<< Background >>Despite the wide agreement on the importance of ensuring access and inclusion of all children in early childhood education and care (ECEC), there are still many barriers that constrain the participation of children with intellectual disabilities, putting them at significantly greater risk of missing out on early childhood education. Many children with intellectual disabilities lack ECEC practitioners who are adequately trained and equipped to meet their needs and they are faced with prejudices, discrimination and negative attitudes both by their peers and adults in their communities. Тhe EMBRACE project emanates from the need for support continuous professional development of ECEC staff and leaders in working with children with intellectual disabilities, and in building partnerships and collaborations among themselves and with children, parents and community members. The main project target groups are staff working in ECEC settings, including educational staff, care staff and auxiliary staff/assistants, as well as leaders/heads of ECEC settings, i.e. nurseries and kindergartens. Ultimately, the project will benefit preschool children with intellectual disabilities, such as autism, Down's syndrome, fragile X syndrome, Williams syndrome, Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder.The initial training of educational staff (who are qualified at tertiary level), care staff (usually with a minimum qualification at upper-secondary or post-secondary) and auxiliary staff or assistants (usually either not qualified or with a minimum qualification at upper-secondary level) often fails to provide them with the knowledge, confidence and skills to support the learning of children with intellectual disabilities. Opportunities for continuous professional development in inclusive early education for children with intellectual disabilities are exceptionally limited. As a result, ECEC staff often lack basic understanding of the overall philosophy and underlying values of inclusive early years education, as well as of the different forms of intellectual disabilities, their implication the learning capacities of children and the adjustments needed to ensure they can participate in education. Educational, care and auxiliary staff generally consider special educators as solely responsible for this group of children and are less aware of their own key role. Lacking fora and methods for working closely with their colleagues, exploring together the challenges in their everyday work and reflecting on solutions, they might also feel overwhelmed and doubt that they can provide for children with intellectual disabilities. Peers can be very powerful in supporting the participation of children with intellectual disabilities in ECEC settings. Yet, ECEC staff are not equipped with the needed tools and skills for encouraging children to overcome their initial fears or prejudices, develop socially inclusive behaviours and support each other. Awareness raising among parents, engaging with them, as well as with other professionals and community members are also among the essential strategies for inclusion that can be employed by ECEC settings. Unfortunately, ECEC setting’s leaders are not familiar with the approaches for collaborating with parents and other community members.<< Objectives >>The overall objective of the EMBRACE project is to contribute to the enhancement of the quality of early childhood education and care and promote the inclusion of children with intellectual disabilities.The specific objectives are: • To develop inclusive values and attitudes among ECEC staff and strengthen their knowledge and capacities to accommodate the needs of children with intellectual disabilities. • To equip ECEC staff and leaders with the needed tools, resources and knowledge to foster a culture of inclusion through collaborating with colleagues, children, parents and community members.• To raise awareness among children, parents and the general public on the importance of inclusion of children with intellectual disabilities in ECEC. • To increase the visibility of children with intellectual disabilities, deconstruct stereotypes and fight discrimination through overcoming barriers to early years education.<< Implementation >>PROJECT RESULTS R1 Mapping the Terrain: Initial and continuous training opportunities for early childhood education and care staff (M1-M10)R1-A1 Design of research protocol and national reports template R1-A2 Implementation of desk research in partners’ counties R1-A3 Implementation of key informant interviews R1-A4 Production of national report R1-A5 Drafting of the Transnational Report R1-A6 Drafting of policy recommendations R1-A7 Review of Transnational Report & Policy Recommendations R1-A8 Finalization and design of the Transnational Report & Policy Recommendations R2 E-learning course (M11-M19)R2-A1 Design R2-A2 Development R2-A3 Piloting R2-A4 Evaluation and finalization R3 Fostering a Culture of Inclusion Handbook (M8-M24)R3-A1 Background desk research R3-A2 Consultations and meetings R3-A3 Development of the draft version of the Handbook R3-A4 Piloting & Evaluation R3-A5 Finalization and publication/dissemination of the Handbook R4 Awareness-raising Toolkit: Inclusion of children with intellectual disabilities in early childhood education and care (M13-M24)R4-A1 Development of the content of the toolkit R4-A2 Piloting and Evaluation R4-A3 Finalization, Publication and Dissemination TRANSNATIONAL MEETINGS Meeting 1: Kick-off meeting (Poland, M1) Meeting 2: Interim meeting (Greece, M12)Meeting 3: Final meeting (Belgium, M24)PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION • Project Management A1: Setting up the project A2: Project Communication A3: Project management and reporting • Quality Assurance and EvaluationA4: Quality Assurance and Evaluation PlanA5: Interim and Final Evaluation reports • Dissemination and exploitation A6: Dissemination and Exploitation A7: Project branding and visual identificationA8: Media activity A9: Project Factsheets Two (2) project factsheets will be producedMULTIPLIER EVENTS - Digital multiplier event (M20)- Final conference (M24)<< Results >>The outputs produced within the duration of the project include: - Development of a transnational report that provides a critical analysis of the opportunities for initial and continued education of ECEC staff on topics concerning inclusive ECEC of children with intellectual disabilities, the knowledge and skills gaps, and needs, concluding with policy recommendations (Result 1)- Design, development and piloting of an e-learning course for ECEC staff, with a focus on strengthening their attitudes, knowledge, values, and skills that are central to ensuring that ECEC settings are welcoming and inclusive of children with intellectual disabilities (Result 2)- Design, development and piloting of a handbook for ECEC staff and leaders on fostering inclusive environments for children with intellectual disabilities though engaging and collaborating with colleagues, children, parents and other community members (Result 3) - Design, development and piloting of a toolkit for ECEC settings with useful and effective resources for raising awareness of the importance of inclusion of children with intellectual disabilities in early childhood education and care (Result 3). - Multiplier events that will contribute to the wide dissemination of these outputs. Through these outcomes the project will lead to achievement of the following outcomes during and on its completion: - Strengthened knowledge and capacities among ECEC staff to accommodate the needs of children with intellectual disabilities and increased inclusive values and attitudes. - Better equipped ECEC staff and leaders with the needed tools, resources and knowledge to foster a culture of inclusion through collaborating with colleagues, children, parents and community members.- Increased awareness among children, parents and the general public on the importance of inclusion of children with intellectual disabilities in ECEC. Ultimately, the project will contribute to enhancement of the quality of early childhood education and care and the promotion of the inclusion of children with intellectual disabilities.