What Works Guide: ECEC Play Hubs – A first step towards integration, TOY for Inclusion, European Commission, Leiden (2018)

The TOY for Inclusion project is co-financed by European Union and Open Society Foundations under the coordination of International Child Development Initiatives – ICDI (Netherlands). The other project partners are the International Step-by-Step Association – ISSA (Netherlands) and seven national Romani Early Years Networks in Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary, Slovakia, Belgium, Italy, Latvia. This guide documents the promising practices of the Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) Play Hubs, which support the inclusion of all, with specific attention to Roma families/children, at local level.

The practices and the accompanying recommendations are based on the evidence from the TOY for Inclusion project piloted in seven countries. The TOY for Inclusion approach is based on participative processes, which are flexible and adaptable to different contexts and needs of different target groups.

The guide wants to assist ECEC staff and local authorities in the implementation of community-based ECEC services aimed at improving social cohesion, which in TOY are called Play Hubs. The concept of the ECEC Play Hub was developed in the context of the TOY for Inclusion project and forms the core of the TOY for Inclusion approach.

Focus of the publication:

- inclusive ECEC;

- Roma children and families