Development of National Parenting Guides: (Deadline 19 February 2021)

Development of National Parenting Guides: (Deadline 19 February 2021)

BACKGROUND

Early Childhood Development (ECD) is one of Rwanda’s main development priorities and one of the foundational issues for human capital development and economic transformation. The national ECD programme is guided by the revised national integrated ECD policy (2016) and other related child development policies. The policies reaffirm the government commitment to support the development of an integrated early childhood program that focuses on providing nurturing care, good nutrition and health for young children. In addition, early learning, protection, social protection and WASH are integral packages of the ECD program in Rwanda whose implementation is coordinated through the National Child Development Agency (NCDA), formerly; NECDP.

Parenting education and support is one of the key priorities in the national ECD policy. This is on the premise that nurturing care and a conducive home environment in the early years of life is critical for effective child growth and development. What children experiences during the first years greatly affect the kind of adults they will become. From a very young age, children learn important skills that prepare them for life. Thus, positive parenting and nurturing care are great catalysts for children to realise their full growth and development potential. Parenting is a lifelong undertaking with the greatest need being in early years where the foundation for lifelong intellectual and behavioural trajectories are set.

The environment in which children grow is therefore a critical determinant and not only impact on the children lives but also on their families, communities and indirectly to entire societies. Young children who are malnourished or exposed to physical punishment, violence, neglect and abuse can experience excessive stress, which disrupts the architecture of the developing brain leading to serious cognitive, social and emotional delays, and behaviour problems later in life. Conversely, children who enjoy proper care and nutrition, receive loving and responsive caregiving, and have exposure to many quality early learning opportunities are much more likely to thrive and excel throughout their life.

In realizing the importance of good parenting knowledge and skills, the Government of Rwanda with partners has developed an integrated parenting education curriculum from the prenatal period through 6 years of age. The curriculum aims at engaging parents and care givers to ensure that all children have access to positive, responsive and nurturing care. The curriculum has provided a framework for providing integrated parenting services in the country. However, there is need to develop parenting guides/instructional materials to support its implementation. For this reason, the NCDA with support from UNICEF seeks partnerships with Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to develop sets of national parenting guides to support implementation of the curriculum.

PURPOSE AND EXPECTED RESULTS

The objective of the assignment is to develop comprehensive and evidence-based parenting guides informed by the parenting curriculum, ECD policy and strategy as well as the nutrition policy, the integrated child rights policy, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the ECD, Nutrition and WASH SBCC strategy and Rwandan cultural values with regards to positive child caring practices. The parenting materials/instruments/guides which will support implementation of the national parenting curriculum. Key deliverables of the assignment will be parenting guides for:

1. Parents and caregivers guidelines on positive discipline;
2. Care for children with developmental delays and disabilities;
3. Importance of play and creation of stimulating home environments;
4. Prenatal, newborn and post-natal care;
5. Young child and infant feeding;
6. First AID for Young Children;
7. Hygiene management and care for young children (Baby WASH); and
8. Male involvement in early childhood care, learning and school readiness.

Each guide will be aligned to the corresponding themes of the curriculum. The guides will be used by the respective line ministries and services providers within their institutional frameworks. For instance, guides for young child and infant feeding will be used within the national health system as indicated in the curriculum. Each selected CSO partner will develop a maximum of two parenting guides based on their interest, skills and experience in developing similar instruments.

APPLICATION PROCESS

Interested CSOs will submit the following application documents:

• A.Letter of expression of interest
• B.Technical Proposal: highlighting the methodology to be used including consultations, proposed outline for the report-key aspects of a typical parenting guide; methodology of data collection/consultations; and work plan showing outputs and expected deliverables (10 pages maximum, font theme: Times New Roman; font size 12).
• c) All-inclusive Financial Proposal: Highlighting the individual cost areas; demonstrating cost effectiveness (value for money) and presentation of the aggregated budget of all eligible expenditure areas.
• d) Annexes: Certificate of registration by RGB; Summary of tax payment record for the last financial year (if applicable); audited financial statement or income declarations completed within last 24 months; and notified certificates or reports of good completion of related previous assignments.

Interested CSOs should submit soft copies of their application to UNICEF through email rwajobs@unicef.org not later than Friday 19th February 2021 at 17:00 hours (hard copies will not be accepted in line with COVID-19 prevention measures). Only successful shortlisted CSOs will be contacted to submit detailed proposals.