About the project


Millions of people are driven away from their homes by war, conflicts and prosecution, poverty, climate change or in the hope of a better life. According to UNICEF, 1 over 8 migrants is a child. 

Without any doubt, migration and especially forced displacement and refugee experiences are associated with extreme psychosocial trauma considering the conditions under which migrants and refugees must leave their countries.

As many studies reveal, such traumatic experiences can cause long-lasting physical, emotional, and cognitive effects, which is particularly true for children that experience some of the most damaging consequences during the sensitive periods of brain development (UNESCO, 2019).

In general, migrant and refugee populations are more likely to experience trauma than the general population. And although not all migrant, refugee and displaced (MRD) children develop post-traumatic stress disorder, those who do develop traumatic   symptoms, experience a serious dysfunction in their wellbeing and daily life flow.  

Recently, education plays a key role in treating psychosocial trauma among MRD children. It is recognized as an institution that can stimulate resilience and cultivate learners’ social and emotional development, thus helping build self-confidence and emotional regulation skills, while teaching children to create relationships based on trust with others.

To that end, EU countries that face increased migrant and refugee flows of MRD children should better equip public and private schools with educational tools, methodological practices and interventions able to treat the negative psychosocial effects of the migration, displacement and refugee experience within the school environment. 

 

The objectives of the project

The ENABLE project aims to develop safe, stimulating, and responsive learning environments that promote a positive whole-school climate, taking into account the stories and backgrounds of migrant, refugee and displaced children, by providing tailor-made psychological treatment services in the school setting.

The main objectives of the project are: 

   To enhance the capacity of primary & secondary schools to effectively deal with cases of psychological trauma by developing first-level treatment and response mechanisms, protocols, and tools.

o   To build the capacity of primary & secondary education teachers to stimulate the social and emotional development of Migrant, Refugee and Displaced Children (MRDC) in the school environment.

o   To raise the awareness of educational institutions, relevant stakeholders, and decision makers about the importance of strengthening their policy framework on psychosocial trauma treatment for MRDC.

Activities of the project

  • Collection of good practices and tools focusing on the treatment of trauma among MRD children and adolescents leading to a mapping matrix.
  • Consultation with school teachers and heads in each target country, via focus groups leading to the definition of the trauma-informed teacher/educator profile. 
  • Design of the ENABLE online training course on trauma-informed school teaching. 
  • Pilot testing of the curriculum in the 4 target countries.
  • Delivery and evaluation of 2 workshops in each target country on the developed online curriculum.
  • Development of a comprehensive Trauma-Informed School Policy toolkit on first-level response to trauma among MRD children. 
  • Lobbying for the endorsement of a robust School Policy on psychosocial treatment for MRD children in primary and secondary education.