At the heart of this project, Including Children Affected by Migration, is the concept of ‘convivencia’ – a Spanish word meaning ‘living together in harmony’ -- and the knowledge that children do not learn well if they are unhappy, insecure or frightened.
Objectives
The purpose of the ICAM project is to increase the inclusion, and to improve the learning capacity of children affected by migration (CAM) by enhancing the climate of ”convivencia” in schools and at home, by raising awareness of children’s rights and the law protecting them, and by providing additional support in school and in the family for their social and emotional learning and general well-being.
The project will achieve this through the professional development of ICAM school leaders so they can increase the capacity of schools to maintain a safe learning environment and enhance Social and Emotional Learning (SEL). Trained ICAM school leaders will work to improve the learning capacity of all students and provide for the additional SEL needs of those affected by migration, helping them to overcome the disadvantage they face as a result of the separation, trauma and loss they have suffered.
An important feature of ICAM is the integration of parent/carer education with the school-based programme to provide additional support for those families affected by migration and to encourage on-going SEL for the whole family in the home.
Through contacts and the influence of partners, the project will develop and test the dissemination and improvement of ICAM in all schools at county or city level in six European countries, so that national education and protection agencies from all over Europe can test models for disseminating the project in schools and families.
The seven partners of the ICAM project are The Northampton Centre for Learning Behaviour (NCfLB) and Achievement for All (AfA) in the United Kingdom, Accessophia in Spain, Consortium of ICARO Social Cooperatives in Italy, Inspectorate in Ploieşti Romania (ISJP) and Terre des hommes (Tdh) in Romania, Eurochild in Brussels, together with associated partners in each particular country, some of the most important experts in the field of inclusion in schools or in creating a friendly environment.
ICAMnet is funded by the Erasmus+ program of the European Union and has an implementation period of two years (December 2019 - November 2021). It is currently being tested in Italy, Spain, Romania, and the United Kingdom, with a view to being implemented in two other countries or even fully across Europe.
