Knowledge Hub

This report outlines how the access to childcare and employment can be enhanced for families living in vulnerable conditions by investing in strong systems, organisations and staff. It highlights what measures can be taken to support families into childcare and employment and to enhance their overall quality of life.

During the lockdown, the Child Development Institute at Ilia State University continued its activities by providing services at the distance. All distance interventions included parents or other family members. In order to support their work at home, specialists were designing tailored activities for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Written visual materials alongside phone or online guidance were provided to any the family who was willing and able to participate in such an exchange.

Online connections have led to more close contact with family members identifying some areas which needed an urgent response. Therefore, the team of specialists designed distance parent education courses and invited all parents to engage. Talks were transferred on ISU’s page. The Institute Talks were held in Georgian on a weekly basis.

During the lockdown, the Child Development Institute at Ilia State University continued its activities by providing services at the distance. All distance interventions included parents or other family members. In order to support their work at home, specialists were designing tailored activities for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Written visual materials alongside phone or online guidance were provided to any the family who was willing and able to participate in such an exchange.

Online connections have led to more close contact with family members identifying some areas which needed an urgent response. Therefore, the team of specialists designed distance parent education courses and invited all parents to engage. Talks were transferred on ISU’s page. The Institute Talks were held in Georgian on a weekly basis.

This is the Toolbox of the Erasmus+ project Multilingual early childhood education and care for young refugee children. In this project (2016-2019) the consortium made an inventory of the existing services, activities and programmes for young children from refugee and asylum-seeking families in the Netherlands, Belgium, Norway and the United Kingdom.

The Toolbox includes Country reports, Quality Indicators and Training packages.

As soon as the lookdown was declared by the Prime Minister, Associazione 21 luglio conducted a research to monitor the condition of Roma communities living in housing emergency in Rome.

Association 21 luglio carried out an investigation within the institutional Roma settlements in Rome, to understand how the COVID-19 emergency and the strict rules imposed by the Government to prevent the virus contagion, could impact on the Roma living in camps. Noteworthy results are that there are no health workers in the camps for the distribution of material or to provide information about Covid-19; families cannot go out to work and don’t have money to buy food; the suspension of school activities and the impossibility of using technological tools essential to follow distance education puts minors of school age in a state of serious isolation in relation to their peers and teachers. To face these health conditions of over 6000 people living in housing emergency in the camps in Rome, Associazione 21 luglio launched an appeal to the Mayor and the Prefect of Rome to map the conditions of greater fragility inside the formal and informal settlements with the main aim of guaranteeing the distribution of basic necessities, adequate hygienic-sanitary conditions and ensuring access to drinking water.

First lines of the research: On March 9, 2020, “in order to counteract and contain the spread of the Covid 19 virus,” Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte signed a decree implementing a complete lockdown aimed at “avoiding any movement of individuals.” The government also recommended that stringent hygiene and sanitary measures be taken throughout the country. Associazione 21 Luglio (“July 21 Association”), began an applied research project aimed at understanding the impact of these measures in formal settlements in Rome, which are inhabited by families that generally define themselves—and are identified by the local authorities — as belonging to varied Roma communities.

This research revealed how such settlements struggle with public health concerns and access to food, among other deprivations, and underscores the need for emergency interventions. Those results allowed us to elaborate a strategy to contain the negative effects generated by the lockdown.

In our opinion, this resource can be used to inspire other association to use our methodology. Indeed, the research was the first step to implement a food aid program focused on the fight against food deprivation for children 0 to 3 years old living in poor Roma settlements.

Contact person: Francesca Petrucci, educazione@21luglio.org 

During the lockdown, the Child Development Institute at Ilia State University continued its activities by providing services at the distance. All distance interventions included parents or other family members. In order to support their work at home, specialists were designing tailored activities for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Written visual materials alongside phone or online guidance were provided to any the family who was willing and able to participate in such an exchange.

Online connections have led to more close contact with family members identifying some areas which needed an urgent response. Therefore, the team of specialists designed distance parent education courses and invited all parents to engage. Talks were transferred on ISU’s page. The Institute Talks were held in Georgian on a weekly basis.

Everyday experiences are being lost behind the statistics about the COVID-19 pandemic. This is especially true for those already marginalised, such as displaced men, women, and children. At Refugee Trauma Initiative (RTI), we spent time listening to the communities we work with to hear what life has been like during the COVID-19 pandemic and related restrictive measures.

This report sheds a light on the impact of COVID-19 on displaced people living in Greece - particularly the additional strains on their mental health and overall wellbeing. It features stories and reflections from refugees and NGO workers, and includes recommendations for relevant authorities, donors, and NGOs. We look forward to collaborating to help realise these recommendations.

During the lockdown, the Child Development Institute at Ilia State University continued its activities by providing services at the distance. All distance interventions included parents or other family members. In order to support their work at home, specialists were designing tailored activities for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Written visual materials alongside phone or online guidance were provided to any the family who was willing and able to participate in such an exchange.

Online connections have led to more close contact with family members identifying some areas which needed an urgent response. Therefore, the team of specialists designed distance parent education courses and invited all parents to engage. Talks were transferred on ISU’s page. The Institute Talks were held in Georgian on a weekly basis.

During the lockdown, the Child Development Institute at Ilia State University continued its activities by providing services at the distance. All distance interventions included parents or other family members. In order to support their work at home, specialists were designing tailored activities for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Written visual materials alongside phone or online guidance were provided to any the family who was willing and able to participate in such an exchange.

Online connections have led to more close contact with family members identifying some areas which needed an urgent response. Therefore, the team of specialists designed distance parent education courses and invited all parents to engage. Talks were transferred on ISU’s page. The Institute Talks were held in Georgian on a weekly basis.

During the lockdown, the Child Development Institute at Ilia State University continued its activities by providing services at the distance. All distance interventions included parents or other family members. In order to support their work at home, specialists were designing tailored activities for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Written visual materials alongside phone or online guidance were provided to any the family who was willing and able to participate in such an exchange.

Online connections have led to more close contact with family members identifying some areas which needed an urgent response. Therefore, the team of specialists designed distance parent education courses and invited all parents to engage. Talks were transferred on ISU’s page. The Institute Talks were held in Georgian on a weekly basis.

Providing accessible childcare can improve chances of vulnerable parents in general and on the labour market. With PACE we want to explore organising occasional and/or flexible childcare. As we are working with vulnerable parents, we have to be aware of their difficult living reality, where they face multi problems which will stand in the way of work and have to be tackled.

As the tests in PACE are performed in living lab environments, they sometimes do not need to follow all regulations of regular childcare. Also, some aspects of the tested method cannot be implemented in another region of the 2 Seas areas because of different local regulations. Regulation can stimulate innovation or can be a barrier. Therefore, it is certainly helpful to uncover the legal barriers as well as the inconsistencies between goals, capabilities, and implementation at different levels. A feasibility study on this is needed to allow largest possible upscaling of the tested methods. Throughout the duration of the project, the PACE officers of the different participating partners in the 4 countries have continuously indicated where they encountered organisational and legal barriers to apply the PACE method(s).

The COVID crisis and its effect has put families with children under a lot of stress. This is especially true for those families that were already experiencing difficulties or were at risk.

In this new and turbulent situation, we as service providers are aware that the pressure can seem overwhelming and being a good parent might seem unfeasible. This prompted us to conduct an emergency survey of the immediate and prospective needs of parents. We targeted both our clients and a wider sample of parents. The aim was to inform the delivery of our services so that they are as effective as possible in this fast changing situation.

Social service requires a close relationship of trust, which might be challenging both for professionals and for parents during social distancing. As a result, from the survey we created a report that analyzes the needs of the respondents and an infographic that summarizes our findings. Our “Emergency Family Support Program” was informed by the results.

The resources might be useful for service providers who have to adapt their social services in order to be able to be functional and at the same time follow the anti-pandemic guidelines and protect the health of their clients and staff. The situation requires us to be proactive and have the knowledge and evidence to provide adequate support and stay on top of the crisis.

The COVID-19 pandemic and its mitigation measures have created an extra burden for grass-roots organizations and the communities they serve. Although ensuring sustainability of their programmatic work and finding innovative ways to meet the diverse needs of the families and children, especially of those living in vulnerable and adverse contexts, have always been at the core of their everyday work, the shock caused by COVID-19 is unprecedented in terms of speed, scope, and intensity. ISSA Members have been proactive in tackling the challenges of the pandemic at the institution/program level but also at the level of the populations they serve. This brief provides an overview of ways in which five ISSA Members across Europe have responded to limit the impact of COVID-19 on the most vulnerable people they serve.

The materials aim to develop preventive skills of hygiene, behaviors of healthy lifestyle and awareness raising regarding COVID-19 for early childhood educators. The goal is to establish healthy lifestyle routines through age-appropriate thematic studies that can be incorporated in play time and time for reading.

The SBS team developed lesson plans and corresponding learning materials for preschool educators about introducing topic of hygiene and protection from coronavirus. The topic was introduced through series of thematic units and as a result the skills and knowledge are taught in an enjoyable and interactive ways, such as through play. This approach enables educators to integrate content from various subject areas for exploration of a central topic. In these times, when children listen a lot about coronavirus from different sources it is appropriate to use the momentum and based on emerging issue provide richer learning opportunities for them.

The SBS team outlined the following main sections of the thematic unit:
• What we should know about coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and how to protect yourself and your family members?
• What are the modes of transmission of COVID-19: what can children do to prevent spread of coronavirus (the book “Hello I am virus’’, handwashing posters, songs, etc.).
• Actions we need to practice for general hygiene (the story “Five actions before I go to sleep”).

During the thematic study we focus on developing some of the skills listed below: 
• Shaping healthy lifestyle behaviors, such as coughing and sneezing in the elbow and washing hands often.
• Singing songs while washing hands to maintain the recommended 20 seconds.
• Cleaning hands with disinfectant.
• Use puppets or dolls to show symptoms (sneezing, cough, fever) and developing empathy and safe care behavior.
• Keep the children away from each other, let them try to spread and shake their hands.

The lesson plans were developed according to ERR framework, and included all the necessary learning materials (thematic pictures, coloring sheets, small cards, activity sheets, etc.) and step by step guidance for teachers. Background reading materials for educators are also included in the lesson plans. In the thematic studies the adapted version of the Armenian translation of the book “Hello I am virus” was used. We have adapted and used handwashing song, posters and a text “Five things to do before going to sleep”.

The thematic unit is based on “Developmental and Education Standards for Children Birth to Six” as well as national preschool curricula for children from 3 to 6 year of age. The thematic unit consists of lesson plans with activities.

Deliverables:

Developed thematic units included all the necessary learning materials (thematic pictures, coloring sheets, small cards, activity sheets, etc.) and step by step guidance for teachers. Background reading materials for educators are also included in the lesson plans. In the thematic studies the adapted version of the Armenian translation of the book “Hello I am virus” was used. We have adapted and used handwashing song, posters and a text “Five things to do before going to sleep”.  

This presentation shows how one early childhood educator managed to cope with the new method of teaching – online learning with Year 2 students. She explains how to make online learning a meaningful journey for her young students and their parents. It served as an example of good practice to early childhood educators in ECDAM.

Baytna Hubs is an initiative between Amna and Help Refugees, supported by Open Society Foundation, to scale up a specialist Early Childhood Development (ECD), called Baytna, which has been developed within the context of the Greek refugee crisis.

The Baytna model provides high-quality pre-school educational and psychosocial support to refugee children and their caregivers, based around core values (respect, understanding, curiosity and linking) and with a trauma- and identity-informed approach. Baytna Hubs is an 18-month programme of capacity building to train and support local organisations around Greece to deliver Baytna. After a competitive application process in February 2019, Amna and Help Refugees selected three Baytna Hubs partners: Athens Comic Library, Elix, and Perichoresis.

In March 2020, as Baytna Hubs were gaining momentum in delivering Baytna, and with communities now established and regularly attending the Baytna spaces, the coronavirus pandemic reached Greece. Following government regulations related to the closing of schools and restrictions on gatherings, Baytna delivery halted across all sites. It was important to us all that we continued to support the families who attended Baytna so that they feel cared for, connected to a community, emotionally and socially supported, and still have activities to do that are Baytna-aligned. These activities and resources are being developed to be identity- and trauma- informed, and produced in different languages.

1. To start with, Amna developed psychosocial activity ideas for parents and their children, a taste of Baytna at home, which require no materials (e.g. crafts), and were shared by partners to families via translated text messages and calls. The activities were for different age groups and include valuable PSS introductions for parents. Amna also provided suggested messages in English, Greek and Arabic on how to explain centre closures to families, as well as information on hygiene activities. Feedback from families has been positive.

2. Next, the network co-created interactive resources and videos for families drawing on partners different strengths and the combined collaborative power of the network. Our aim is for members of the refugee community, such as caregivers and Baytna facilitators, to also produce videos thereby helping to ensure content is identity-informed and community-led. We have together developed fun and engaging multimedia for the Baytna community, including videos of Baytna activities (storytelling, dance and movement, and interactive songs) which families can watch at home and interact with, as well as PDFs of activity ideas in different languages and for different ages. These are being released on the Amna's facebook page and will be added to a resource section on the website.

3. Finally, we are now at a capacity building stage, so that the partners themselves develop their own ideas for supporting the communities that they know best. The capacity building will happen alongside Amna continuing to send out activity ideas, and to create online resources that hubs can also share with their communities.

4. Throughout, we are seeking to understand and be led by the needs of the community and to gather feedback from them on the usefulness and impact of these activities and resources.
We would like to highlight in this practice the power of a network approach, the importance up building up local capacity, and the role of having a value-based approach which supports flexible approach adaptable to different circumstances.