Toolkit guide

Resources

Frameworks, guidance and monitoring tools to support each stage of policy work.

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Showing 150 of 247 resources
Best practices
Romania's National Strategy for Supporting Parents 2024-2030 [2.2]
Tools & Frameworks
Parent Support Workforce Needs Assessment Tool [3.1]
Best practices
Policy, legislation and guidance on health/home visiting -Scotland [2.1]
Tools & Frameworks
Recommended practices in ECI [3.2]
Tools & Frameworks
Rating early child development outcome measurement tools for routine health programme use. [2.2]
Tools & Frameworks
Early Childhood Development Country Situation Analysis [1.1]
Best practices
Italy’s Primi Passi programme [2.3]
Tools & Frameworks
10 steps to the development of an Early Childhood Intervention System - Roadmap [1.3]
Best practices
Survey of Wellbeing of Young Children [2.2]
Tools & Frameworks
UNICEF Mapping of gender-responsive family policies [1.3]
Best practices
Estonia’s layered parenting support system [2.2]
Best practices
Romanian National Policy Brief [2.2]
Tools & Frameworks
Spain’s ECI quality standards [2.2]
Tools & Frameworks
Early Childhood Development Country Situation Analysis [2.1]
Tools & Frameworks
Operationalising nurturing care for early childhood development: the role of the health sector alongside other sectors and actors [1.2]
Tools & Frameworks
The role of the health sector in Early Childhood Development. In: Handbook of Early Childhood Development Research and its impact on global policy [1.2]
Tools & Frameworks
10 Steps to the Development of an Early Childhood Intervention System – Roadmap [2.1]
Best practices
Supporting families for nurturing care: Training resource package for home visiting practices [2.2]
Tools & Frameworks
UNICEF Mapping of gender-responsive family policies [2.1]
Best practices
Romania National Policy Brief [3.1]
Tools & Frameworks
UNICEF Mapping of gender-responsive family policies [2.2]
Best practices
Ireland’s “First 5” Strategy [2.2]
Studies
ECD Factsheet on Developmental Surveillance [1.1]
Tools & Frameworks
Improving Early Childhood Development: WHO Guideline [1.2]
Tools & Frameworks
10 Steps to the Development of an ECI System [2.3]
Tools & Frameworks
Supporting Families for Nurturing Care: Resource Modules for Home Visitors [2.1]
Studies
Supporting parents and caregivers: mapping and scoping review of experiences in Europe and central Asia – WHO [1.1]
Best practices
Getting it right for every child (GIRFEC) [2.2]
Best practices
Ireland’s First 5 Strategy [2.3]
Studies
ECD factsheet on developmental difficulties [1.3]

Romania's National Strategy for Supporting Parents 2024-2030 [2.2]

  • Topic: Parental support
  • Typology: Best practices
  • Language: EN

Relevant actions: Action 7-10

Use it to…

learn from an example of a national, multisectoral strategy focusing on family support

Where to look in this resource

Offers an example of a national framework for family support and parental education

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Parent Support Workforce Needs Assessment Tool [3.1]

Parenting Support Workforce Needs Assessment Tool
  • Topic: Parental support
  • Typology: Tools & Frameworks
  • Language: EN

Relevant actions: Action 3

Use it to…

understand parenting support workforce needs

Where to look in this resource

Appendix 7 describes how to undertake monitoring and quality assurance of services delivered in relation to the parent support workforce. Page 43

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Policy, legislation and guidance on health/home visiting -Scotland [2.1]

  • Topic: Parenting support
  • Typology: Best practices
  • Language: EN

Use it to…

understand home visiting as a strategy for universal parenting support

Where to look in this resource

Informs home visiting as a strategy for universal parenting support

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Recommended practices in ECI [3.2]

Recommended Practices in Early Childhood Intervention. A Guidebook for professionals
  • Topic: Early Intervention
  • Typology: Tools & Frameworks
  • Language: EN

Relevant actions: Action 1

Use it to…

identify approaches for ECI evaluation

Where to look in this resource

- ECI Evaluation approaches and related goals (pgs. 241- 267) with practical exercises to support the approach (pgs. 257-267)

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Rating early child development outcome measurement tools for routine health programme use. [2.2]

Rating early child development outcome measurement tools for routine health programme use.
  • Topic: ECD
  • Typology: Tools & Frameworks
  • Language: EN

Relevant actions: Action 3

Use it to…

assesses the accuracy and feasibility of 27 tools for early childhood development outcome measurement (25 individual and 2 population-level tools)

Where to look in this resource

-The results include a heat map of accuracy and feasibility ratings for each measurement tool as well as an overview of each tool assessed

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Early Childhood Development Country Situation Analysis [1.1]

Early childhood development country situation analysis- Assessment tool and methodological guidance
  • Topic: ECD
  • Typology: Tools & Frameworks
  • Language: EN

Relevant actions: Action 1

Use it to…

understand ECD system landscape and identify gaps across sectors

Where to look in this resource

- Tool description (pgs. 3-4); - Tool's nine priority areas with associated goals overview (pgs. 4-5) followed by breakdown by priority area (Enabling environment for strengthening support for ECD and protection of child rights (pgs. 7-8); Parenting and responsive caregiving (pg. 9); Child health (pgs. 10-11); Nutrition (pgs. 12 -14); Play and learning (pg. 15); Developmental monitoring (pgs. 16-17); Early intervention for children with developmental difficulties (pgs. 18-19); Safety and security (pgs. 20-21); Parental well-being (pgs. 22-23)); - General guidance and steps for using the tool and measuring results (pgs. 24-28) with country-level specific and process advice (pgs. 26-29).

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Italy’s Primi Passi programme [2.3]

  • Topic: ECD
  • Typology: Best practices
  • Language: EN

Relevant actions: Action 3

Use it to…

understand how to use the European Social Fund to design an intervention for ECD founded in Nurturing Care Framework principles and using a cross-sectoral approach

Where to look in this resource

An example of policy design using the European Social Fund and based on the Nurturing Care Framework, with an equity focus and strong evaluation component

10 steps to the development of an Early Childhood Intervention System - Roadmap [1.3]

10 steps to the development of an Early Childhood Intervention System: Roadmap
  • Topic: Early Intervention
  • Typology: Tools & Frameworks
  • Language: EN

Use it to…

identify key priorities for strengthening ECI systems

Where to look in this resource

The roadmap describes core aspects of an ECI service, to support identification of key priorities. For example, it highlights key aspects of how families can be engaged effectively in ECI services (e.g., as "experts of the child and family needs", and building on "naturally occurring learning opportunities" that parents already use to support the child's development, p.6).

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Survey of Wellbeing of Young Children [2.2]

Survey of Wellbeing of Young Children
  • Topic: Developmental monitoring and early detection
  • Typology: Best practices
  • Language: EN

Relevant actions: Action 3

Use it to…

use a screening instrument that includes questions covering a broad range of developmental areas in children under 5 years of age

Where to look in this resource

Example of a screening instrument that includes questions covering a broad range of developmental areas in children under 5 years of age

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UNICEF Mapping of gender-responsive family policies [1.3]

UNICEF Mapping of gender-responsive family policies in the Europe and Central Asia region
  • Topic: Parental support
  • Typology: Tools & Frameworks
  • Language: EN

Use it to…

it helps policymakers identify how family and gender policies interact with ECD and parenting support objectives, supporting more equitable policy design.

Where to look in this resource

Mapping work across 21 countries to assess the status of 10 gender-responsive family policies: maternity leave, paternity leave, parental leave, carer’s leave, flexible working arrangements, the early childhood education and care system, the pre-primary education system, paid breastfeeding breaks, sick leave, and family and child benefits.

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Estonia’s layered parenting support system [2.2]

  • Topic: Parenting support
  • Typology: Best practices
  • Language: EN

Relevant actions: Action 7-10

Use it to…

see how parenting support interventions are delivered through universal, targeted and intensive services, supported by evidence-informed decision-making.

Where to look in this resource

Highlights how parenting support interventions are delivered through universal, targeted and intensive services, supported by evidence-informed decision-making.

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Romanian National Policy Brief [2.2]

Romania National Policy Brief
  • Topic: Parental support
  • Typology: Best practices
  • Language: EN

Relevant actions: Action 7-10

Use it to…

see how quality standards guide the creation, evaluation and eventual national scale-up of parenting programmes.

Where to look in this resource

- Definition of family support based on National Strategy of Parent Education (pg. 2) with support contextualised (pg. 2); - Strategy implementation (pg. 3) - Recommendations and lessons learned from strategy development implementation (pgs. 4-6)

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Spain’s ECI quality standards [2.2]

  • Topic: Early intervention
  • Typology: Tools & Frameworks
  • Language: EN

Relevant actions: Action 5

Use it to…

understand the development and implementation of consistent quality standards for ECI

Where to look in this resource

To understand how to implement the European Child Guarantee through a comprehensive policy framework

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Early Childhood Development Country Situation Analysis [2.1]

Early childhood development country situation analysis- Assessment tool and methodological guidance
  • Topic: ECD
  • Typology: Tools & Frameworks
  • Language: EN

Use it to…

understand ECD system performance and identify gaps

Where to look in this resource

- Tool description (pgs. 3-4); - Tool's nine priority areas with associated goals overview (pgs. 4-5) followed by breakdown by priority area (Enabling environment for strengthening support for ECD and protection of child rights (pgs. 7-8); Parenting and responsive caregiving (pg. 9); Child health (pgs. 10-11); Nutrition (pgs. 12 -14); Play and learning (pg. 15); Developmental monitoring (pgs. 16-17); Early intervention for children with developmental difficulties (pgs. 18-19); Safety and security (pgs. 20-21); Parental well-being (pgs. 22-23)); - General guidance and steps for using the tool and measuring results (pgs. 24-28) with country-level specific and process advice (pgs. 26-29).

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Operationalising nurturing care for early childhood development: the role of the health sector alongside other sectors and actors [1.2]

Operationalising nurturing care for early childhood development: the role of the health sector alongside other sectors and actors
  • Topic: ECD
  • Typology: Tools & Frameworks
  • Language: EN

Use it to…

a guide to strengthen health service delivery and wider systems in order to operationalise the Nurturing Care Framework

Where to look in this resource

Supports policy implementation, multisectoral governance, identifying health sector entry points and service design

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The role of the health sector in Early Childhood Development. In: Handbook of Early Childhood Development Research and its impact on global policy [1.2]

The role of the health sector in Early Childhood Development. In: Handbook of Early Childhood Development Research and its impact on global policy
  • Topic: ECD
  • Typology: Tools & Frameworks
  • Language: EN

Use it to…

sets out actions for the health sector to provide universal and targeted interventions for ECD, as well as case study examples

Where to look in this resource

Supports evidence building, policy development, governance, financing, workforce development and programme implementation

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10 Steps to the Development of an Early Childhood Intervention System – Roadmap [2.1]

10 steps to the development of an Early Childhood Intervention System: Roadmap
  • Topic: Early Intervention
  • Typology: Tools & Frameworks
  • Language: EN

Use it to…

identify policy priorities to develop ECI services

Where to look in this resource

The roadmap offers a structured overview of the process elements required to develop or strengthen ECI systems. It demonstrates how the identification of policy priorities was guided by frameworks and consensus (e.g., a coherent scientific ECD framework)

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Supporting families for nurturing care: Training resource package for home visiting practices [2.2]

Supporting families for nurturing care: Training resource package for home visiting practices
  • Topic: Parenting support
  • Typology: Best practices
  • Language: EN

Relevant actions: Action 10

Use it to…

use training resources to strengthen health professionals' competencies in engaging with families to support early childhood development, identify developmental risks, and promote responsive, nurturing caregiving.

Where to look in this resource

Offers training resources to strengthen health professionals' competencies in engaging with families to support early childhood development, identify developmental risks, and promote responsive, nurturing caregiving.

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UNICEF Mapping of gender-responsive family policies [2.1]

UNICEF Mapping of gender-responsive family policies in the Europe and Central Asia region
  • Topic: Parental support
  • Typology: Tools & Frameworks
  • Language: EN

Use it to…

it helps policymakers identify how family and gender policies interact with ECD and parenting support objectives, supporting more equitable policy design.

Where to look in this resource

The mapping tool can help to identify whether parenting support services are gender responsive.

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Romania National Policy Brief [3.1]

Romania National Policy Brief
  • Topic: Parental support
  • Typology: Best practices
  • Language: EN

Relevant actions: Action 2

Use it to…

understand how parenting support can be embedded into national systems through workforce development, quality standards and links with primary health care

Where to look in this resource

- Family-based support strategy implementation (pg. 3) - Recommendations and lessons learned from strategy development implementation (pgs. 4-6)

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UNICEF Mapping of gender-responsive family policies [2.2]

UNICEF Mapping of gender-responsive family policies in the Europe and Central Asia region
  • Topic: Parental support
  • Typology: Tools & Frameworks
  • Language: EN

Relevant actions: Action 10

Use it to…

identify transferable policy principles

Where to look in this resource

Mapping work across 21 countries to assess the status of 10 gender-responsive family policies: maternity leave, paternity leave, parental leave, carer’s leave, flexible working arrangements, the early childhood education and care system, the pre-primary education system, paid breastfeeding breaks, sick leave, and family and child benefits.

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Ireland’s “First 5” Strategy [2.2]

4_ECD
  • Topic: ECD
  • Typology: Best practices
  • Language: EN

Relevant actions: Actions 1-2

Use it to…

understand a “whole-of-government” strategy aligning different ministries around a common vision for early childhood, and a package of universal policies promoting healthy ECD

Where to look in this resource

Pages 21-27 outline the context and importance of supporting ECD, as well as the strategic vision. Objectives 1 and 2 set out approaches to parental support and the need for resources and services for parents. Objective 3 sets out the context and interventions to address inequalities related to poverty and discrimination. Objectives 4-6 highlight the need for healthcare interventions to support physical and mental health. Goal D (pages 104-115) sets out areas to consider for effective implementation, including governance, workforce and monitoring. Pages 117-122 set out specific actions for implementation, while pages 122-171 outline specific strategic actions across the objectives

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ECD Factsheet on Developmental Surveillance [1.1]

ECD Factsheet on Developmental Difficulties
  • Topic: Early Detection
  • Typology: Studies
  • Language: EN

Relevant actions: Action 4

Use it to…

understand prevalence of developmental difficulties, key challenges and system-level actions to enhance early detection of developmental risks

Where to look in this resource

The factsheet highlights the prevalence of developmental difficulties, offering evidence to support the case for strong ECD policies. Recommendations are summarised for interventions such as parental support, workforce training and developmental monitoring, to help focus areas for intervention.

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Improving Early Childhood Development: WHO Guideline [1.2]

Improving Early Childhood Development: WHO Guideline
  • Topic: ECD
  • Typology: Tools & Frameworks
  • Language: EN

Use it to…

sets out guidance for caregivers, professionals and policymakers for strengthening support for early childhood development

Where to look in this resource

Supports responsive parenting interventions, workforce guidance, primary healthcare services and implementation planning.

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10 Steps to the Development of an ECI System [2.3]

10 steps to the development of an Early Childhood Intervention System: Roadmap
  • Topic: Early Intervention
  • Typology: Tools & Frameworks
  • Language: EN

Relevant actions: Action 1-3

Use it to…

define service navigation functions, multidisciplinary team roles and workforce competencies as core system functions

Where to look in this resource

The roadmap describes the implementation of ECI systems in later steps: identifying stakeholders to outline governance and financing pathways (e.g., how healthcare, education and social services and ministries are involved). down to specific components of an ECI service (e.g.,. referral pathways, roles of ECI teams)

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Supporting Families for Nurturing Care: Resource Modules for Home Visitors [2.1]

Supporting Families for Nurturing Care: Resource Modules for Home Visitors
  • Topic: Parenting support
  • Typology: Tools & Frameworks
  • Language: EN

Use it to…

access resources to support development of content for home visiting as a universal parenting support approach

Where to look in this resource

Offers resources to support development of content for home visiting as a universal parenting support approach

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Supporting parents and caregivers: mapping and scoping review of experiences in Europe and central Asia – WHO [1.1]

Supporting parents and caregivers: mapping and scoping review of experiences in Europe and Central Asia - WHO
  • Topic: Parental support
  • Typology: Studies
  • Language: EN

Relevant actions: Action 3

Use it to…

benchmark and identify gaps in provision for parenting support

Where to look in this resource

A review of evidence on parenting programmes, highlighting those with a solid evidence base which may be helpful in identifying the breadth of services available in order to tailor specific services to need in a country context. Also helpful in terms of benchmarking, gap analysis and cross country learning. Case studies of parenting programmes, pages 19-22.

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Getting it right for every child (GIRFEC) [2.2]

Getting it right for every child (GIRFEC)
  • Topic: ECD
  • Typology: Best practices
  • Language: EN

Relevant actions: Action 3

Use it to…

understand how a national framework and National Practice Model can achieve a multi-agency approach to ECD, by supporting professionals to assess child well-being indicators during routine contacts

Where to look in this resource

- Overview of the approach, principles, policy actions and framework of GIRFEC

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Ireland’s First 5 Strategy [2.3]

Ireland's first five strategy
  • Topic: ECD
  • Typology: Best practices
  • Language: EN

Relevant actions: Action 1-4

Use it to…

understand how roles can be formally defined across ministries, with primary health care positioned as a central delivery and coordination platform within a broader multisectoral system.

Where to look in this resource

Pages 21-27 outline the context and importance of supporting ECD, as well as the strategic vision. Objectives 1 and 2 set out approaches to parental support and the need for resources and services for parents. Objective 3 sets out the context and interventions to address inequalities related to poverty and discrimination. Objectives 4-6 highlight the need for healthcare interventions to support physical and mental health. Goal D (pages 104-115) sets out areas to consider for effective implementation, including governance, workforce and monitoring. Pages 117-122 set out specific actions for implementation, while pages 122-171 outline specific strategic actions across the objectives

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ECD factsheet on developmental difficulties [1.3]

ECD Factsheet on Developmental Difficulties
  • Topic: Early Detection
  • Typology: Studies
  • Language: EN

Use it to…

use recommendations to identify focus areas for intervention

Where to look in this resource

The factsheet highlights the prevalence of developmental difficulties, offering evidence to support the case for strong ECD policies. Recommendations are summarised for interventions such as parental support, workforce training and developmental monitoring, to help focus areas for intervention.

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