ECD PLUS

Support parents on early childhood care 

90% of the brain’s capacity develops before the age of 5, yet the workforce who serves young children is too often undervalued, underpaid and inadequately prepared. The Early Childhood Workforce Initiative strives to place more attention on these professionals and para-professionals.

The overall goal of the project is to strengthen the continuous professional development of the ECD Workforce working with young children from socially disadvantaged environments and their parents, by providing them with the pilot training on a new teaching methodology that can be used in their everyday work in formal and non-formal educational settings across Europe.

Project results:

– Strengthened functioning of families within communities through the support of parents (mothers and fathers) in their efforts to raise their children in a safe and caring environment.

– Provision to parents of the opportunity to acquire the necessary information, develop their social skills and knowledge on early childhood care, importance of their parental role, diverse models and approaches to parental care, especially in terms of their communication with their children and their mutual understanding, their opportunities to support their children’s learning and help them build a positive relationship to learning.

– Explain to parents the importance and meaning of participation of their children in pre-primary education in kindergartens.

– Strengthen the level of tolerance between non-Roma and Roma parents.

– Reduce the level of undesirable and inappropriate parental attitudes and practices regarding the education of children from marginalized communities.

– Empower participants to discuss with children “sensitive topics”, such as poverty, disability, exclusion, rejection, fear, violence, etc.

– Empower children to critically think and openly talk about their feelings and to resist biases, stigmatization and discrimination.

– Enhance the psychosocial life of young children and build community in the classroom.

– Get theoretical overview and knowledge about most relevant concepts related to diversity, interculturalism, equity and social justice.

– Build the critical consciousness trough naming reality, giving voice to those who are usually silenced and by building alliances.

Specific training tools and Policy Recommendations will aid the process.

The project is co-funded by the Erasmus+ programme, and managed by CIAPE in partnership with other organisations from Slovakia (coordinator), Serbia and Hungary.

For more information: opportunities@ciape.it

Download the tools:

• Report on national Early Childhood Development Policies in partner countries
• How to work with children from social disadvantaged environment and their parents
• Respecting diversity
• Policy recommendations

Visit the ECD+ website