EPISCOPAL DIOCESE OF SANTIAGO

CHILDREN’S LEARNING CENTER INC.,

ST. WILLIAM’S PARISH CAMPUS
Butigue, Paracelis, Mountain Province
EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN THE PHILIPPINES
EPISCOPAL DIOCESE OF SANTIAGO
National Highway, Divisoria, Santiago City

EDSCLCI, ST. WILLIAM’S PARISH CAMPUS

CHILD-FRIENDLY SPACES
A Project Proposal
I. BACKGROUND
A. RATIONALE

The Episcopal Diocese of Santiago is one of the seven dioceses of the Episcopal
Church in the Philippines. Its jurisdiction covers the provinces of Ifugao, Eastern Mountain
Province, Nueva Viscaya, Isabela, Quirino and Aurora-all located in the Northern Luzon
respectively. Upon the creation of the Episcopal Diocese of Santiago in year 2000, one of its
main programs that it launched was its Children’s Ministry Program thru CEC. Under this
program is the conduct of Sunday Schools in the Local churches within the Diocese. Sunday
schools are done during Sundays for forty to sixty minutes, where Christian values are reminded,
taught, and ensured that they are instilled to the children. The children enjoy and always look
forward to this weekly session, and parents appreciate how their children grow with their Sunday
schools.
The Christian Education Committee of the Diocese then pursued with the Christian
Children’s guild (CCG), which is an extension of the Sunday Schools. The CCG schools conduct
two hours -sessions every ages 3-4. The orientation is an informal school, play based and
activity-oriented that allows the children to explore a variety of topics in a comparatively random
fashion. Their learning experiences are designed to support physical, social, emotional, language
and cognitive development. A teacher is hired with a minimal allowance that comes from the
parents themselves. The promising result of the CCG schools in the molding and preparation of
the children for their primary level of education pushed parents to request for a higher form of
education to be opened by the church.
 In the planning and monitoring of these CCG School, the Diocesan Christian Education
Committee saw the need to further enhance this program. In 2012, the committee finally
recommended the Diocesan Council that a Diocesan Primary school to be. This primary will
cater to Nursery, Kindergarten, Grade 1, Grade 2 and Grade 3 levels as preparatory schools for
their intermediate grades, guided by the new K12 Curriculum as required by the Department of
Education (DepEd).
That EDSCLCI, a Child-Friendly Spaces is of-help to the primary school specially in
catering its pupils towards their safe and a friendly environment towards the teaching and
learning process of which it will occur.
That a need for a Child-Friendly Spaces room and its materials is in great need for the
school to cater the needs of its pupils in the teaching-learning process.
II. OBJECTIVES

The purpose of a Child Friendly Space is to provide children with a protected environment
in which they can participate in organized activities to play, socialize, learn, and express
themselves as they rebuild their lives. Child Friendly Spaces are one of Save the Children’s key
programmatic interventions to protect children from physical harm and psychosocial distress and
to help them continue learning and developing both during and immediately after an emergency.
Child Friendly Spaces are places that can help reduce a range of distressing effects of a crisis
on children. However, they are not the solution to all of children’s problems. Child Friendly
Space activities are designed to build on children’s natural and evolving coping capacities, and
proactively involve children in the selection of activities to ensure that the activities are relevant
to children. Child Friendly Spaces can provide a child-focused and child-friendly environment in
which children continue their cognitive development and can give them opportunities to learn on
a variety of levels.
In many cases, they can help minimize the disruption to the learning and development
opportunities that schooling provides. Child Friendly Spaces reaffirm the concept that children
are capable of positive self-direction and do not place inappropriate responsibilities on children.
They can help children establish a sense of security and build self-esteem. Child Friendly Spaces
are supervised environments in which parents and caregivers can leave their children while they
collect food and water, rebuild homes or seek new income generating activities. They are places
to provide care while family, community, and social structures are being restored. They provide
 opportunities for parents and caregivers to be actively involved, share information, provide input
and guidance, and increase their own self-confidence to protect and care for children.

The two most common objectives of Child Friendly Spaces are:

1. To offer children opportunities to develop, learn, play, and build/strengthen resiliency

after an emergency or crisis, or during a protracted emergency.
2. To identify and find ways to respond to particular threats to all children and/or specific
groups of children, such as those with particular vulnerabilities, after the
emergency/crisis, or during a protracted emergency.
(Please note: The objectives are not limited to those above. Other objectives may be relevant,
depending on the needs and constraints of the context and the situation on the ground. In
some situations, for example, Save the Children might seek to link Child Friendly Spaces to
education or health and/or social service systems, have an objective that is advocacy
oriented, focuses on inclusion of especially vulnerable groups of children, or facilitates
family tracing.)

III. SPECIFIC PROGRAM OF ACTIVITIES FOR CHILD FRIENDLT SPACES (CFS)

HEALTH PSYCHO-
COMMUNIT
DEVELOPMENT EDUCATION AND SOCIAL LIFE SKILLS
Y NEEDS
NUTRITION SUPPORT
Participation
Non-formal Professional Conflict
Free Play Screening in public
education activities support Resolution
works
Formal education in Psycho-
Food Peer Medical and
Organized Play lieu of schools or social
programmes education Dental Support
trainings activities
Mapping of
Pre-school to Grade Hygiene Peer-to-peer Strengthening
Story-Telling resources and
School Services training support positive attitudes
hazards
Dance, music, Painting, drawing, Immunizations Parental - Invite - Helps children to
drama, singing, clay, collages, Counseling community express their
puppet-shows making dolls, members to feelings and ideas
puppets, and perform and - Externalizes
hold emotions,
animals, pasting
workshops promotes
pictures using with the understanding,
grains of wheat, children self-esteem, and
corn, sand, etc., - Organize empathy
bookmarks / performances - Promotes
 experimentation
- Promotes
greeting cards from creativity and
respect for the
dried flowers, for the
resources
finger painting, community
available by using
posters local materials or
materials from
nature
Indoor and Outdoor Support
Sports Play therapy Team building
games activities
Manipulative toys,
Traditional and
board games, Ball Youth clubs
Modern Games
Games

IV. SCHEDULE OF ACTIVITIES

SAFE SPACES SCHEDULE

TIME CHILDREN AGES 5 TO 18 YEARS OLD
9:00 –
Shift 1: Children Ages 5 – 10 years old: Registration/Meet and Greet
9:15AM
9:15 – 10:30 PSYCHOSOCIAL AND LOCAL GAMES AND ACTIVITIES
10:30 – 10:45 BREAK/SNACK
10:45 – 11:45 MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY
Reading,
Active Oxfam Active
Arts and math,
Games & Health Games &
Crafts School
Sports Promotion Sports
Works
11:45 – 12:00 Shift 1: Children Go Home
12:00 – 12:30 LUNCH FOR SAFE PLACE STAFF
9:00 –
Shift 2: Children Ages 5 – 10 years old: Registration/Meet and Greet
9:15AM
9:15 – 10:30 PSYCHOSOCIAL AND LOCAL GAMES AND ACTIVITIES
10:30 – 10:45 BREAK/SNACK
10:45 – 11:45 MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY
Reading,
Active Oxfam Community
Arts and math,
Games & Health Services
Crafts School
Sports Promotion Projects
Works
11:45 – 12:00 Shift 2: Children Go Home

V. RESPONSIBLE PERSONS
The persons responsible in this Child Friendly Spaces (CFS) are the Teachers themselves
who are adults enough to secure the protection of the children since supervision will be given
accordingly to group age level them.
 VI. LIMITATIONS

VII. THEATS
Child Friendly Spaces can play an important role in identifying and addressing child
protection concerns within an affected population, including the detection of issues or threats to
children and youth. Concerns should be addressed in the best way possible, for example, through
direct referral to health or other life-saving facilities or advocacy activities. Children at particular
risk may include:
1. Children who do not play and/or show psychosocial distress;
2. Children who are separated, or at risk of being separated, from their primary caregivers;
3. Children who are at risk of being recruited into armed forces or armed groups;
4. Children who are heads of households, who are young mothers, or who take care of
other children;
5. Children who are at risk of physical harm;
6. Children who are involved in exploitative child labor;
7. Children with disabilities;
8. Children who are otherwise marginalized and lack access to support and services;
9. Children who are at risk of sexual exploitation or other gender-based violence, or who
are at risk of early marriage.
VIII. BUDGET (Cost of establishing CFS: Materials, etc.)