Mentorship and support for Ukrainian children
Mentorship and educational support program for Ukrainian children attending Romanian formal education in Constanta County
Ukrainian and Romanian children learn together. Schools become more inclusive.
Implemented by JRS Romania in partnership with the Constanța County School Inspectorate, with funding from World Vision Romania as part of the DEC humanitarian response.
School enrolment is only the beginning. Belonging is built together.
For children displaced from Ukraine, access to Romanian schools also needed to be supported by language learning, curriculum adaptation and meaningful relationships with classmates and teachers.
An intervention for the entire school community
The project brought Ukrainian children attending Romanian schools together with vulnerable Romanian children through a shared educational support programme.
We worked simultaneously with pupils, teachers, families and school leaders. The goal was not only to close learning gaps, but to enable every child to participate fully in classroom life.
- Overcoming language and cultural barriers.
- Support in Romanian, mathematics and social skills.
- Learning in mixed Romanian–Ukrainian groups.
- Teachers gained resources for multicultural classrooms.
- Schools developed solutions based on their own needs.
Four components. One inclusive school environment.
We combined direct support for children with needs assessment and capacity building for schools.
Multicultural educational support teams
Romanian and Ukrainian teachers worked together in schools, supporting learning and communication with families.
3 teams
Applied research and consultation
Pupils’ and teachers’ needs were explored through questionnaires, interviews and consultations with institutions.
Needs assessment
Tailored plans for schools
Each partner school received an evidence-informed plan adapted to its specific context.
3 plans
Integrated remedial activities
Children took part in joint activities focused on Romanian, mathematics and social inclusion.
300 children
Practical support, where children learn
Activities were delivered by mixed educational teams in three schools in Constanța: Schools No. 6, 10 and 29.
Mixed educational support teams
Three teams of Romanian and Ukrainian teachers provided direct support in partner schools and facilitated communication with pupils and families.
Needs assessment
Questionnaires and interviews with pupils, parents, teachers, principals and the School Inspectorate documented barriers to participation and learning.
Plans for every school
The findings informed three action plans tailored to the specific context and needs of each school.
Integrated learning support
Joint activities for Ukrainian and Romanian children focused on Romanian, mathematics, communication and social skills.
More than catch-up lessons. Learning together.
Educational support brought together remedial learning and social integration between refugee children and children from the host community.
Romanian language and communication
Language support to help children participate in lessons, communicate with teachers and connect with classmates.
Mathematics and learning
Activities to strengthen academic skills, adapted to each child’s learning level and pace.
Inclusion through mixed groups
Collaborative activities in which refugee and Romanian children learned together rather than in separate groups.
Schools received evidence, not assumptions.
The needs assessment examined participation, belonging, language support, family–school relationships and experiences of inclusion.
Questionnaires for pupils and parents
150 Ukrainian children and 150 Romanian children, together with their parents, as described in the study included in the guide.
Perspectives gathered directly from the partner schools
Online responses from teachers
These complemented the school teams’ perspectives alongside interviews with teachers, principals and School Inspectorate representatives.
Teachers’ voices added depth to the field findings
The final report records 614 questionnaires as part of the project assessment. The guide separately describes the sample of 600 pupil–parent questionnaires and the teacher consultation; these figures should not automatically be added together.
LearnFusion. Inclusive education through innovative methods.
Practical training for multicultural classrooms
Held on 28–30 June 2024, LearnFusion helped teachers adapt their teaching to pupils’ linguistic, cultural and educational differences.
Eight representatives from organisations also participated. Training covered teaching Romanian as a foreign language, curriculum adaptation, intercultural communication, psychosocial support and interactive teaching methods.
Romanian as a foreign language
Teaching strategies adapted to language proficiency and practical communication activities.
Language of instruction
Curriculum adaptation
Bilingual resources, visual support, flexible assessment and differentiated teaching.
Access to learning
The multicultural classroom
Intercultural communication, countering stereotypes and supporting pupils’ well-being.
Inclusion in practice
What we achieved in eight months of support
The project concluded in June 2024. These are documented results, not targets for future activities.
Children supported
150 Ukrainian refugee children and 150 Romanian children from host communities.
Educational kits
Learning materials distributed to participating children.
School action plans
Developed from the needs assessment and presented to partner schools.
Digital inclusion guide
A practical resource for teachers and multicultural school communities.
Inclusion and diversity in education. Digital guide for inclusive schools.
Produced as part of the project, the guide brings together school needs-assessment findings, inclusive teaching strategies, curriculum adaptations, psychosocial support and good practices for multicultural classrooms.
Authors: Mariana Arnăutu, Ilona Chiriac, Magdalena Baciu-Iacob, Alexandra Crivilaru and Georgiana Bucătariu. The guide was produced by JRS Romania together with project partners.
November 2023 – June 2024. From teams to tools for schools.
A completed project. Resources that remain.
The project showed why support for individual children must go hand in hand with stronger school capacity. Its lessons and resources can inform future inclusive education programmes.