Useful resources related to warm and inlcusive transitions

EDUCAS

The international EDUCAS project (Belgium, Italy, Lithuania, ISSA) focuses on how to create ECEC environments/spaces within an educare holistic perspective. The experiences of the partners show also the crucial role of transitions within an educare approach. The 6 ECEC centres involved in EDUCAS reflected on how to organize warm and inclusive transitional spaces, in COVID-19 times and beyond.

EDUCAS resources with a warm transitions angle:

START

The international project START (Erasmus+ KA2) focused on supporting ECEC and primary school professionals in creating warm an inclusive transitions across the early years, with special attention to children and families at risk of social exclusion. Through four pilots in Belgium, England, Italy and Slovenia, ECEC and primary school staff explored new pedagogical approaches and educational methodologies that support children and families in their transition processes.

START resources:

Training Toolkit: Transitions in the early years – Tools Used in the START Project – Inspiration for Professionals
Final report: Sustaining Warm and Inclusive Transitions across the Early Years. Final report with implications for policies and practices.
Literature review: Literature Review on Transitions across Early Childhood and Compulsory School Settings in Europe
Case study Slovenia: Rethinking educational continuity through participatory action-research and professional development pathways.
Case study United Kingdom: A Parent and Professional Partnership to Ensure Continuity from Early Care & Education Centres to Primary School in England.
Case study Belgium: Enabling Well-being and Participation of Children and Families Living in Poverty during Transition Periods across Home, Childcare and Kindergarten.
Case study Italy: Rethinking educational continuity through participatory action-research and professional development pathways.

VALUE

Coordinated by VBJK in partnership with organizations in Slovenia, Portugal and Denmark, the VALUE project focused on promoting integrated working in ECEC. The key question has been: how can continuous professional development (CPD) strengthen professional identity, holistic approaches to educational work (educare) and cooperation between core and assisting practitioners working in ECEC? Very often these categories of staff lack opportunities to reflect together on their vision and practice, although working with the same children and families. This influences also transitional practices, and that is why the materials/outputs developed in VALUE are inspiring for InTrans too.

The VALUE Roadmap provides a framework on how to develop common CPD paths for assisting and core practitioners.

INTESYS

The INTESYS project focuses on piloting new approaches to Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) systems in Europe, with the aim of ensuring that especially children and families in vulnerable situations have access to high quality ECEC. The pilots explore how to promote this approach by investing in services that are better integrated across the different sectors (education, health, welfare, etc.), professions and across age groups and governance levels. This collaboration amongst different sectors plays a role in supporting warm and inclusive transitions across the years.

All outputs of the INTESYS project (including toolkit and policy recommendations) can be found here.

TIM

TIM - Transition Is our Mission project aims at raising awareness on the importance of ensuring soft transition of children from preschool to school. This Erasmus+ project involves three research institutions, three preschools and three primary schools from Slovenia, Croatia and Latvia.

Other resources

VIDEO | Across the line - Created by VBJK, this movie (with English and Fench subtitles) follows three children in different locations of pre-primary education in Belgium (Fl). Together with their parents they spend all the time they need to explore their new classroom and school environment. Inside and outside the school grounds, various staff members (teachers, directors, out of school care professionals) collaborate in creating trust. Parents are engaged to step ‘across the line’ into the classroom.

ARTICLE | Early Childhood Education and Care in Italy: moving towards a shared pedagogical culture - This article presents an overview on the ECEC integrated system reform process in Italy, and in particular on the core elements of a shared 0-6 pedagogical framework. Published by School Education Gateway and available in 29 languages.