Young Roma children and their families

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Year: 2023

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

 

Bilingual visual dictionary ‘Lacho dive! Sar San?’

Recognizing the importance of the child’s first language in learning processes and settings, and especially for children from vulnerable groups like the Roma, REYN Croatia has created this visual dictionary to support multilingualism in early childhood care and education services.

In Croatia, a large number of Roma children speak the Romani Chhib language, and this attractive illustrated dictionary with colourful scenes is for them, their families and communities as well as practitioners in the upbringing, education and care system who work with Roma young children for their language development.

This resource has been produced with the support of the REYN initiative.

REYN Early Childhood Research Study

The European REYN Early Childhood Research Study (the REYN Study) provides an examination of the status of young Roma children and their families across Europe. It offers a comprehensive understanding of the multi-layered and intersectional nature of the challenges faced by young Roma children and their families. The REYN Study presents key findings from a thorough analysis of data on key areas of the lives of young Roma children and their families. These areas include family status and living conditions, health and well-being, safety and security, early learning, responsive parenting, and discrimination. For more information, visit this page.

The right to education of minorities

The right to education of minorities: overview of States’ measures reported in the 10th Consultation on the 1960 Convention and Recommendation against Discrimination in Education

Diversity in education should be seen as an asset as it has a great role to play for better cohesion, cultural diversity, economic benefit and inclusive societies. While their inclusion in society is key, persons belonging to minorities are often at risk of having their human rights violated and experiencing multiple discriminations.

As highlighted in the Vision Statement of the Secretary General during the Transforming Education Summit in 2022, the most vulnerable and marginalized – including persons belonging to minorities, are being left behind. As social tensions rise, minorities become more and more excluded from society because of persistent discrimination and exclusion – including exclusion from education.

However, access to inclusive and equitable quality education within a lifelong learning perspective is central to their effective and full inclusion in society. The target 4.5 of the Sustainable Development Goal 4 explicitly calls on States to ‘ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and children in vulnerable situations, which includes minorities.

This document is part of a series of thematic reports on the implementation of the right to education, prepared by UNESCO based on the findings of the Tenth Consultation on the implementation of the 1960 Convention and Recommendation against Discrimination in Education conducted in 2020-2021. It is intended to serve as a practical tool for both information sharing and advocacy.

Working with multilingual children and families in early childhood education and care (ECEC): guidelines for continuous professional development of ECEC professionals

An increasing number of children are growing up in environments in which more than one language is spoken. For many of these children, early childhood education and care (ECEC) is often their first contact with the majority language of the country in which they are growing up. This situation adds to the crucial role that ECEC professionals play in children’s education.

Children from multilingual families bring an added richness to the ECEC centre. Their full language repertoire is both a resource for the child’s own holistic development, and enriches the learning experiences of the other children. Policy recommendations at European level, as well as the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of the Child advocate for language learning from a young age and promotion of multilingual education in ECEC.

However, multilingualism presents specific challenges for ECEC professionals. To support multilingual children and families, ECEC staff must possess complex knowledge, skills and competences, as well as an understanding of child development and early childhood pedagogy. The purpose of this report is to formulate research- and practice-based policy recommendations for high-quality Continuous Professional Development to support ECEC professionals working with multilingual children and families.

The summary of the report is available in English, German and French.

Toolkit to bring play and inclusion to refugees living in remote communities

Mobile Play Hubs are a more flexible and immediate response to offer high-quality nonformal educational support to children and families. The below resources are intended for organisations wishing to set up and run Mobile Play Hubs for children aged 0 to 10 years old. It is also useful to regular Play Hubs and other non-formal ECEC settings that want to make (outdoor) play more accessible to children of all ages.

The Toolkit is divided into two parts (Operating guidelines and 16 Activity cards) with which practitioners will be able to set up a Mobile Play Hub and increase their knowledge about different forms of outdoor play. The Activity Cards provide inspiration to make outdoor play as accessible as possible.

You can download “Mobile Play Hub – Operating Guidelines and Outdoor Play” in English, Hungarian, Slovak, and Ukrainian and the “Mobile Play Hub – Activity Cards” in English, Hungarian, Slovak, and Ukrainian as well.

Toolkit on inclusive community-based ECEC

Inclusive education requires the use of varied strategies and techniques to ensure equal participation of all children to advance their development. Due to its nature and qualities, play forms part of flexible, child-centred and participatory/experiential educational strategies for celebrating diversity in education.

This Toolkit is for practitioners in any non-formal setting for children 0-8 years old interested in strengthening inclusive education. More about this resource can be found here.

The Toolkit is available in English. Translation in Ukrainian will be available soon.

 

Activity Cards for the Toolkit on inclusive community based ECEC
The Activity Cards were created to be used in the Play Hubs by practitioners to promote inclusive formal and non-formal education with young children and their parents, paying special attention to children with disabilities and special needs. However, they can be used and adapted by any other formal and non-formal service.

It can be downloaded in English, Slovak, and Ukrainian, with Hungarian translation coming soon.