SPYNKA Program

ISSA Member: Comenius Foundation for Child Development, Poland

What happened?

Following the outbreak of war in Ukraine in early 2022, over 1.6 million refugees arrived in Poland—most were women and children. The national system struggled to meet the needs for childcare and early education, prompting urgent intervention.

 
What was needed? How did they respond?
Parents, especially mothers needing to work, needed safe, full-day early childhood care for their young children. The Comenius Foundation for Child Development created the SPYNKA program, launching drop-in childcare centres adjacent to reception points for children aged 2-6 years old. The program expanded to include Ukrainian-Polish:

• Full-day nurture-based nursery programs for children 1-3 years old
• Full-day nurture-based toddler programs for children 4-6 years old

Key challenges:

• Limited formal childcare infrastructure to serve refugee children.
• Mothers needed reliable childcare support to work or stabilise their families.
• ECEC workforce was limited and inconsistent.

Solutions:

• Expanded the program rapidly with UNICEF support to 75 centres across eight provinces, reaching ~10,000 children and mothers.
• Provided high-quality, holistic, child-oriented non-formal ECEC, preparing children for school and supporting socio-emotional development.
• Equipped centres with games, books, art supplies, and hot meals.
• Offered job opportunities to parents, especially mothers, in the centres.
• Provided specific training to ECEC practitioners on Psychological First Aid and trauma-informed practices.

SPYNKA was implemented in partnership with UNICEF, local municipalities, NGOs, and international agencies. Though many municipalities lacked space, Comenius Foundation rented their own centres to ensure service continuity.
This close coordination enabled consistent, full-day care, helping refugee children find stability and integration, while parents gained time and support to rebuild their lives.

What's in place? What's missing?

SPYNKA is a compelling example of how rapid, locally driven contingency planning can meet urgent early childhood needs in crisis. Comenius Foundation’s agile approach and community response were vital—but the absence of formal, state-level contingency systems means such programming remains contingent on civil society. To ensure consistent, equitable access for all refugee children in future crises, early childhood care must be integrated into national preparedness frameworks.

Being part of a regional network: Advantages of ISSA membership

Membership in ISSA provides the Comenius Foundation team and smaller non-governmental organisations cooperating with us with access to knowledge and a network of organisations that share their experiences. We have the opportunity to participate in international activities to strengthen advocacy efforts regarding the importance of early childhood. In the event of a crisis, we can be sure that we will not be left alone and that we can count on substantive and organisational support.

Recommendations

National policymakers:

• Creating emergency preparedness plans that emphasise the importance of care and safety for children in the refugee crisis.
• Establishing cooperation between the government, local authorities, non-governmental organisations and local groups to ensure constant communication and prevent duplication of efforts
• Ensuring continuous funding and efficient flow of information on opportunities to support the safety and care of children and their families.
• Ensuring funding for education and care infrastructure by creating mobile centres for the care and education of young children (Spynka mobilna).

Local/national actors
It is necessary to strengthen the integration and networking of local non-governmental organisations whose mission is to help children in difficult situations. Local and regional non-governmental organisations should join together in supportive rather than competitive groups. All horizontal initiatives and the sharing of knowledge and potential are of great importance not only for the quality of work with children, but also for the effectiveness and efficiency of help.

Private donors

• Securing funding for programmes for refugee children from private donors, corporate social responsibility departments and corporate foundations, together with funding for capacity-building programmes for organisations that provide such assistance.

Professionals/practitioners

• Developing knowledge in the field of pre-specialist assistance, psychological first aid, building resilience and working with trauma. It is very important to be able to work with parents who, for many reasons (trauma, cultural differences, difficult living conditions), are unable to provide support for their children.
• Developing knowledge about the possibilities of specialist assistance and reference points for further assistance.
• Building one's own mental resilience and the ability to give and receive support within a team of professionals.

Main takeaways:
The SPYNKA model underlines how safe, structured, nurturing spaces staffed by trained personnel can anchor young children and caregivers amidst displacement. These environments not only ensure continuity of learning but also serve as critical emotional and protective settings during crises—especially when designed with trauma-awareness, cultural sensitivity, and daily routines at their core.

Explore further: SPYNKA Program