Technical Support Instrument
Implementing reforms that promote children’s rights in early childhood education and care, education and social protection
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The project is carried out with funding from the European Union via the Technical Support Instrument.
For more information, please visit the Reform Support website.
As the UN custodian of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, UNICEF has accumulated 75 years of engagement with member states on efforts to progressively realize the full rights of every child. UNICEF’s core asset is its global expertise and network, in development and high-income countries, and experience specifically on providing operational, technical, and research/analysis support to countries to improve the capacity and quality of social and human services for children.
DG REFORM and the Technical Support Instrument
The Directorate-General for Structural Reform Support (DG REFORM) helps EU countries to design and implement reforms as part of their efforts to support job creation and sustainable growth.
The Technical Support Instrument, managed by DG REFORM is the key tool for supporting Member States in designing and implementing growth-enhancing and inclusive reforms by providing expertise to national authorities. The support is on demand and Member States can request support to:
- implement resilience-enhancing reforms in the context of EU economic governance, such as those arising from country-specific recommendations under the European Semester and by virtue of implementing EU law;
- prepare, amend, implement and revise national recovery and resilience plans under the Recovery and Resilience Facility;
- implement economic adjustment programmes;
- implement reforms undertaken at their own initiative.
As a key partner in TSI projects, thanks to funding from the European Union, UNICEF aims to support Member States administrations in their efforts to implement reforms that promote children’s children’s rights in areas such as early childhood education and care, education and social protection.
TSI Projects
Austria
Improving staff working conditions for better quality in early childhood education and care in Austria
Early childhood offers a critical window of opportunity to shape the trajectory of a child’s holistic development and build a foundation for their future. The European Pillar of Social Rights states that all children have the right to affordable Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) of good quality. It is in the earliest years of a child’s life that the foundation and capacity to learn is laid, and this is built on throughout life. Learning is an incremental process; building a strong foundation in the early years is a precondition for higher level competence development and educational success as much as it is essential for health and the well-being of children. Participating in ECEC for children aged 0 to 6 and interaction with well-trained and quality ECEC professionals is beneficial for all children and especially beneficial for children of a disadvantaged background. It helps by preventing the formation of early skills gaps and thus it is an essential tool to fight inequalities and educational poverty. Quality, affordable and accessible ECEC also allows for increased parental-workforce participation.
Bulgaria
Raising the quality of early childhood education and care by strengthening governance, monitoring and evaluation in Bulgaria and Portugal
High-quality early childhood education and care (ECEC) is a powerful equalizer for children’s development and lifetime opportunities. It lays the foundations for learning and competence development and helps combat inequalities and social exclusion, favouring especially the most vulnerable children. ECEC is also an important policy tool for employment, enabling parents to reconcile family and work life.
Children’s right to affordable, high-quality ECEC is recognised a core principle under the European Pillar of Social Rights. Through the European Education Area (EEA) Member States have pledged to improve its accessibility, inclusivity and quality.
Cyprus
Supporting the Expansion and Strategic Development of Early Childhood Education and Care in Cyprus
Early childhood offers a critical window of opportunity to shape the trajectory of a child’s holistic development and build a foundation for their future. The European Pillar of Social Rights states that all children have the right to affordable Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) of good quality. It is in the earliest years of a child’s life that the foundation and capacity to learn is laid, and this is built on throughout life. Learning is an incremental process; building a strong foundation in the early years is a precondition for higher level competence development and educational success as much as it is essential for health and the well-being of children. Participating in ECEC is beneficial for all children and especially beneficial for children of a disadvantage background. It helps by preventing the formation of early skills gaps and thus it is an essential tool to fight inequalities and educational poverty. Quality, affordable and accessible ECEC also allows for increased parental workforce participation.
Young minds matter: Mental health support for youth and children in Cyprus
Adolescent mental health has become a significant public health issue, affecting their well-being and prospects. An analysis of Cyprus’s mental health promotion and prevention services reveals four areas needing improvement: availability, accessibility quality, and awareness of mental health services. The insights from diverse youth-focused stakeholders—including youth, representatives of youth organisations, youth practitioners, parents, and mental health professionals—provided a better understanding of the mental health landscape in Cyprus, revealing key gaps, challenges, and opportunities. These insights underscore the need for targeted enhancements to better support the mental health needs of young people in Cyprus by encouraging their engagement and promoting their voices.
Czech Republic
Developing a Comprehensive Framework for the Monitoring and Evaluation of Early Childhood Education and Care in the Czech Republic
Early childhood offers a critical window of opportunity to shape the trajectory of a child’s holistic development and build a foundation for their future. The European Pillar of Social Rights states that all children have the right to affordable and quality early childhood education and care (ECEC). It is in the earliest years of a child’s life that the foundation and capacity to learn is laid, and this is built on throughout life. Learning is an incremental process; building a strong foundation in the early years is a precondition for the development of higher-level competencies and future educational success, as much as it is essential for health and the well-being of children. Participating in ECEC is beneficial for all children and especially beneficial for children from disadvantaged backgrounds. Quality ECEC holds transformative potential in bridging inequities early in life. It helps by preventing the formation of early skills gaps and is thus an essential tool to fight social inequalities and educational poverty. Quality, affordable and accessible ECEC also allows for increased parental workforce participation.
Germany
Building a framework for outcome-oriented early childhood education and care
Building on the existing education mission and previous ECEC reforms around enhancing access and structural quality, the State Government of Lower Saxony seeks to improve the pedagogical quality and effectiveness of ECEC provision by strengthening systematic and team-based planning to support children achieving developmental milestones and basic skills and competences.
In this context, the aim of the TSI project is to build and validate a framework to strengthen outcome-oriented pedagogy and planning for learning outcomes to support competence development among children.
Greece
Implementation of the European Child Guarantee
The project aims to support the Greek Ministry of Social Cohesion and Family as well as the national Center for Social Solidarity (EKKA), appointed as National Coordinator for the Child Guarantee, to implement the National Action Plan on the European Child Guarantee more effectively, with a view to establishing a sustainable system for monitoring the situation of children in need, governed by a robust mechanism with clear accountabilities, with a view to informing relevant policy and planning, including on particular topics, such as childhood obesity, where children in need seem to be mostly affected.
Luxembourg
Strengthening Monitoring & Evaluation of Children’s Rights and Establishing a Sustainable Stakeholder Consultation Mechanism in Luxembourg
Over the last years, Luxembourg has made significant progress in the area of child rights, child poverty and social exclusion and recently adopted two cornerstone policy documents. First, in May 2022, Luxembourg adopted its first National Strategy and Action Plan on the Rights of the Child 2022-2026) in response to the recommendation by the Committee on the Rights of the Child and building on the Council of Europe Strategy on the Rights of the Child (2022-2027). Both these strategic documents reflect the concerted action and commitment to the promotion of children's rights in Luxembourg and call for a sound monitoring framework and effective participatory processes to ensure their effective implementation, monitoring and evaluation.
Poland
Strengthening the response to violence against children
The multi-country project with Poland and Romania aims to strengthen the response to the phenomenon of violence against children through better informed policies and an improved capacity of the authorities, gained through in-depth analysis and tailored training. The collected evidence and the related analysis will be used to underpin recommendations and roadmaps to enhance the response to violence against children in both Poland and Romania, and to develop capacity of the professionals to prevent, identify and respond to violence against children.
Portugal
Raising the quality of early childhood education and care by strengthening governance, monitoring and evaluation in Bulgaria and Portugal
High-quality early childhood education and care (ECEC) is a powerful equalizer for children’s development and lifetime opportunities. It lays the foundations for learning and competence development and helps combat inequalities and social exclusion, favouring especially the most vulnerable children. ECEC is also an important policy tool for employment, enabling parents to reconcile family and work life.
Children’s right to affordable, high-quality ECEC is recognised a core principle under the European Pillar of Social Rights. Through the European Education Area (EEA) Member States have pledged to improve its accessibility, inclusivity and quality.
Romania
Enhancing the equity of education through preventing and combating school segregation
The Ministry of Education has adopted in December 2016 the Order of the Minister of Education No. 6134 of 21st of December 2016 on Prohibiting School Segregation in Pre-university Education School Units. Thus, the legal framework on school desegregation was revised and expanded to include 5 criteria of school segregation: 1) ethnicity, 2) disability, 3) family socio-economic status (SES), 4) students’ school performance, and 5) area of residence.
Policies and resources for safe and supportive schools: Fostering well-being and mental health
The Safe and Supportive Schools Project aims to improve the institutional capacity of the education system to foster a healthy school environment in which social and emotional learning, psychosocial support, well-being and mental health is entirely part of a whole-school approach.
Strengthening the response to violence against children
The multi-country project with Poland and Romania aims to strengthen the response to the phenomenon of violence against children through better informed policies and an improved capacity of the authorities, gained through in-depth analysis and tailored training. The collected evidence and the related analysis will be used to underpin recommendations and roadmaps to enhance the response to violence against children in both Poland and Romania, and to develop capacity of the professionals to prevent, identify and respond to violence against children.
Slovakia
Inclusion of children with disabilities in the context of deinstitutionalisation of substitute care in Slovak Republic
The Slovak Republic Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Family has initiated a technical support project with UNICEF and the European Commission to strengthen its care capacities and establish standards to create an environment that enables children with disabilities to realize their full potential and enjoy their rights.
The general objective of this Project is to assist the Slovak Republic in their efforts to implement reforms, that stimulate investment, enhance competitiveness and contribute to sustainable economic and social convergence, resilience and recovery. Additionally, the project aims to strengthen institutional and administrative capacities, including at regional and local levels, to facilitate socially inclusive, green and digital transitions, effectively addressing challenges identified in the country-specific recommendations and Union law implementation.
Spain
Child and youth wellbeing and mental health first: Addressing mental health and psychosocial support needs of children and young people in care and protection system in Andalusia, Spain
The project in Andalusia, Spain is part of a multi-country technical support project that aims at improving the provision of mental health, wellbeing and psychosocial support to children and young people that will be implemented in Spain, (concretely in Andalusia) Cyprus, Italy and Slovenia.
In Andalusia, the project will build on the joint efforts of the Regional Ministry of Health and Consumer Affairs and the Regional Ministry of Social Inclusion, Youth, Families and Equality to provide a comprehensive and well-articulated set of services to improve the mental health of children and adolescents in situations of psychosocial vulnerability or at risk of neglect, abuse and violence in the care and protection system.