Caring for the Caregiver – Implementer’s Guide

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Caring for the Caregiver – Implementer’s Guide

In accordance with evidence from the Lancet and UNICEF recommendations on Early Childhood Development and Nurturing Care, preventive support for caregiver health and emotional well-being is key to optimal child development. There is recognition that frontline workers, who are often community volunteers and caregivers themselves, are not equipped with adequate skills to enable them to support caregiver needs.

Caring for the Caregiver (CFC) provides curriculum for training frontline workers to address barriers to responsive caregiving and it provides supporting implementation materials for counselling caregivers. CFC training translates well-established evidence on how to support emotional well-being and mental health, presenting these in practical activities which encourage self-care, family. engagement and social support.

CFC was developed for the UNICEF West and Central Africa Regional Office (WCARO) with the support of LEGO Foundation.

UNICEF’s Vision for Elevating Parenting

UNICEF’s vision for integrated, multilevel programming moves beyond approaching parents as recipients of information or education, to a more collaborative partnership where there is a co-construction of support for the child as well as for/with the parents themselves.

Key features include:

1) moving towards strengths-based rather than “deficit-focused” approaches;

2) employing a life course lens;

3) meeting systems where they are and elevating parenting support in existing platforms;

4) explicit articulation of gender-responsive and disability-inclusive approaches;

5) focus on culturally responsive community engagement and empowerment, and promoting enabling environments to support parents and caregivers.

Learning Through Play

The brief describes the nature of pre-primary services within the broader concept of early learning. We then share definitions of what is meant by play in early childhood, followed by key points of why learning through play builds lifelong learners and supports children’s overall development. We then note
the obstacles that pre-primary advocates may face when making a case for play-based methods, and we propose a systems perspective in advocating for child-centred pedagogy and playful programmes. Noting the unique context of every country, the suggested strategies in this brief provide initial ideas that could be adapted to local contexts.

Roma Early Childhood Inclusion + Bulgaria Report (2020)

The Republic of Bulgaria has endeavoured, over the last three decades, to address the stark injustices evident in the socioeconomic situation of the majority of its Roma citizens and as evidenced in the country’s National Roma Integration Strategy 2012–2020. These efforts have accelerated since 2007, when Bulgaria became a full member of the European Union (EU). At present, Bulgaria is making important steps towards creating a national framework for early childhood development, a goal that remains high on the national agenda, and towards developing a more integrated approach to support parents and children in the early years. This RECI+ Report carries the explicit intention of providing Bulgarian authorities and civil society with a timely and informed account of the situation of Bulgarian Roma children during early childhood, and, in so doing, supporting government and other relevant actors to ensure equal and unhindered access to inclusive and integrated quality education, health, and social care for young Roma children and their families.

Read the policy brief in English here.

Roma Early Childhood Inclusion+ Czech Republic Report (2015)

This report on the early childhood education and care (ECEC) of young Roma children in the Czech Republic departs somewhat in its approach from previous Roma Early Childhood Inclusion (RECI+) Studies and Reports. The preparation of this report was led by the Open Society Foundations. The RECI initiative, which is ongoing, is a joint venture of three Sponsoring Agencies, namely: the Open Society Foundations Early Childhood Program, the Roma Education Fund, and UNICEF.

The principle reasons for a Special Report on Roma Inclusion in Early Childhood Education and Care at this stage of events, and not a full RECI+ Research Study and Report, include: the critical importance of ECEC for all children, particularly those
from marginalized and economically disadvantaged backgrounds;1 the pressing need for a timely contribution to the ongoing legislative actions and important national debates surrounding Roma education and inclusion in the Czech Republic; and to assist and support the government and public authorities, and educational decision makers and practitioners tasked with fulfilling their responsibilities in a context of critical international scrutiny.

Read the report in Czech here.

Global Survey of Inclusive Early Childhood Development and Early Childhood Intervention Programs

The RISE Institute, UNICEF and the Early Childhood Development Task Force have released the results of a global survey of inclusive early childhood development (IECD) and early childhood intervention (ECI) programs.  This large survey was designed in 2016, was conducted in 2017, and the report was prepared in 2018.

The main objectives of the survey were to:

  • Map the implementation of IECD and ECI programs and related activities;
  • Describe key IECD and ECI program features;
  • Identify gaps and challenges in providing accessible Inclusive Early Childhood Development (IECD) and Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) services;
  • Document factors associated with successful implementation and scale-up;
  • Generate recommendations to inform future policy and program development and national planning and implementation efforts.

The online survey targeted a range of programs and activities including IECD and ECI services; rehabilitation and habilitation services; humanitarian, emergency, and child protection services; advocacy campaigns; and research and evaluation projects.

The results, present information on 426 programs in 121 countries in all world regions and is now available in English, French, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.

A world ready to learn: prioritizing quality early childhood education

UNICEF’s global report on pre-primary education presents a comprehensive analysis of the status of early childhood education worldwide. It contains interesting facts and figures on Romani children.
It also outlines a set of practical recommendations for governments and partners to make quality pre-primary education universal and routine. Noting that at least 175 million children – 50 per cent of the world’s pre-primary-age population – are not enrolled in pre-primary programmes, the report urges governments to commit at least 10 per cent of their national education budgets to scale them up. Such funding should be invested in pre-primary teachers, quality standards and equitable expansion, the report states.