PROJECT BACKGROUND The “Zentrum für Familie und Alleinerziehende e.V.” (Centre for families and single parents) consists of six departments. One of those departments is the child care centre „Saaleknirpse“. The aim of the centre is to support families to achieve a balance between family and career taking into account the current needs of the families. The project application refers to the child care centre „Saaleknirpse“. 65 children between the ages of 1 to 7 years (school enrolment) are looked after at this child care centre. It is situated in the industrial area Jena Göschwitz and was built and financed in close cooperation with the internationally operating company JENOPTIK AG. The child care centre is open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. We are catering for families living in Jena as well as for families from different places of origin working for the companies in the area for a limited period of time. The team of the „Saaleknirpse“is diverse and has different cultural and educational backgrounds. AIMS OF THE PROJECT - heightening awareness for different education systems in Europe through job shadowing - broadening knowledge about the places of birth of some of the families and/or team members -strengthening social abilities to improve the interaction with families from different cultural backgrounds - improving English as means of communication among people of different language backgrounds especially regarding talks with families not only about daily routines but about developmental stages of the children, special needs, conflicts within the family or educational counselling - learning about and trying out different methods regarding play and age appropriate activities in different contexts (e.g. questions like: How do I feel in a different country, within a different culture? What do children need to feel welcome in our kindergarten?) - understanding which conditions are helpful for families from different backgrounds (for the families to understand the German child care system and for the children to participate in the daily routines) NUMBER AND PROFILE OF PARTICIPANTS The whole team consisting of 12 educators and the supervisor of the child care centre will be participating in the project. The project will be divided into 6 individual projects (referring to 6 countries). In each of the projects 4 team members will work together. Two child care teachers will be travelling to the respective country while the other two will stay in Germany and monitor the process from Jena. For all projects the same questionnaire will be used (structure and organization of the child care system in each of the countries; the way educational questions/problems are dealt with; which teaching and learning methods are used in the respective country; support of and contact with families; compatibility of family and career; what are children expected to learn before their school enrolment; which values and norms are specific for the respective country) This questionnaire will be completed by log books and questionnaires specifically designed for each country. DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITIES The project consists of job shadowing and participation in language courses to improve English language skills. Job shadowing will be applied for referring to 6 countries. The project will run for a total of 24 months. Every individual project will take 4 months. The project will start October 2015 to ensure a preparation period of 6 months. RESULTS / BENEFITS The project will be completed in 2017 coinciding with the 10th birthday of the child care centre “Saaleknirpse”. This will constitute an opportunity to review the concept and to further revise and improve the standards regarding our work with the children and their families. Furthermore it will present the teachers with the opportunity to broaden their horizon and acquire knowledge about different educational systems and teaching/learning methods outside Thuringia/ in Europe. The aim is to specialize in the accommodation of families of different language and cultural backgrounds during the time they spend in Germany taking into account the specific and current needs of those children and families. Tolerance and open-mindedness are values we live by. After all the individual projects are completed, there will be a summary and presentation of the results for example at conferences (specialist expert conferences), in other child care centres, as lectures training future child care workers as well as in-house further training courses. All results will be summarized in a brochure and photo documentary.