NRC LEBANON: REQUEST FOR QUOTATION – Teachers’ Psycho Social Support (PSS) needs Assessment (Extending advertising Period)

About NRC:

NRC established its programme in Lebanon in 2006. The country office is in Beirut, with field offices in South (Tyre), North (Tripoli and Akkar), Bekaa (Zahle) and Beirut and Mount Lebanon (Beirut). NRC implements programmes in four core competencies: Shelter, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), Information, Counselling & Legal Assistance (ICLA) and Education and has an Emergency Response Unit (ERU).

 NRC’s Education programme seeks to support refugee, displaced, and host community children enjoy their right to education and achieve their full potential. In June 2016, NRC was selected as one of few recognized p artners of Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MEHE). The education programme includes psycho-social support activities for children; non-formal education support to in- and out of-school children; parental and community engagement, and teacher training. The education program runs through 17 community centres in Bekaa, South, and North Lebanon, assisting over 70,000 children since 2007.

NRC Education response strategies have evolved during the years, shifting from the provision of immediate emergency education support to three education programmes: i) non-formal education to support out-of-school children’s transition into MEHE formal schools, ii) system strengthening to support MEHE and UNRWA schools, teachers, and students at-risk of dropping out, and iii) youth education programmes to support out-of-school youth who will likely not transition into the formal education system  until 2019.

As of early 2017, NRC started working under the finalised non-formal education framework included in the second phase of the Reaching All Children with Education (RACE-II) strategy of the MEHE. The non-formal education framework outlines the educational interventions MEHE expects NGOs to support over a five-year period (2017 – 2021). NRC supports the Ministry in reaching its goals set-out in RACE-II and the roll-out of the non-formal education framework, either through direct implementation or through support to MEHE at national level (systems strengthening). NRC facilitates enrolment and retention in the formal public education system through provision of non-formal education such as Community Based Early Childhood Education (CB-ECE) for children between 4 and 6 years old and Basic Literacy and Numeracy (BLN) for children between 10 and 14 years old. Children between 7 and 9 years old should theoretically be able to enroll directly in the formal education system. Both programmes are implemented through community-based NRC Learning Centers and will follow the unified curriculum and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) developed by MEHE. In order to support the psychosocial needs of children, NRC mainstreams life skills through the Better Learning Programme (BLP), which is NRC’s flagship classroom-based psycho-social programme and light case management support, into Non-Formal Education (NFE) programming.

Transportation is a consistent barrier for children’s access to formal education and NFE programmes. To address this barrier, NRC also provides transportation for the majority of NFE participants, based on need. In addition to training on the actual curricula used and BLP, NFE teachers receive training on: i) child centered teaching; ii) classroom-management; iii) multi-grade teaching; iv) positive discipline; and v) child protection principles. In addition to targeting the child, the teacher and the physical learning environment, NRC hopes to promote a home environment conducive to learning as well, by including parents in their child’s learning process. Each NRC learning center has an elected Parent Community Group (PCG) supporting implementation and parents can attend awareness sessions on: i) the importance of education and enrolment processes; ii) hygiene awareness, with support from NRC WASH colleagues; and iii) legal counselling and support, with support from NRC ICLA colleagues.

In terms of reach, between February 2020 and September 2021 the education programme will have reached more than 10,000 out of school children who were enrolled in non-formal education classes, more than 5,000 Syrian refugee children who were enrolled in second shift public schools attending NRC remedial classes, more than 5,000 parents who benefitted from education awareness raising sessions, and more than 240 teachers trained.