Many children in Europe grow up with a home language other than the official or majority language of the country they live in. Especially now that in the past few months a lot of refugee families have come to Europe, there is an urgent need to provide a first shelter to these families, not only in terms of housing and food, but also in terms of safety, care and education. There is a strong need for a humanitarian and sustainable approach of the refugee issue, not only because of the high numbers of refigees, but also because we know this will not be a temporary challenge. Refugee children between 0 and 5 are particularly vulnerable, and high quality ECEC is essential to alleviate childhood trauma and levels of toxic stress.We believe in the power of language and communication: respect for and attention to the first language of young children is key to emotional safety, while the second language provides opportunities for an optimal development in the receiving country. Therefore, the use of multiple languages, hence multilingualism, plays a central role in the first reception of young refugee children.We also believe in the added value of high quality ECEC with respect to processing traumatic experiences, because it provides children with a safe, relaxing, playful, pedagogically sound environment where they can meet and play with peers.ObjectivesThe overall objective of the proposed project is to enhance the quality of Early Childhood Education and Care for young refugee children (age 0-4) by providing tools to educators, child care professionals and policy makers. Ultimately, not only the participating countries, but other countries as well, benefit from a well organised system of ECEC and language learning, since that will ensure refugee children to be better prepared for their future in the receiving country.The project purpose is:• to collect examples from four different countries of how Early Childhood Education and Care for young refugee children is organised, both with respect to the legislation as well as to the practices (conditions, involvement of the children, perceived effectiveness)• to analyse and categorize these examples• to implement the activities in different settings• to evaluate these activities• to develop a toolbox for ECEC professionals working specifically with young refugee childrenThere is a need in many European countries for both legislation as well as concrete implementation tools for ECEC practices (conditions, involvement of the children, perceived effectiveness) directed towards young refugee children. For example, in the Netherlands, Sardes investigated the need in 42 municipalities. Whereas 16 of these provided some form of professional ECEC, almost all municipalities stated in the interviews that they felt a clear need for legal guidelines as well as guidelines about what types of pedagogical and didactic approaches are the most effective when working with young refugee children. At this moment, there is no budget, no national legislation, and in general there seems to be a lack of attention for this particular group. Of the 2.500 children in refugee centres in the Netherlands, 33% is currently receiving some form of ECEC, depending on the local policy of the municipality. In most cases, however, young refugee children have no access at all to high-quality ECEC services, they start their school career without the skills they need to succeed.