Among the Maisons Relais managed by the Luxembourg Red Cross, some structures specifically meet the needs of children with migratory backgrounds. These are the Welcome and Integrated Education structures (Structures d’Accueil et d’Education Intégrée – AI).
Like the Maisons Relais managed by the Red Cross, these integrated reception and education structures offer a trustworthy framework for children to develop their autonomy and later be integrated into regular education and care institutions.
Our Welcome and Integrated Education structures welcome children from 3 to 12 years old who are international protection beneficiaries or applicants. They collaborate closely with the Specialized Reception Classes of the State (Classes Spécialisées d’Accueil de l’Etat – CSAE), which are specialized classes for the education of new children, in the interest of the latter and their families.
Collaboration with other local partners, such as music schools or hostels where refugee families live, also helps to simplify the daily lives of these children who have been through difficult times.
In accordance with the framework of reference on non-formal education, our reception and integrated education structures offer various open spaces, such as a dining room, a space for creative workshops, a resting area, a multi-purpose stage, a toy library and of course, outdoor spaces for playing and getting fresh air.
Children with migrant backgrounds have particular needs in terms of security and stability. The framework set up within our structures aims to allow them to blossom by playing, resting, and exchanging while respecting the others and their diversity.
During regular meetings, these children are invited to express themselves in small groups, in all benevolence. They can share their experiences of integration without judgment, with peers who have also have similar experiences. These exchanges can help them heal the traumas they have experienced.
Finally, children who have been in the program for a while, who feel comfortable and have mastered the daily routine, take to heart their role as “sponsors” of newcomers. They are individually assigned to support a newly arrived child, to help him/her in his/ her integration process and learn the language.
A “pedagogical inclusion referent” is present in each of our structures to ensure that inclusion, in its various aspects, goes as smoothly as possible. .Personnel qualified in trauma education also ensure the well-being of the children. Finally, other educators specialised in different fields join our teams.
Educators evaluate the children’s possibilities of joining a formal education structure, and collaborate with future schools or Maisons Relais for a smooth transition, when they are ready.
In 2022, following the arrival of many children fleeing the conflict in Ukraine in Luxembourg, a Support and Transition Service (Service d’Accompagnement et Transition – SAT) was launched by the Red Cross and Caritas teams. The SAT accompanies young applicants and beneficiaries of international protection who are not yet enrolled in school and who are between 0 and 26 years old.
The SAT staff offers activities to out-of-school children and young people according to the principles of the national reference framework on non-formal education. Their presence in the households allows them to interact with the children and youth in order to help and support them in their daily lives.
The Red Cross mobile staff supports both children and youth. Our mobile team visits refugee homes and offers social and psychological support.
Service d’Accompagnement et de Transition (SAT)
Structure d’Accueil et d’Education Intégrée Weilerbach
Structure d’Accueil et d’Education Intégrée Adam Roberti
621559741
Structure d’Accueil et d’Education Intégrée Buschdorf
621 408 024