key knowledge, skills and attitudes required to respond to individual and group needs of children from different backgrounds and with special educational exigencies. Specific learning resources complement the EQF profile in order to smoothly develop the role of a Diversity Ambassador: key feature of a diversity positive ECEC provision. Also, the tool eases the readability of the profile, thus ultimately the professionals' mobility, across Europe.

Download:  ENGLISH | BULGARIAN | CZECH | ITALIAN | SLOVAK

Read more about the Diversity+ Ambassador

Diversity+ Serious Game

An online game-based tool with 30 interactive scenarios, addressing teachers and other staff in early childhood education and care (ECEC). The animated scenarios are built around common situations arising in everyday dynamics related to discrimination, racism, bias and stereotypes.

Play the interactive scenarios ENGLISH | BULGARIAN | CZECH | ITALIAN | SLOVAK

Diversity+ eBook

The Diversity+ eBook aims to present the variety of approaches found across different European countries during the research phase of the project, and to provide examples of inspiring practices and solutions to existing problems. Read more.

Download: ENGLISH I BULGARIAN I CZECH I ITALIAN I SLOVAK

Established in 2003 by a group of psychologists, pedagogues and community workers, ISSA Member Comenius Foundation for Child Development (Comenius Foundation) inspires adults to create environments in which all young children can develop, explore and use their potential. The organization provides equal opportunities for children that help them to become open-minded individuals. To implement that, Comenius Foundation has innovative systemic and legal arrangements and a wide variety of effective childcare projects.

Comenius Foundation is mostly focused on the wellbeing of children from rural areas and small towns, children from economically and culturally neglected communities. Foundation’s activities are targeted towards non-governmental organizations, representatives of local governments, parents, teachers, librarians, animators, and children directly. On the national level, Comenius Foundation promotes the educational needs of young children through publishing, preparing reports, conducting research, organizing conferences. On the local level, the organization provides training, projects, and consultations to rural municipalities and non-governmental organizations to help them introduce developmental and educational services for young children which equalize their life chances.

Comenius Foundation would like to share their experiences with up-scaling playgroup services for children a few months old to three or four years of age, within and outside Poland. The up-scaling methodology can be used for other programs as well as playgroup projects. The playgroup project offers meetings for young children and their parents or caregivers under the guidance of an animator. A playgroup makes it possible for adults to accompany their children in the classroom, which contributes to their children’s sense of wellbeing, helps parents enhance their parenting skills, and strengthens parent-child relationships. The Playgroups Plus project helps young unemployed mothers with job searches.

“I am very thankful for the playgroups that have been set up for our children, where they can feel at ease,” says Jumagul from Tajikistan – a mother of Mehron, a girl with right-sided paresis. “The children learn and play together. During breaks, they wash their hands, eat fruit or have tea with biscuits. Each child has their own towel. After these meetings, at home, Mehron is able to act independently and helps to set the table, bringing spoons, tea dishes, and towels. I am very glad that my daughter is assisting me.”

Playgroups Plus was a pilot project. Now Comenius Foundation would like to scale it up! The aim is to determine the project's potential to improve the ability of young mothers to advance their professional careers in Early Childhood Education and Care services.

Are you an ISSA member with experience in this area? The Comenius Foundation would love to hear from you.

Following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, NGOs around Europe had to act swiftly to respond to the needs of families with young children fleeing Ukraine. While the necessary infrastructure was set up quickly, the early childhood development (ECD) workforce was not adequately prepared to support children who have been through traumatic experiences. For Ukrainian children living in Bulgaria, their fear, anxiety, anger, sadness, and grief are compounded by being away from their homes, schools, relatives, and peers, adjusting to a new country, and uncertainty about their future. In this new reality, the ECD workforce needs the proper tools to protect their mental health and support the children they work with.

In 2022, War Child Holland, ISSA Member, Amna, and ISSA joined forces to develop and deliver a training of trainers titled Foundational training on psychological first aid and trauma-informed practices. In cooperation with UNICEF, ISSA Member For Our Children Foundation recruited highly qualified ECD professionals to be trained as master trainers to deliver the foundational training in Bulgaria. They were then grouped, ensuring that each had a balance of professionals with knowledge of the ECD systems and experience working directly with children and families. Since this training, and with support from UNICEF Bulgaria, For Our Children Foundation, successfully trained 103 ECD professionals, by coordinating a series of workshops on psychosocial support and trauma-informed care for those working with refugees and migrant children.

To realize these workshops, For Our Children Foundation created a plan detailing the potential target groups, training dates, and suitable venues. Master trainers delivered these trainings in Bulgaria’s five largest cities—Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna, Burgas, and Stara Zagora. These cities have the largest number of ECD services, which allows For Our Children Foundation to scale up expertise. This will not only strengthen the capacity of the ECD workforce, but also ensure sustainability and further utilization of the training’s resources. Furthermore, with assistance from local authorities, For Our Children Foundation identified and invited early years and social services professionals that have been heavily involved in the refugee crisis. 

In Stara Zagora, trainers from Mission Wings Foundation, an organization with many years working to support migrants and refugees, conducted a training with frontline workers with diverse backgrounds and experiences. In addition, workshops hosted in Burgas and Varna reached many Ukrainian children and families fleeing the war. Representatives of UNICEF’s Blue Dot hubs—safe spaces where children and families can get practical support on their journey—also joined these sessions. Meanwhile in Sofia and Plovdiv, For Our Children Foundation’s ECD centers hosted the workshops. 

For Our Children Foundation has received overwhelmingly positive feedback from both participants and master trainers. The enthusiasm of those trained will allow For Our Children Foundation to establish effective and sustainable professional learning communities, to boost the skills and knowledge of professionals.

Photo on the left (training in Plovdiv); Photo on the right (training in Sofia)
Photos courtesy of For Our Children Foundation.

In March 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic led to a strict lockdown in Greece, playful and in-person interactions suddenly came to a halt at the Baytna program - an early childhood program developed by Refugee Trauma Initiative (RTI) for refugee children and their caregivers. To continue to support vulnerable families emotionally and socially, RTI and its network of partners created a range of multimedia and psychosocial resources, available online in several languages, for Baytna families and beyond.

Children growing up in conflict zones, experiencing displacement, or amid multiple deprivations are at risk of trauma and toxic stress which can interrupt healthy development. In such settings children are less likely to receive the protection, safety, and nurturing care and stimulation they need to meet their developmental milestones.

In Greece, there are 120,000 displaced individuals, including children and their families, many of whom are living with the effects of trauma alongside on-going stress, uncertainty, and adversity. For the past four years, Refugee Trauma Initiative (RTI) has been delivering Baytna - a trauma and identity-informed early childhood development program specially designed for refugee children and their caregivers living in Greece, with a focus on psychosocial support. Baytna program is funded by Help Refugees and Open Society Foundations.

In designing Baytna (which means ‘home’ in Arabic), we followed what the science tells about the power of creative expression, play, and relationships for healthy development and healing from adversity. It relies on in-person interactions between facilitators, children, caregivers and trauma- and identity-informed learning environments that are created.

Since mid-2019, we scaled up Baytna through a network of local organisations who we train and provide ongoing mentoring as part of a year-long capacity building program. As of early 2020, Baytna was running at five sites across Greece: two in Athens, and three in North Greece - Thessaloniki, Polikastro and Katerini.

Supporting displaced families amidst COVID-19

In March 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic spread worldwide and Greek authorities began a strict lockdown, thousands of displaced families were suddenly forced to stay at their residence, and the usual nurturing interactions at Baytna became impossible as centres had to close.

It was important to continue supporting the families who attended Baytna so that they felt emotionally and socially supported - receiving care, feeling connected with a community, and having Baytna-inspired activities to do. In addition, consultations with people from displaced communities revealed the need for remote and innovative psychosocial support.

Online psychosocial support for families

Responding to the needs of displaced people, we developed psychosocial activity ideas for parents and their children - a taste of Baytna at home - which required either no materials or simple household items. The activity ideas for children from different ages were translated into various languages, both written and audio recordings, and shared with the families via the local partners (e.g. by text messages or phone calls). 

We, together with our partners, co-created interactive resources and videos for families, leveraging different strengths and the combined collaborative power of the Baytna network. These resources have been shared across social media and are available on RTI’s website.

Some examples include:

• Movement with Marianna, RTI
  
  
• Storytelling with Vaseilia (Athen’s Comic Library), Fatima (OCC) and Vasiliki, RTI
  
  
• Music and singalongs with Sofia and Miltos, Perichoresis
  
  
• Relaxation with Marianna, Elix

Simultaneously, we worked with partners to deliver activity care kits to families. These contained arts, craft, storytelling, and hygiene materials, as well as simple toys and posters. These were another sign of solidarity and continuity of Baytna program to families.

At times, caregivers reached out to Baytna facilitators to share their enthusiasm and gratitude for the activity ideas and videos, and to ask for advice about how to use them. Elix – a partner in Eleonas refugee camp in Athens - shared that caregivers asked how to modify the activities and also that some children recognised the activities from Baytna sessions and would teach their parents to do the same with excitement. Another Baytna partner - Athen's Comic Library - received videos from families of them trying out the activities at home, sometimes with their own unique approach.

It was very encouraging to see the Baytna activities and resources being shaped and adapted, as they were intended as inspiration to spark imagination, play, and bonding between children and their caregivers.

New era of programming

As Greece began lifting its lockdown from May 2020, the Baytna network has started to launch in-person programming again. The online resources will continue to be shared and created digitally. RTI colleagues share that it has been a joy to allow children who had already been attending Baytna to reconnect with their facilitators, if only by video, and to continue programming at a distance. It is even a greater joy to welcome children who live in other parts of Greece or in the other countries to access Baytna activities for the first time – and website statistics demonstrate the wide reach of the resources so far.

The Baytna network now has a growing bank of psychosocial resources and multimedia which are already being brought into their sessions. These can be used for any future lockdown situations, and to support RTI when training new Baytna partners. The recent collaborations have also strengthened the network and the connections between Baytna partners, fostering collaboration, sharing of ideas and development of language resources.

The COVID-19 crisis has reminded us of the power of a network, with shared values and vision, in responding with agility to changing needs of the communities we work with. Together, we can help to ensure that displaced children across Greece receive nurturing and quality care, and flourishing futures, amidst challenging and changing circumstances.

Written by Evelyn Wilcox, Head of Knowledge Management, Refugee Trauma Initiative, in collaboration with RTI team

Pictures:

1. Vasileia, a Storyteller and Baytna Facilitator at Athen's Comic Library, as she created a Baytna video

2. Activity sets sent to families during the COVID-19 lockdown.

After many years of experience in the country, ISSA Member Step by Step Albania has encountered an unprecedented situation after the lockdown due to COVID-19 outbreak was announced. Focused on the professional development of teachers, the organisation reaches more than 4 000 educational practitioners with its training and ECEC resources.  

To respond to the current crisis, Step by Step Albania director Gerda Sula explains how they have supported practicioners in a holistic way: from technical issues such as migration to an online learning setting to emotional and social aspects, such as coping with stress and anxiety in uncertain times. With schools being reopened, a new phase is about to begin. Gerda is sure it will bring many positive lessons, for instance, the ones that lead towards more blended education system in Albania.  

- Gerda, what is the current situation of the ECEC services in Albania?  

- Schools restarted in Albania at the beginning of June. However, the ECEC community is worried about the measures that will be implemented. Children are requested to maintain social distance from their peers and follow strict rules of movement within the school. In Early Years setting this is simply not possible. We know that playing with the same toys, exchanging experiences, touching each other play an essential role in the development of the young child. Observing these rules in not only not realistic, but we also believe that it might hurt children psychologically. For them it is very difficult to make a good distinction between physical distance for health reasons and their friend being the enemy - the suspicious one who might have the virus. This can really hurt the children’s social development. During the early years, a child is still in the operational state in which things around her or him have to be visible in order to make sense. We are lobbying for the Ministry of Education to revisit this protocol because we find it logistically unrealistic and harmful for children. The only exception to this rule are the creches and kindergartens which have been open already because they are seen as social service to support parents in their daily work. Also, high schools are already open for a very short time so that teenagers can do their final exams.  

- What solution does your organisation propose in order to accomplish this new phase in a better way? 

- We have very few coronavirus cases and parents are starting to go to their workplaces. However, since schools remain closed, they try to find informal care for their children like neighbours and relatives. This sort of parking solution doesn’t benefit the child and shouldn’t last longer. Thus, in order to restart the school facilities in a good way, we believe that it would be better to relax the unrealistic measures and be creative. Summer temperatures are already here, so teaching can be done outdoors, bringing the class furniture outside as well, and remaining flexible as weeks go by. This can be a great opportunity to practice learning through play, allowing kids to enjoy each other, lessening the pressure on the scolarisation of the youngest children – a phenomenon which is very present in our country. It focuses on pre-reading and pre-writing skills at kindergarten level instead of learning what they are supposed to in a fun and engaging way. We hope this new situation will bring more attention to this.  

- How are practitioners dealing with this changing situation? 

- All teachers understand the need to reopen for the economic activity to continue, and they feel much more supported by parents and society in general. Thanks to the lockdown, parents are appreciating much more the work of the Early Years Education teachers than before. They used to think it was mainly about taking care of their children and now they have realized that it is much more and that playing means learning, that social and cognitive skills develop this way. Having said this, teachers have experienced a lot of stress due to the need to quickly migrate online, with no support at the national level. The first case was diagnosed on March 9th, and that same day the country went on the total lockdown. There had been no time to prepare, and theachers hadn’t acquired skills to work online. They had to start with what they had. For example, WhatsApp groups that they already used with parents before, became the essential communication tool for them.  

- How has Step by Step Albania supported teachers and which actions have you implemented during the lockdown?  

- We provided webinars on how to use different online modalities such as Zoom and Google Classroom. Via our social networks, we sent activities that could be shared with parents at home, giving continuity to the holistic development of the child on which the school setting was based. At the beginning, there was a huge resistance to online teaching and now teachers have embraced it in a very positive way. At the same time, we have been working with the national radio stations so that they include more programs for kindergarten education. This was possible via the channel that they already had that is dedicated to compulsory education’s home learning. We also had a great help from young volunteers whom we have trained to show parents how to practice homeschooling. Those are simple ideas that can be implemented while doing daily tasks, such as asking their child to help them with the laundry by passing them “the blue pant and the red shirt” or the two pairs of socks – a wonderful way to practice colors and counting. It seems straightforward, but this is very challenging in certain communities where the majority of the adult population is illiterate, like Roma communities. Through these young Roma volunteers, who become the role models, parents can learn how important education is for breaking the circle of poverty, starting from the Early Years.  

- What are the main tasks you detected at the start of the lockdown which remain in this new phase?  

- What we worry the most is increasing inequality: not all the families have access to online materials because not everyone has internet access, and if they do - it doesn’t work perfectly every day. Also, many households do not have laptops and tablets for children to use. We are very concerned that there will be a larger gap between the most vulnerable kids and the rest due to this lack of access. We have asked several organisations for their support in order to buy hardware that we could distribute among these families. Besides, we are in contact with internet providers some of which are ready to provide free Wi-Fi if it is used for educational purposes.  

- Can you give some tips on how we can safeguard the well-being of the education practitioners in these uncertain times? 

- When our work is appreciated, our enthusiasm is renewed. In case of the teachers, this is a positive outcome of COVID-19 crisis. The other aspect we have to ensure is to keep networking among professionals. Teachers and other practitioners need to talk to each other and share their experiences and challenges, how they are copying with the difficulties. This peer communication can help them to realize that they are not alone and that they are not the only ones who don’t know their way through. Another positive outcome of this situation is that it has empowered prospective teachers who are young people. All of the sudden they know more than the veteran ones about the digital world. They have worked together very nicely and developed stronger bonds between the different generations. 

- How have you personally gone through this crisis?  

- I have been a full supporter of blended learning for a very long time. I believe it is the apex of education nowadays and I was very disappointed that in Albania it wasn’t being taken seriously. Until today! I am very happy to see how people are starting to experience and value the benefits of combining online and physical learning, of building a closer relationship between teachers and parents and experiencing the positive inputs that distant collaboration can bring to schools. This has also been a very productive period of educational and pedagogical information which will be used in the future as well. Personally, I have enjoyed being with my family and I haven’t feared the virus. I think we can draw many positive lessons from this strange situation.  

You can learn more of Gerda Sula’s experiences during the webinar “Early childhood educators: Supporting professionalism during COVID-19 – Examples from Albania, Croatia and the Netherlands”  

TOY for Inclusion Play Hubs give children a save, welcoming place to interact, play and spend quality time with other children and adults. As part of their work to fight educational poverty and create growth opportunities from a young age, Associazione 21 Luglio formed two Play Hubs in the suburb of Tor Bella Monaca in Rome for children aged zero to three years and their families.

While one of the Play Hubs sits inside the former headquarters of Associazione 21 Luglio, the other is a mobile trolley. In 2021, their mobile Play Hub began traveling around the neighborhood for the first time.

It was positioned on the Piazza Castano square in Rome, where the community welcomed the mobile Play Hub and its Toy Library with great interest and curiosity.

Read more about the activities of the mobile Play Hub and how they are fostering community connection, here.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought many unprecedented challenges for grassroots organizations and the communities they serve, especially those living in vulnerable and adverse context. The shock caused by this crisis is incomparable in terms of speed, scope, and intensity.

As part of our efforts to better understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and contribute to the learning in the early childhood development field, ISSA has reached out to its Members across Europe to consolidate and synthesize evidence on interventions or services that they have developed as a response to the COVID-19 to support children, parents and caregivers.

Drawing on ISSA Members’ input, we have synthesized a set of noteworthy practices and put together an overview of ways in which five ISSA Members have responded to alleviate the impact and challenges created by COVID-19 on the most vulnerable people they serve. We invite you to read, download and share ISSA’s brief “‘Walk the Talk’ in Times of Crisis: Noteworthy practices from the early childhood field – ISSA Members’ COVID-19 responses”.

Would you like to know more about how ISSA Members have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic and the wide range of resources they have created? Click here. 

A combilation of videos addressed to families and ECD professionals, that aim at explaining the developmental stages of the child and how we can support children's holistic development and autonomy.

Learn more about Ensemble for Early Childhood Education on the website, Facebook, Twitter and Youtube. Follow #EduEnsemble on social media to see more posts. 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, food deprivation of households with young children has emerged as a priority among priorities.

Associazione 21 luglio applied the following method:

1) selecting five formal monoethnic settlements of special emergency housing;
2) carrying out a survey by telephone that highlighted the malnutrition of many children, particularly infants and young children;
3) designing a food aid program for three settlements (Castel Romano, Salone and Tor Cervara) which, in the study, was reported as the most disadvantaged contexts in Rome and for one of the most poor neighborhood in Rome (Tor Bella Monaca);
4) thinking to an operational strategy post-covid-19 to empower women and children.

The concrete intervention is focused on:

a. the fight against food deprivation for children 0 to 3 years old. The methodological elements that characterized this action were:
- personalizing the intervention (face-to-face interview with all the mothers to find out their specific needs and drew up a list of around 250 beneficiaries – 200 from the villages, 50 from the neighborhood);
- designing a typology composed of 5 types of baby packs, differentiated according to the size of the baby and the dietary needs for baby food and semolina, and according to the need or not for powdered milk;
- giving a personalized card to the mothers to pick up their personal package every week.

b. To overcome stereotypes and stigmatization of Roma communities:
- the request for help emphasize the dimension of food deprivation of children 0/3 years old and not ethnicity, according to a principle of our association. However, we underline the fact that these are children living in “slums”.

c. In addition to the food delivering we implemented some relational and political actions:
- we have created whatsapp groups through which we keep in touch with mothers to give them advice, listen to their discomforts, bring relief, send activities to do with their children;
- we have activated a service that allows to listen to fairy tales in Italian and Romanes (Romani chib): "Tales on the phone";
- we have provided children with some internet access so that they can connect to platforms designed by schools;
- we help the children to do their homework with remote volunteer support and the use of mobile phones;
- we periodically send to all 3-6 aged children attending a school of the neighborhood videos where a psychologist and a Roma paraprofessional read a story that can help them to process the lockdown period;
- we have reinforced the pressure and advocacy aspects with an appeal to Mayor Virginia Raggi and Prefect Pantalone for urgent measures to protect the right to health and school continuity.

d. Planning of sustainability interventions
- through our website, we have launched an appeal to the citizens of Rome to buy the products needed for baby parcels. We have favored the purchase of foodstuffs and consumer goods rather than sending money by bank transfer, convinced that this would strengthen solidarity;
- we asked additional funds to Foundations who support us in different projects.

The systemic approach has led to:

1. Research #IStayCamp. Health Conditions, Food Deprivation and Solidarity Problems in the First Days of Lockdown in the Roma Villages of Rome by Carlo Stasolla and Tommaso Vitale.
Quoting the research:
“During the lockdown we made the following urgent public policy recommendations:
• To map the conditions of greatest fragility within shantytowns and deprived public shelters with the aim of guaranteeing the distribution of basic necessities, particularly to minors and the elderly.
• To guarantee adequate sanitary conditions within each individual shantytown, primarily by rapidly ensuring access to drinking water.
• To ensure the presence of health workers and cultural mediators within the settlements who can carry out an information campaign aimed at illustrating the prevention measures recommended by health authorities and distributing personal protective equipment to inhabitants.
• To strengthen and coordinate a network of volunteers (Roma included) in order to monitor the hygienic and health conditions of those living in the shantytowns and to orient people with symptoms.
• To promote measures to safeguard the right to distance learning for students living in slums.
• To coordinate support and food supply actions for the needy, especially for babies and toddlers aged 0 to 3 years.
• To systematically listen to people living in shantytowns in order to understand their needs in a precise way, and to enhance and mobilize their skills, with precise reports that allow for concreteness and timeliness.
• To prepare in advance an adequate and timely intervention plan in case of a COVID-19 contagion within a village.”

2. During the lockdown we made 5 videos addressed to around 200 children attending a pre-primary school located in the disadvantaged neighborhood of Tor Bella Monaca. The videos represent a continuum of an emotional literacy intervention started two years ago in the school. There was one video sent every week until the end of June. 

3. One video was made on the goods stored in the community center "Polo Ex Fienile" that we manage in the area of Rome, Tor Bella Monaca. The parcels are packed there once a week on Saturday mornings in the open air in the garden of the community center by a group of well-spaced volunteers (divided into five groups, one for each type of baby food aid-package), in order to give maximum visibility to the preparation of the parcels.

4. Ten fairy tales told in Italian and eight of them translated in Romani languages.

Photo by Fabio Moscatelli

The purpose of this manual is to equip members of Inclusive Resource Centers (IRC), parents of children with special needs, schools and other institutions dealing with the issues of inclusive education, providing special support to children with special needs with necessary practical information. The main issues the manual addresses are the following: the concept of inclusive education as a rights based approach, introduction of International Classification of Functioning (ICF) as a tool to identify necessary support for children with special needs, organizational aspects of IRCs` activities, how to conduct complex assessment of children with special needs, role of the parents and ways of cooperation with families of children with special needs.

This resource will be very useful for policy makers who develop the system of support to children with special needs and their families in the context of inclusive education, for educators and parents, other community members.

The following issues make the resource innovative and inspiring: internationally agreed definition of inclusive education as a provision of additional support to children with special needs within inclusive educational environment, new approaches to assessment of children with special needs to identify their strengths and additional needs rather than problems.

IRCs are community-based institutions created to provide the right of children with special needs to quality education, in particular:
• complex assessment of children with special needs aged from 2-18 years to identify children`s strengths and special needs;
• methodological support to inclusive pre-schools, primary and secondary schools on providing quality educational services to children with special needs within inclusive educational environment (necessary accommodations, modifications, proper organization of educational environment based on the principles of universal design and reasonable accommodations);
• consultative support to parents of children with special needs;
• coordination of services in local communities.

Informing and guiding the development of a Framework to Strengthen the Capacity of “Tipat Halav” nurses in Israel is a qualitative research study on behalf of Goshen Institute, with the overall objective to generate in-depth data that unveil effective processes and strategies which need to be in place in order to achieve a practice-change among Parent and Child Health ("Tipat Halav") nurses in Israel. Specifically, the study, which is part of a larger initiative pursued by Bernard Van Leer Foundation, the Rothschild Foundation Foundation and Israel’s Ministry of Health, aimed at mapping:

1. the strategies and processes that need to be in place in order to successfully achieve a practice-change among nurses in working with parents;
2. the common elements among successful programs;
3. the barriers and challenges in program implementation.

Interviews with 9 training providers and practitioners from across 6 countries, highlighted the complexity of the field and of nurses’ role and revealed the necessary knowledge, skills and attributes that effective nurses should possess. In addition, the interviews revealed the key challenges faced by the profession, the professionals and the training programs, as well as the success factors and recommendations about how challenges can be tackled. Research results highlight that practice-change is inseparably linked to the system in which practitioners operate and that in order for practice change to be achieved it is important to recognize the importance of the field as well as the uniqueness of this field. Thus, interviewees highlighted the need to focus on the social aspects of health and move beyond hospital-oriented practices and theory as well as the need for more innovative, practice-based approaches and experiential learning and for common standards of practice and common standards among training providers.