Many children in Europe grow up with a home language other than the official or majority language of the country they live in. Especially now that in the past few months a lot of refugee families have come to Europe, there is an urgent need to provide a first shelter to these families, not only in terms of housing and food, but also in terms of safety, care and education. There is a strong need for a humanitarian and sustainable approach of the refugee issue, not only because of the high numbers of refigees, but also because we know this will not be a temporary challenge. Refugee children between 0 and 5 are particularly vulnerable, and high quality ECEC is essential to alleviate childhood trauma and levels of toxic stress.We believe in the power of language and communication: respect for and attention to the first language of young children is key to emotional safety, while the second language provides opportunities for an optimal development in the receiving country. Therefore, the use of multiple languages, hence multilingualism, plays a central role in the first reception of young refugee children.We also believe in the added value of high quality ECEC with respect to processing traumatic experiences, because it provides children with a safe, relaxing, playful, pedagogically sound environment where they can meet and play with peers.ObjectivesThe overall objective of the proposed project is to enhance the quality of Early Childhood Education and Care for young refugee children (age 0-4) by providing tools to educators, child care professionals and policy makers. Ultimately, not only the participating countries, but other countries as well, benefit from a well organised system of ECEC and language learning, since that will ensure refugee children to be better prepared for their future in the receiving country.The project purpose is:• to collect examples from four different countries of how Early Childhood Education and Care for young refugee children is organised, both with respect to the legislation as well as to the practices (conditions, involvement of the children, perceived effectiveness)• to analyse and categorize these examples• to implement the activities in different settings• to evaluate these activities• to develop a toolbox for ECEC professionals working specifically with young refugee childrenThere is a need in many European countries for both legislation as well as concrete implementation tools for ECEC practices (conditions, involvement of the children, perceived effectiveness) directed towards young refugee children. For example, in the Netherlands, Sardes investigated the need in 42 municipalities. Whereas 16 of these provided some form of professional ECEC, almost all municipalities stated in the interviews that they felt a clear need for legal guidelines as well as guidelines about what types of pedagogical and didactic approaches are the most effective when working with young refugee children. At this moment, there is no budget, no national legislation, and in general there seems to be a lack of attention for this particular group. Of the 2.500 children in refugee centres in the Netherlands, 33% is currently receiving some form of ECEC, depending on the local policy of the municipality. In most cases, however, young refugee children have no access at all to high-quality ECEC services, they start their school career without the skills they need to succeed.
Vulnerable young refugee children not only need housing and food, but also high quality ECEC, essential to alleviate childhood trauma and toxic stress. Access to high quality ECEC is important, because it provides children with a safe, relaxing, playful, pedagogically sound environment where they can meet and play with peers. Overall objective was to improve the quality of ECEC for young refugee children by providing new tools to educators, child care professionals and policy makers. • A description per country of the actual situation (legislation and practice) of ECEC for refugee children: IO1, Country reports • An analysis of what high-quality ECEC for this particular target group entails: IO2, Quality Indicators • Material for ECEC professionals working with young refugee children: IO3, Toolbox Partners: (1) Sardes (leading) is an independent agency working on project-based activities for ministries, local authorities, schools, school boards, welfare agencies in the field of education and youth, providing research, consultancy, (teacher) training, educational material development and project coordination in education and ECEC, especially focused on children in disadvantaged situations. (2) The University of Cambridge is a renowned Research /Higher Education Institute with a long standing history of academic and scientific excellence backed up with rich culture, learning, research and creativity. The Dept. of Theoretical and Applied Linguistic covers a comprehensive range of language sciences and offers theoretical and empirical research in a broad spread of linguistic fields, including that of bilingualism. (3) VBJK, the Centre for Innovation in the Early Years, is a research centre located in Ghent. VBJK has developed action research projects in the sector of Childcare, e.g. on improving the professionalism of the childcare workers and the family day carers. VBJK was one of the founding members of the European Network on Diversity in Early Childhood Education and Care (DECET), and has an active role in the network of the International Step by Step Association (ISSA). (4) OsloMet is Norway's largest state university college, with a student body of 16,000 students and 1,850 employees, 4 faculties and 3 research centres. OsloMET provides education that qualifies students for employment in health and social services, education, and public administration, media, design, arts. Main activities The first TPM was in Utrecht: introductions of project partners, information about the Erasmus+ financial and administrative guidelines, agreements about the project implementation. The project team met in five more TPMs, one in Ghent, two in Cambridge, one in Oslo and one in Leiden, as well as in Skype meetings. Data for Country reports (IO1) were collected partly on-site (refugee centers) and partly through interviews with stakeholders. On the basis of the input, a list of indicators for high quality ECEC for refugee children was compiled. Based on actual situations in and outside ECEC centers with young refugee children, we developed a set of scenarios, that, in combination with reflective questions, forms the MyREF training material. In October 2017, the project was presented to an international audience at the ISSA conference in Ghent, the first ME. The Second ME was held in Leiden, with approximately 100 participants. There were invited keynotes speakers on language, trauma and play, an interactive presentation of policy recommendations and short presentations of inspiring practices. The website with the Toolbox/training package was presented: https://www.sardes.nl/MyREF. Together with the conference participants a sample of the scenarios were tried out. Results: • 4 country reports • A list of quality indicators • Training material for preschool teachers who work with young refugee children Impact: • Cambridge University applied for funding of an impact study, ‘Hiraeth’ (July-Dec 2019): workshops for recently arrived refugee adolescents in Cambridge and a participant-led radio programme, to develop a sense of home and belonging while improving language skills. In the project the effectiveness of the MyRef Toolkit is evaluated, and Toolkit training materials are expanded. • Sardes was granted budget from ISSA to organise a workshop, with the aim to present the MyREF material to ISSA members, to discuss its possible use in other countries, and opportunities for translation in other languages. • Sardes is a member of the Consortium Vluchtelingenpeuters (Consortium Refugee Toddlers). With a grant from the Kinderopvangfonds (Child Care Fund), the consortium is preparing e-learning material for training preschool teachers to work with young refugee children. The MyREF material will be part of that e-learning package. Longer-term benefits: The Refugee Trauma Initiative in Greece is interested in the MyREF material and teacher training. Preliminary plans were made for possible future cooperation.