Improving children’s well-being in mainstream education in Moldova/ACIS

Implementation period: July 1, 2024 – May 30, 2025

Project Goal

The project aims to continue addressing the critical needs and existing gaps in education for refugee children in the Republic of Moldova by providing support to both students and teachers affected by crisis contexts.

The project seeks to expand the interventions of the Better Learning Programme (BLP) to educational institutions that have not previously benefited from the programme, contributing to improved children’s social and emotional well-being, recovery of learning losses, and the creation of safer and more inclusive learning environments.

Through the implementation of BLP 1 and the piloting of BLP 2, the project will support children affected by conflict and displacement in restoring their learning capacities, better managing stress and traumatic experiences, while teachers and parents will be supported in developing the skills necessary to respond to children’s emotional and educational needs.

Project Objectives

• Expand the implementation of the BLP 1 Programme in at least 6 new schools from 3 regions of the country and the Municipality of Chișinău, the region with the highest number of refugee children.
• Pilot the BLP 2 Programme in at least 6 schools in the Municipality of Chișinău where BLP 1 has already been implemented, supporting children in their academic and emotional recovery process.
• Strengthen the capacities of 260 teachers to implement the BLP 1 and BLP 2 programmes in educational institutions.
• Strengthen the well-being and response capacity of 160 teachers through TiCC (Teachers in Crisis Contexts) training, enabling them to better support students affected by crisis situations.
• Provide BLP activities to approximately 3,200 students, contributing to resilience building, stress management, and recovery of learning losses.
• Strengthen the capacities of parents of children benefiting from BLP 2 to cope with their own difficult experiences and support their children’s recovery.
• Distribute 3,000 school stationery kits to Ukrainian refugee children and their Moldovan peers in vulnerable situations, supporting their access to education and reducing the financial burden on families.
• Promote inclusion and social cohesion between refugee and host communities by ensuring equitable support for all children.

Project Beneficiaries

The project will reach approximately 5,460 unique direct beneficiaries, including children, teachers, and parents.

The beneficiaries include:

• 3,200 students from approximately 12 educational institutions, who will benefit from BLP 1 and BLP 2 activities delivered in school settings, including refugee children and children from host communities.
• 260 teachers from selected schools, who will receive training to implement the BLP 1 and BLP 2 programmes.
• 160 teachers who will receive TiCC (Teachers in Crisis Contexts) training to strengthen their capacities to support children affected by crisis situations.
• 3,000 students – Ukrainian refugee children and their Moldovan peers in vulnerable situations – who will receive school stationery kits adapted to their educational level (school backpacks, notebooks, pens, pencils, drawing albums, watercolours/felt-tip pens, markers, coloured paper, scissors, etc.).
• 260 teachers who will receive teacher support kits.
• 12 educational institutions that will receive school kits.

The selection of educational institutions will be carried out in collaboration with the Education Departments, with the main selection criterion being the presence of more than 10 enrolled refugee children in each selected school.

The project is implemented in Soroca, Orhei, Anenii Noi and Chisinau districts, by “Partnerships for Every Child” and funded by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS), the Liechtenstein Development Service (LED), and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).