Only a few days left until the deadline for applications for Small Projects “Every day in kindergarten I learn and play”

Competition for small projects “EVERY DAY IN THE KINDERGARTEN I LEARN AND PLAY” is an initiative of the Network for early childhood development in the Roma community in Bulgaria – (REYN Bulgaria), which is coordinated by TSA for the fifth year.

For the second year in a row, the Foundation “Trust for a Social Alternative” (TSA) invites non-profit organizations for public benefit to express their interest in holding information meetings for parents from the Roma community in order to familiarize them with the importance of regular kindergarten attendance for future children. educational achievements of children and in order to support the building of a relationship of trust between parents, teachers and educators, as well as educational mediators.

Main objectives of the current program

The current REYN Network Small Grants Program has the following main objectives:

To increase parents’ understanding of the importance of early childhood in forming important skills, attitudes and interests of the child, as well as the important role of kindergarten as a place for early learning and development of children’s language and social-emotional skills;
To encourage regular kindergarten attendance by children from vulnerable communities;
To increase trust between parents and families, on the one hand, and kindergarten teams, on the other, as a condition for effective communication, exchange of information and feedback on children’s needs and development, and to improve teacher-parent interaction.

This call aims to help address the above challenges by holding information sessions for parents of children of kindergarten age on the issues related to the role of early childhood, the importance of attending kindergarten, the benefits of regular attendance for better socialization and building early language skills in children, the importance of good interaction and trust between parents and teachers/educators.

In 2022, TSA successfully piloted the information sessions with the support of 6 partner organizations from the country. Feedback results from parents who participated in the sessions showed a high level of satisfaction and personal perceptions of increased knowledge about the importance of regular kindergarten attendance. The interactive nature of the info sessions was highly appreciated by the parents, as well as by the representatives of the kindergartens and the community.

In 2023, TSA plans to summarize the experience gained so far in implementing the information sessions by publishing a manual with the scripts and guidelines for conducting the information sessions. It will aim to raise parents’ awareness of the importance of regular kindergarten attendance in building important skills in children to support their school readiness.

Eligible candidates

Eligible applicants under this program are non-governmental organizations, institutional members of the REYN Network. Preference will be given to NGOs that have experience in working with the Roma community and work in good cooperation with kindergartens that have educational mediators.

Candidate trainers nominated on behalf of the NGO must have a minimum of two years of experience working on projects for the benefit of the Roma community, as well as experience working as adult trainers.

The trainer can be part of the NGO team, and if necessary, a member of the local community can be identified who fully meets the eligibility criteria. The trainer leading the information sessions is supported by the educational mediator working in the selected community.

Important!

The indicative number of projects to be financed is 6.

The organizations that participated in the implementation of information sessions in the previous year 2022 have the right to participate under this invitation, provided that they implement the activities with parenting communities and kindergartens that were not included in the previous project, but for which there is a proven identified need.

How to apply

The applicant NGO fills in an expression of interest form (model) indicating the number of parents to be included in the information sessions, the characteristics of the community to which the specific target group belongs, and the main problems and challenges, with which the NGO team meets daily in its field work from the point of view of the inclusion of community children in early education and parent-community-kindergarten relations.

It is a mandatory condition that the expression of interest form contains information on the level of attendance of kindergartens in the target community(ies). Applicants are encouraged to submit official statistical information on the average kindergarten attendance rate at the level of the selected locality, or at the level of the municipality, in case the municipal authorities do not have data at the level of the locality. Applicants are encouraged to consult the municipal experts or the management of the kindergarten/kindergartens in the selected locality about what the challenges are a related to regular attendance at kindergarten and to motivate their choice of location when applying.

Candidates for trainers nominated on behalf of applying NGOs should have a minimum of two years of experience working with the Roma community, as well as experience working as adult trainers. Trainers can also be the educational mediators in the settlement.

At the application stage for participation in the current program, the NGO must also attach the following documents:

Completed expression of interest form;
Curriculum vitae and cover letter of the head of the NGO and the trainer issued by them (can be the same person);
Copy of the diploma of completed education of the candidate trainer – leading the sessions;
Declaration for the protection of personal data (filled in on behalf of the representative NGO and the name of the candidate trainer);
Membership form in the Network for early childhood development in the Roma community in Bulgaria – REYN Bulgaria (to be completed by the candidate NGO and the candidate trainer), if they are not yet members of the REYN Network. The applicant NGO must complete an institutional membership form and the applicant trainer must complete an individual membership form.

Financial parameters

The indicative amount of each small grant is BGN 7,500. The amount of the grant is determined depending on the number of parents proposed for inclusion by the applicant organization, and their number cannot be less than 50 people for each session, as well as on the number of kindergartens (one or more).

The approved applicant – NGO signs a grant agreement with TSA, which will include the following financial characteristics:

Financial resource to cover costs of NGOs for financial and technical support of the received grant;
Remuneration for administering the grant and organizing the scheduled sessions;
Remuneration of the trainer identified by the NGO for preparing and conducting information sessions on 6 topics for 2 groups of parents;
Remuneration of the NGO-identified educational mediator working in the community to support facilitators of information sessions;
Financial means for the purchase of educational and creative materials for the children of participating parents;
Financial means to cover transport costs of a trainer/NGO, if necessary;
Funding for the purchase of materials for the kindergarten.

Important dates and deadlines

Competition announcement – February 27, 2023
Deadline for submission of the application form by the applicant – 22 March 2023
Notification of approved applicants – March 31, 2023
Conclusion of a financing agreement with the approved NGOs – April 15, 2023
Conducting information sessions with parents – April 2023 – June 2023

Applications