Primokiz for an encompassing early childhood
Primokiz is the name given to a national programme set-up by the Jacobs Foundation to promote networked nurturing, care and education in early childhood. The Roger Federer Foundation has now joined as a co-sponsor for the second phase of the successfully tested concept, which was launched on June 30, 2016. Underpinned by a total budget of 750,000 CHF, the intention over the next four and a half years is to network stakeholders and structures at up to 80 project sites and support them in the development of a comprehensive policy for early childhood. The goal here is to achieve maximum impact for high-quality activities for young children and families. The two family trusts involved share the costs equally.
The implementation partner Radix will take on responsibility for managing the programme. The programme has the following objectives:
Early childhood will be recognised and addressed at up 80 project sites as primarily a joint task for education, health and the social system. This ranges from universal structural prevention for all children to child protection in cases where it is need.
The goal of the communal policy for early childhood, developed in the course of the Primokiz process, is to open up equal opportunities for each child and to support, protect and encourage all children to participate in their own development.
The initiative for reaching the above mentioned goals can come from individuals or groups of professionals, from local authority offices, civil society institutions, or politics. The motivation for doing so can be provided by events and observations within the community, trans-communal discussion, or scientific evidence.
The priority position here is taken up by actual and desired states, and specifically the identification of gaps and possible approaches for further development.
A quantitative and qualitative analysis of structures and processes takes place along with an exchange to discuss perceived values in relation to early childhood nurturing, care and education. Both the horizontal coherence, i.e. the integration and networking of services and structures in the sphere of early childhood with adjacent stakeholders, and the vertical coherence, i.e. the connectivity of structures and offerings in the course of the development or educational life of the child, are important.
Documentation and evaluation make it possible to both reflect upon and adapt the process, changes and objectives, and to then plan the next steps. Analyses at different times allow making an illustration of the developments in the offerings landscape.
The programme is to be evaluated and its quality to be assured on an ongoing basis by the Marie Meierhofer Institute für das Kind and INFRAS.
Support is provided to the project sites in their processes by a newly developed manual on early childhood policy, and experienced Primokiz experts will offer advice.
