Consultancy to develop a toolkit for educators and students on Social Cohesion

About the project

International Alert is a leading peacebuilding NGO, with 30 years of experience in preventing violence. We have been working in Lebanon since 2008. Our thematic focus areas include peace education and non-violence education, youth participation, gender equality and addressing the underlying causes of conflict related to human rights abuses, gender inequality, social and economic exclusion, and insecurity. Alert is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and consultants to share this commitment.

In coordination with MEHE, the Nataf3al Consortium is collaborating with CERD to create a toolkit on social cohesion to add to an original retention support programme, with a focus on students’ retention as well as teachers’ professional development and wellbeing. Within a component of school improvement, the Nataf3al project aims to improve the public-school environment through the design of a community school model in 20 public schools located in vulnerable cadastres. With the collaboration of three partner organisations, two local ones and one international one, International Alert is building on a previous toolkit for social cohesion designed and implemented in Jordan within public schools, to design a new toolkit for social cohesion, in the aim of upgrading the school environment by making it more welcoming to the community. The toolkit will contribute directly to the establishment of 20 community schools, in other terms, the toolkit is part of the school playing the role of an institution in synchronicity with the community surrounding it.

The toolkit will therefore not only target students from both shifts, nor will it be limited to the empowerment of teachers with a focus on their wellbeing, it will also be adapted to the contexts in the 20 schools and will be an addition to the original retention support programme which relies on two other toolkits (one in teaching and learning methodologies, and another in psychosocial support). The consultant who will co-design the toolkit with the Senior Project Officer will discuss with the partners how they see their toolkits contributing to the school community model, to be able to draft a plan for the novelty in the social cohesion toolkit accompanying existing toolkits.

The consultant will then meet with some stakeholders from the school or outside the school, as their inputs would be telling in the design of the school becoming a hub for the community.

The consultant will have access to findings from the community needs assessment and context analysis International Alert has conducted in the 20 schools, suggestions of headlines for the toolkit based on previous reflection sessions with the partners, a previous toolkit on social cohesion also co-designed and co-written by International Alert, and if need be, access to the public schools where the toolkit will be piloted under the project.

In a last stage of implementation, the use of the toolkit will be monitored in action research conducted to generate evidence on the effectiveness of the toolkit in enhancing social cohesion among communities. It will also contribute to the advocacy plan of Alert in promoting a community approach to public schools.

Objective of the consultancy

The overall objective of the consultancy is to lead on the development of the Social Cohesion toolkit for educators in coordination with the Nataf3al Senior Project Officer, the M&E Officer, and the Senior Advisor at International Alert in addition to all partners involved in the project.

The consultant will produce a Social Cohesion toolkit as outlined in the scope of work. This toolkit will be focused on reducing bullying and violence in and around schools and increasing the sense of belonging of both students and teachers, in vulnerable cadastres.

The toolkit will be used by teachers in retention support activities in public schools with activities practiced with students and other community members.

Scope of work

The toolkit is envisioned as a module-based manual to be used by educators including an assessment tool educators can use and a set of activities to be used by educators in the classroom, in meetings with parents and in activities involving students, parents and other members of the community. It is anticipated that some activities will be suitable for online use.

To inform the content of the toolkit, the Consultant is expected to identify and review the available teaching and learning resources of the different partners within the Nataf3al project, as well as build upon existing tools, especially the toolkits of the partner organisations, and when possible, liaise with school staff and partners staff and other relevant stakeholders to assess the most appropriate approach for the development of the toolkit in terms of topics, modalities, focus, methodology and time available. Considering the toolkit will contribute to the design of the school community model, it is important all stakeholders in and around schools stay involved in inputting the toolkit design.

The Consultant will develop the outputs specified below, using, if relevant and possible, existing materials. He/ she should ensure that materials are appropriate to the context. He/She will have access to the context analysis report around the 20 schools which will help inform the toolkit.

The documents should be reasonably formatted: the assessment tool should be user friendly as much as possible and contain relevant visual illustrations; and the lesson plans and activities for children should be formatted in word ensuring their child friendly nature.

Following the completion and approval of the toolkit, the Consultant will provide a 2-day training (in person or online, tbc) to IA and key partners staff on the toolkit.

IA will support the consultant in terms of providing access to partners and schools where they are implementing the retention support, data collection, needs assessments, facilitation of workshops and focus group discussions with educators if required. IA team will also support in the coordination with both MEHE and CERD for the design of the approach, the testing and piloting of the toolkit, as well as the finalization of the toolkit.

The toolkit will be implemented during the retention support with the intention to offer this to the teachers for adaptation during the school year.

Outputs and level of effort

The students and teachers using the toolkit will develop a sense of belonging and healthy relationships through innovative activities on worksheets, through games… that bring them closer together and towards the community surrounding the school.

Output 1 –Available resources reviewed – 3 days in September-October

In coordination with Alert and its partners, the Consultant will map out and review available teaching and learning resources, and the extent to which they address violence against children and if relevant, build upon activities and tools. The Consultant will hold an inception meeting with Alert and may hold meetings with education and child protection staff of the partner organisations.

Output 2 – Outline of the Social Cohesion Toolkit – 2 days In October

Develop a brief outline/ table of content of the toolkit and a description of the content with suggested objectives for each module, methodology, reference to existing materials (lesson plans, activity plans based on the mapping under Output 1), time required, and suggested process of developing the content.

Output 3 – Social Cohesion Assessment Tool – 4 days In November

Designing an assessment tool that can be used by educators in public schools and via online platforms with the aim of assessing the situation of bullying, violence prevention and social cohesion in the public schools, looking at 5 main themes:

1. Children’s rights including autonomy and role of children as decision-makers,
2. Leadership & culture including listening skills and kindness,
3. Policies, procedures & mechanisms including a code of conduct for each school,
4. Attitudes & behaviours including nonviolent communication,
5. Learning and classroom environment involving most importantly the sense of belonging.

Output 4 – Social Cohesion activities to be used by educators in a draft, for training purposes – 5 days In November 2022

Develop a manual of 30 – 45 activities to be conducted with children in the 20 public schools in addition to 5 activities to be conducted with parents in caregivers’ sessions and other 5 activities that can be conducted with children, parents, and community members together. For students’ activities, they will be divided in 10-15 learning activities and online activities for 3 different age groups:

• 6-8 years,
• 9-11 years,
• 12-14 years.

The objective is turning schools into a more child-friendly learning environment, an institution without bullying and violence and providing a parental and community support for preventing violence against children and for engaging students in decision-making while enhancing their self-esteem and that of their teachers.

Output 5 – Practice session with 15 retention support teachers selected with MEHE and partner organisations – 1 day in December 2022

Briefing session/ testing session to 15 staff from partner organizations involved in the project with the aim of assessing the toolkit feasibility and incorporating feedback from practitioners and professional teachers.

Output 6 – Final Draft of the toolkit submitted – 5 days in February 2023

Output 7 – Presentation of the Toolkit and TOT for key staff– 2 days in February 2023

Presentation and TOT for 2 to 3 key staff from each partner (the consortium includes 4 partner organizations) involved in the Nataf3al project with the aim of cascading the training for educators of the different organizations.

Although the toolkit is addressed to the 20 public schools on the project, only 10 will be selected for piloting the toolkit in 2023, while the other 10 will receive the original retention support programme (including the academic toolkit and the psychosocial support toolkit designed by the partner organizations). The consultant will receive information on the selection which could also help inform the toolkit.

Relationships

The Consultant will work closely with the Nataf3al Senior Project Officer and other representatives of IA and all partner organizations involved in the Nataf3al project. The primary point of contact will be the Nataf3al Senior Project Officer.

Consultant profile

• Previous experience in developing education and child protection related tools and materials with a focus on violence prevention against children and social cohesion
• Advanced degree - A minimum of master’s degree in education/Sociology or related field
• In-depth knowledge of the Lebanese context with regards to children and young people, parenting, formal education, psycho-social support, and work with refugee children
• Excellent English writing skills
• Ability to work both independently and as part of a team
• Demonstrated ability to handle sensitive information with discretion and professionalism, including following data protection guidelines
• Ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines
• Commitment to safeguarding and child protection.

Education degree: Master’s degree

Experience required:

• 5-10 years

Languages - English: Excellent. Arabic: Excellent.

Period: All deliverables must be completed by March 21^st, 2023.

Compensation: Competitive price offers