The Butterfly project is carried out by 8 partners from Denmark, Romania, and Spain. Partners have special knowledge about the inclusion of children in vulnerable situations in ECEC (2 universities, 8 ECEC centers/institutions, and VIA as the lead).
The Butterfly project addresses both the EU’s Care Strategy (2022) and The Quality Framework for Pre-school Education and Childcare Arrangements (2019), which emphasize that children’s participation in day care is an essential prerequisite for their future educational success, health, and well-being. Both EU strategies state at the same time that there is a significant difference between the EU countries in terms of both availability and scope of children’s opportunity to participate in day care. This applies in particular to children in vulnerable situations, i.e., children with special needs and children from migrant and minority groups.
The 3-year project period consists of 3 phases:
- Investigating and analyzing legislation, issues, positive experiences, etc., for the transition from home to ECEC institutions for children in vulnerable situations.
- Development and testing of the Butterfly model, i.e., tools, guidelines, and reflection questions for strengthening relationships between parents, staff, and the local community.
- Development, testing, implementation, and evaluation of formally competent online training courses (25-30 hours) for staff in ECEC institutions and other interested parties
