Terms of Reference for a consultant to develop and implement training sessions for Centers for Development of Inclusive practices staff on the topic of education and rehabilitation procedures in working with children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

"Terms of Reference for a consultant to develop and implement training sessions for Centers for Development of Inclusive practices staff on the topic of education and rehabilitation procedures in working with children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, for the project Inclusive4All: Inclusive education for all children in Bosnia and Herzegovina."

1.     Introduction

Save the Children believes every child deserves a future. In the North-West Balkans and around the world, we work every day to give children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn, and protection from harm. When crisis strikes and children are most vulnerable, we are always among the first to respond and the last to leave. We ensure children's unique needs are met, and their voices are heard.  We deliver lasting results for millions of children, including those hardest to reach. We do whatever it takes for children – every day and in times of crisis – transforming their lives and the future we share.

2.     Background and Rationale

Children with disabilities[1] and their families are one of the most marginalised and excluded groups, often experiencing discrimination and violation of their rights guaranteed under the Convention on the Rights of the Child and Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the medical approach to children with disabilities is still omnipresent, which focuses on the defects of the child rather than their potentials and environmental barriers, as well as the complementary charity approach which focuses on the provision of social welfare as the only means of community support. Children with disabilities often experience discrimination and social exclusion in every aspect of their lives, including negative beliefs, lack of knowledge, and discriminatory behaviour of others.

Although data on the number of children with disabilities is scarce, it is estimated that in Bosnia and Herzegovina, there are over 70,000 children who have some disability. Over 7,500 of them live in Tuzla Canton[2].

The project: Inclusive4All - Inclusive education for all children in Bosnia and Herzegovina, code: AID 011522, funded by the Italian Agency for development cooperation (AICS), started on May 1^st 2018. The project aims to enable children with disabilities to develop their potentials and fully enjoy their right to education and social inclusion.

Specifically, the project aims to reach the following three main results:

1.      Children with disabilities and their families have access to several diverse support services in Tuzla Canton;

2.      Tuzla Canton authorities are strengthened and supported in the review and adoption of the local strategy for the inclusion of children with disabilities in the regular education system;

3.      The population and civil society organizations of Tuzla Canton understand and support the bio-psycho-social model of educational and social inclusion of children with disabilities.

Concerning the first result, to build support services in Tuzla Canton for children with disabilities and their families, it is necessary to improve the quality of work Centres for the development of inclusive practice in order to equip them to support children with disabilities and their families effectively. In this regard, we want to build the human resources capacity in CDIPs through extensive training and qualify them for lifelong learning principles. The purpose of lifelong education and learning is necessary for all experts to respond to the challenges of change in the development of support methods for children with disabilities, thereby improving the quality of Centres for the development of inclusive practice. Lifelong learning today is a leading principle for the development of inclusive support systems. The particular importance of lifelong learning lies in the fact that experts employed at the Centres are crucial for the Centers themselves' success, and hence for the development of inclusive practices in the Tuzla Canton. The purpose of contemporary social development is to improve individuals' quality of life, children with disabilities, and their family members.

SC, therefore, invites requests for proposals from various experienced individual consultants and/or agencies to carry out training for professionals working in CDIPs in TK as specified in this Terms of Reference.

3.     Objective

The purpose of this assignment is to provide expert support in the preparation and implementation of specific training on education and rehabilitation procedures in working with children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) for professionals working in CDIPs in Tuzla Canton.   

The main aim of this training is to educate and build skills of professionals of the CDIPs to work and adequately plan, organize and implement support for children with ASD. In the course of the training, participants should get detailed information about the developmental and functional specific features of children, the assessment methods and how to plan and implement support, all based scientific evidence and on examples from practice.

4.     Expected outputs 

The expert consultant is expected to provide the following:

·        Develop the agenda and materials for the training (duration and time-schedule will be discussed in cooperation with StC)

·        Conduct training session F2F

·        Submit final report in Bosnian and English

Expected outcomes and acquired competence of CDIP professionals:

- know development features of children with autism spectrum disorders,

- know the basic postulates of support organisation,

- know and be able to conduct child assessment,

- skilled in the development and implementation of support plan for children with autism spectrum disorders.

5.  Timeframe and methodology

To complete the above-specified task, the consultant will be engaged from April 26^th to June11^th 2021. The consultant will develop and implement the work plan in consultations and with the support of SCINWB designated staff, in line with the proposed timeframe below.

1. *Timeframe can be changed in consultations with SCINWB.

The final deliverables should be the following:

·        List of participants;

·        An outlined training plan and what the training will cover;

·        Report on the training in Bosnian and English.

   6. Funding and logistical support and organization

Funding will be provided by Save the Children in North West Balkans to cover the consulting fees and materials costs for the participants. The consultant is responsible for the organization of the training, facilitation, preparing materials, and final reports.

   7.Qualifications and Specialised Knowledge/Experience Required  

A consultant engaged in performing the task should possess the following expertise and skills as a minimum:

·        Extensive experience in working with children with ASD;

·        Extensive experience in training professionals to work with children with ASD;

·        At least five years of experience in developing training materials and delivering training;

·        Know inclusion values and principles;

·        Exceptional organization, ability to plan, realize and monitor work progress;

·        Excellent oral and written communication skills.

   8. Formal Expression of Interest for Consultancy

The interestedconsultantshoulddevelopandsubmitthefinancialproposaltorespondto the above-mentionedspecifictasks.Therequestshouldinclude:

1.      Submission of the Bidders response document with a specified budget breakdown (Annex 1);

2.      Letter of interest with confirmation of the availability for the proposed dates and work dynamics

3.      Curriculum Vitae (CV) in SCI template (Annex 2).

The interested applicants should submit their proposals on Procurement.NWB@savethechildren.org no later than April 23^rd, 2021, 12:00 h. Only the shortlisted applicants will be contacted.

Please download necessery documents for application:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1g-5qCb0aAl8IyAhwWwK-7ioRU8dHSJZa/view?usp=sharing

Particular requirement: no person is performing any task on behalf of Save the Children may, in any way, be involved in or connected with abuse or exploitation of children.