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This case study is based on the Early Childhood Development Complexes of For Our Children Foundation (FoC), Bulgaria, that provided several different socially integrated services concentrated within reach, which together form a safety net for children and families. FoC in Bulgaria created the Early Childhood Development Complexes in Sofia and Plovdiv to pay attention to the first, most important years of every child's life and to support them when it is not too late. In addition to working directly with children with disabilities and difficulties in the development and supporting families in vulnerable situations, FoC organized trainings for prospective adoptive parents, foster families, as well as for prevention of violence, development of parental capacity and more. 

The MANDELA model for Early Childhood Education and Care is a framework to place inclusivity at the heart of practice with babies, children, and families. It recognises the importance of relationships and belonging and ensuring environments reflect this. It also acknowledges that if we change the start of the journey, we can change educational outcomes for children that can impact across their life course.

The MANDELA way is not about prescription it is about FREEDOM and the workbook uses the word MANDELA to frame questions to enable a deeper understanding of practice to emerge, develop developmental plans and then embed a practice that is constantly evolving:

• Make Time– to really understand the community that uses the setting-staff, children, families. Use this information to shape different conversations, develop relationships, co-construct action plans and ensure they are enacted.
  Acknowledge- is about striving for inclusivity in all we do through acknowledging our Needs, Differences, Education, Life experiences and Age.
• Needs – what are the different needs of those using the setting, remembering people have the right not to share. How can you ensure the setting in inclusive of all needs? How do staff know and feel their needs are being addressed? How do parents and carers know their child’s needs will be met?
• Difference – this is about recognising we are all different. How do I know I am safe in you setting? Do you see me? Do you value who #I am?
• Education Experiences- acknowledging previous education experiences, providing training and further development of staff. Supporting parents and carers develop their knowledge about child development.
• Life Experience – our journey are all different, how to we value these and how do we create safe environments for people to use and work. How do we ensure are staff are safe practitioners? How does the setting value family diversity and the different experiences of the children using the setting?
• Age -how does the setting value people of different ages. What is its approach to intergenerational sharing? Does it know how age is viewed in different culture?

To learn more about the MANDELA Model, listen to this podcast episode with Dr Prospera Tedam who developed the Model, and Professor Eunice Lumsden who designed the Unique Childhoods Workbook. In the episode, they discuss these tools and how they can be used to support connection and build trust, deepening our anti-discriminatory practice and bringing about change in early childhood education.

This book brings together some of the KINDER project’s key contributions to the construction of a transformative and gender-sensitive education. It offers a set of common learning experiences developed by the KINDER international partners, which must be shared as a starting point for policies and programmes aiming at integrating gender issues at an early age at national and European level.

The chapter, Positive gender socialisation at home and school for transformative change, was authored by the ISSA Secretariat's Progam Director, Dr. Mihaela Ionescu, and Junior Program Manager, Ayça Alaylı. It emphasizes the importance of positive gender socialization (PGS) beginning from early years for each child to develop holistically and reach their unique potential. The main aim of the chapter is to provide a deeper understanding on gender transformative approaches and the pathways of applying gender transformative methodolologies in parenting and education, to promote PGS. The chapter examines the concepts, but also provides practical recommendations for parents and practitioners.

Together, UNICEF ECARO and ISSA have developed a set of Resource Modules for Home Visitors: Supporting Families for Nurturing Care, intended to better equip home visitors with the latest knowledge and tools to support and engage with the families of young children.

Drawing upon the most recent scientific evidence, the modules have been developed through a consultative process involving international and regional experts, national trainers, and home visiting professionals. They can be delivered through various training methods and adapted to train other service providers.
These modules empower home visitors to take a strengths-based approach that promotes nurturing relationships between the caregiver and child as well as contributing to risk reduction by supporting and referring families to other services when necessary.

The modules are accompanied by several supporting tools. They provide ample opportunity for the learner to be actively engaged in reflection and deliver guidance on the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and practices required for home visitors in their “new and enriched role”. These tools can support home visitors to work in partnership with families, to support parents and caregivers, and empower them to provide the best possible environment for their young children.
We trust that training courses based on these modules, whether in-person or online, will enable home visitors to develop positive, respectful, and sensitive relationships with parents, empowering them to make informed decisions and take positive action with regard to the development and all-around wellbeing of their young children.You can learn more about the Nurturing Care Framework here.

In partnership with:

With the aim to support ECEC settings, leaders and professionals to identify and overcome these challenges, the Diversity+ project has launched the 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+). 

Following the Council Recommendations on High Quality ECEC, the Diversity+ Charter is organised around five key areas: Access, Workforce, Curriculum, Monitoring and Evaluation and Governance for diversity inclusion. Each area contains a set of indicators defining what should be in place for Diversity+ ECEC. 

The Charter invites ECEC managers and professionals to engage in a continuous discussion and critical reflection on their existing policies with the aim to ensure that all children, their families, and ECEC staff feel welcomed, valued and respected.

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PARENT manual provides insights and guidelines to engage men in nurturing care and transformations. It tackles the issue by reaching out and involving frontline workers from sectors such as health and social service as well as new fathers or fathers to be. 

The manual addresses engaging men in nurturing care in terms of working with health personnel to engage fathers, involving fathers in educational groups, highlighting the role of social workers in preventing domestic violence, early childhood development and gender socialization during engaged fatherhood and lastly reflections based on monitoring and evaluation.

"Let's Play" Activity Cards - Play-based activities for healing and learning

The "Let’s Play" Activity Cards contain play-based activities developed to stimulate and support children whose play has been affected by the war in Ukraine. The content emphasizes the healing power of play as a vehicle for children to express themselves and their feelings, while at the same time continuing to learn and explore the world around them.

Parents, caregivers, professionals and volunteers working in formal and non-formal Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) programs can use them as a way of alleviating stress, supporting their involvement in children’s play, strengthening their connection with children, and as a means of providing children with a sense of safety and comfort.

Available in Armenian, Bulgarian, Czech, English, Hungarian, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, and Ukrainian.

The "European Qualification Framework of Diversity Ambassador in ECEC environments” has been developed with the aim to improve ECEC HR management, to profile critical 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: a key feature of a diversity positive ECEC provision. Also, the tool eases the readability of the profile, thus ultimately the professionals' mobility, across Europe.

The EQF of Diversity Ambassador in ECEC environments has been developed and produced by the Diversity+ consortium under the leadership of CIAPE. 

Available in English, Bulgarian, Czech, Italian and Slovak.

The trainer guide is a part of the Home Visiting Resource Modules Supporting Families for Nurturing Care. You can access the whole package here. 

Introduction to Home Visitors Modules Supporting Families for the Nurturing Care. You can access all the modules here.