Mobile Creches Innovative Responses to Challenges on the Ground

1. Mobile Creches Innovative Responses to Challenges on the Ground Sudeshna Sengupta Sr. Manager, Advocacy, September, 2014.

2. Defining ECCE: ECCE Policy, India, 2013 • Refers to programmes and provision from pre-natal to six years • Reaching out to children in multiple locations through multiple providers • Standardising quality • Curriculum framework • Provision to cater to all domains of development i.e. physical, motor, language, cognitive, socio- emotional, and creative and aesthetic appreciation • Developmental priorities for each sub stage within the continuum, i.e. care, early stimulation/interaction needs for children below 3 years • Developmentally appropriate preschool education for 3 to 6 year olds with a more structured and planned school readiness component for 5 to 6 year olds • Ensure synergy with health and nutrition aspects

3. Challenges to respond to • Diverse situations – geographical, ethnic, religious, cultural and linguistic • Urbanisation – challenges of space/infrastructure • Convergence • Access – inclusion, equity • Poverty

4. Based on The scientific argument The social justice and equity argument The rights argument The economic argument For Children of Migrant Parents Children in Urban Slums All Children at risk - income poverty, poverty of opportunity Through strategies that take ground level learning forward to influencing policy environment Mobile Creches Response

5. Mobile Creches Response • Direct interventions - services, model building • Community mobilization and system strengthening with community engagement • MC as a Resource • Leading Civil Society Movements and Policy interventions

6. Response 1: Holistic Daycare Model

7. Impact of Day Care Program Safety, security and protection for an average of 1200 children everyday Relief from sibling care for 400 children Nutritional Grade Improvement – 72% Age Appropriate Immunization – 98% Mainstreaming older children – 20 to 30% Linkage with Government Health Services – 90% ECCE Programmes everyday with planned activities

10. Learning by playing Empowering mothers

11. Response 2: Community Engagement • Direct community engagements at urban settlements. Momentum at Ground level around young child agenda, Evidence building, monitoring • Work with the government to strengthen the state provisions at the local level

12. Strategies – Children in Urban Slums Family Based Interventions Awareness Building Empowering Communities, Strengthening Services Building Community Groups Linking with Government Programmes and other Childcare Services

13. Impact on Children – Urban Slums

14. Impact – Community Mobilisation • Reality check on status of ICDS –All projects, Delhi • 80 anganwadis opened through demand generation from community • 37 active Delhi FORCES grassroots partners are in place to raise demand for young child • Study done to assess the need for childcare with 1380 household in 22 slums • 4 public hearing resulted in improving the quality of nutrition and timings of 30 ICDS centers , sanctioning for 2 Primary Health centre at Madanpur Khadar and solve other local problems

15. Key Learnings Elements of a successful ECCE(birth -6years ) Programme • Holistic design - linked to nutrition, health and care • Curriculum and Guidelines (context specific and flexible) on Daily Activities • Quality norms • Teaching and Learning Materials • Community engagement • Program Operations & Systems • Supervision Monitoring • Stakeholder Participation • Human Resource: • - Training for Skills, Knowledge & Attitude • - Adequate Remuneration – Value & Dignity • Infrastructure • Adequate financial resource

16. Response 3: MC as a Resource • Perspective and capacity building on ECCE and for operationalising crèches for: • Government Agencies • NGOs • Community Women To create a pool of trained, informed institutions and professionals • Creating indigenous training and learning materials

17. Response 4: Leading Civil Society Movements Networking with: • Grassroots organisation • Rights Groups and Campaigns • State Networks • Academia • Experts • Practitioners Also Steering Committee Member in International Network – ARNEC Research , documentation and analysis Situational Analysis, Policy analysis, Inputs into 5 Year Plans

18. Response 4: Policy Interventions • Serving on the Government Committees • Dialogues with the Government agencies (National / Departments, NCPCR) • Linking with International Agencies (Unicef, UnWomen, ILO)

19. ECCE Policy and Birth of Alliance A network of: • Networks and movements(right to food, right to education, gender rights, health rights, young child’s rights) • Experts on ECD from Academia • Practitioners • Academic Institutions like CECED • National Law Universities Objective: • Right to ECD (H, N, E, C, P) as justiciable rights • Its seeds in the Right to Education movement of 2002 where under sixes were left out as it was intersectoral, expensive and complex

20. Policy Gains Policy • ECCE Policy, 2013 -Drafting Committee Member on first ECCE Policy, 2012 Law • Young Child under National Food Security Act, 2013 – Drafting Rules Programme • Restructured ICDS in Mission Mode with AWCC as a component • Recognised by MWCD as “Resource” for Training and Piloting AWC-cum- crèches • Curriculum Framework –National and State • Milestones for 3-6s prepared for measuring learning outcomes

21. Future plans to scale up demand and provisions • Framing of draft law (set of laws) on Right to ECD and build a campaign around it • Capacity building of community, functionaries and management within the Government Programmes for Children under six at the national level and in different states • Working with academia, experts, practitioners and Rights groups on Right to Education for Under Sixes MOBILE CRECHES