Young Roma children and their families

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Young Roma children and their families

Young Roma children have an equal right to thrive. The fulfilment of this right calls for urgent and comprehensive measures and coordinated public investment. However, there is general concern about how effective Roma inclusion policy measures are at the European level.

Developed by the First Years, First Priority Campaign, this Thematic Paper includes:

. Key findings from the REYN Early Childhood Research Study and key recommendations at the EU and country level

. Snapshot of mainstream and targeted EU policies related to young Roma children

. Examples of national policies and programmes in Bulgaria, France,  Hungary, Serbia and Spain

. Key priorities for unlocking young Roma children’s potential

 

Parents’ Corner. How to work with Roma parents effectively

ENG: PARENTS’ CORNER. HOW TO WORK WITH ROMA PARENTS EFFECTIVELY
BG: КЪТЧЕ ЗА РОДИТЕЛИ. ЗАЩО И КАК ДА ИЗГРАДИМ ПАРТНЬОРСТВО СЪС СЕМЕЙСТВАТА?

The Parents’ Corner brochure examines successful strategies for effective collaboration with the parent community, and also provides additional information on the importance of parental involvement in the educational process.

The misconceptions described in the brochure regarding Roma parents provide an opportunity for active discussion of the problems and challenges that lead to limiting the participation of parents of Roma origin in the school life of educational institutions.

Toolkit for inclusive early childhood education and care. Providing high quality education and care to all young children

The Toolkit for inclusion in ECEC recalls political commitments made e.g. in the European Pillar of Social Rights, policy recommendations which have been adopted by EU Member States as well as research findings. They all converge towards the need and will to develop more inclusive ECEC systems and settings.

To ensure equity for all children in accessing and benefitting from ECEC, the toolkit includes a set of practical solutions and measures to inspire ECEC policy makers at the national, regional or local level, as well as ECEC practitioners. It includes examples of good practice in ECEC settings and identifies useful ideas and resources to inspire leaders and staff across Europe to progress towards practice that is more inclusive. The toolkit aims to inspire decision-makers to use the examples of good practice to create appropriate conditions that can benefit all children and families.

Early childhood education and care. How to recruit, train and motivate well-qualified staff: final report

This report focuses on recruitment and retention of ECEC staff, and examines the best ways to educate and train this staff, both through initial training and continuing professional development. It welcomes the fact that the vast majority of ECEC staff enjoy working with young children and know they make a very important contribution to children’s lives. However the sector is expanding, the expectations on staff are growing, and there are increasing opportunities to work with young children in a wider range of occupations. In this context, the report looks at how the ECEC sector can review its own practice and arrangements to ensure it attracts a sufficient number of well qualified and well-motivated staff. This report summarises the available research and looks at many of the approaches which have been used to strengthen national, regional or local practice.

The report also recognises that the quality of ECEC provision is highly dependent on the professionalism, competence and commitment of staff working in the sector – and it is therefore increasingly important that there is continued support for staff training and development. This report therefore proposes a set of core competences for ECEC assistants, core practitioners and ECEC leaders. In addition, it looks at the wide range of practices which are currently being used to strengthen the initial and continuing education and training of ECEC staff.

Khetaun (Together): With Key Steps to Inclusion of Romani Children into Quality Early Childhood Programs

Khetaun (Together): With Key Steps to Inclusion of Romani Children into Quality Early Childhood Programs was an international project financed by the European Commission implemented in 4 countries (Slovenia, Latvia, Slovakia and the Czech Republic). This publication Khetaun was published at the end of the project. Readers will receive a holistic insight in the project implementation including examples of good practice of performing activities for Romani children and their parents which contribute to successful enrolment of Romani children and their parents in ECEC programmes and didactic and other materials for Romani children, parents, ECEC practitioners and policy makers.

Developing Transitional Activities for Romani Children and Their Families for Smoothing the Transition between Home and Institutional Environment. Case Study – Slovenia

The START project explored ways to facilitate participation in ECEC of Romani children, especially by easing transitions between home and ECEC or school environments and by working with families. The case study is a source of inspiration as it details and evaluates a range of activities over a 2-year period.

Roma Children’s Participation: Shaping Responses to COVID-19 in the EU and Bulgaria

This policy paper presents research on the impact of COVID-19 of Roma children and the barriers to their health and wellbeing and the potential of participatory responses. The findings are set in the current context of child poverty and related EU initiatives on poverty and participation. Lessons to learned are highlighted and priority actions are recommended.

This paper reports information from professionals working with young Roma, from 13 organisations in 9 European countries (Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Italy, North Macedonia, Romania, Spain and the UK) and participatory practice with children facing discrimination.