Re-Advertisement Consultancy for Safeguarding Learning Experience and Case Study on Adolescent Girls’ Education in Somalia (AGES)

Terms of Reference (TOR)

Title: Re-Advertisement Consultancy for Safeguarding Learning Experience and Case Study on Adolescent Girls’ Education in Somalia (AGES)

Locations: Somalia 

Duration: 20 days  

Description of Services: An individual/firm consultant to document the safeguarding learning experiences in AGES.

Start Date: As Soon As Possible

Reporting to: Gender and Safeguarding Technical Advisor at CARE.  

Consultancy for Safeguarding Learning Experience and Case Study on Adolescent Girls’ Education in Somalia (AGES)

Background to the Project

The FCDO and USAID -funded ‘Leave No Girls’ Behind (LNGB)-Adolescent Girls’ Education in Somalia (AGES)’ is an innovative project which aims to promote education access through tailored, sustainable solutions in order to develop literacy, numeracy and key life skills for the most marginalized adolescent girls in South Central Somalia. It is a consortium comprising of CARE (lead agency), GREDO (National NGO), and WARDI (National NGO), responsible for project implementation. AGES targets the hardest to reach among out of schoolgirls, specifically girls engaged in child labour, married, and divorced girls, internally displaced persons (IDPs), and girls from minority clans, excluded groups and pastoralist families. The project aims to improve access to education, learning outcomes and retention of 90,698 girfrom some of the poorest, most vulnerable and conflict affected regions of Jubaland, Banaadir/Mogadishu and Southwest Administration, and to improve the overall quality of education by building local capacity.

Of the 90,698  project target girls, 20,150  highly marginalized girls aged 10-12 were supported to enroll into formal education. Most had never attended school or had dropped out at grades 1-2 without acquiring foundational literacy and numeracy skills. 

In addition to the above, 2000 girls with disabilities who are educationally marginalized especially those with difficulties with sensory (sight, hearing, mental), communication disorders and other health impairments are also targeted across all the three education pathways. 

Regarding safeguarding, AGES program has achieved 100% on the GEC Safeguarding Action Plan, which is an evidence-based review against the 14 FCDO safeguarding standards, which includes themes of whistle blowing, human resources, risk management, code of conduct, governance and accountability. This included a review of downstream partners policies, data protection of all participants but especially children, safeguarding integrated into recruitment processes, and the development of a code of conduct. However, these successes need to be documented and utilized for all future programming; and this is why this assignment becomes indispensable at this stage. 

The Overall Goal of the Project

Led by CARE in partnership with three local NGOs, AGES works with schools, communities, individual students, religious leaders, the Federal Ministry of Education, Culture and Higher Education (MOECHE) and State Ministries of Education (MoEs) in Hirshabelle, Jubaland and South-West, as well as the Banaadir Regional Administration to

1. Increase the availability of flexible, quality learning opportunities tailored to the needs of ultra-marginalised out-of-school girls:

1. Accelerated basic education (ABE) including compressed primary content;

2. Increased access to quality formal education through agreements with education providers and teacher training (reading, numeracy, child protection and gender-equitable practices); 

3. Non-formal education (NFE/life skills course) for older girls (ages 15-25), teaching literacy, numeracy, financial literacy, savings, and basic business planning.

1. Facilitate a social norm change movement towards broader life opportunities for adolescent girls and boys: 

1. Religious leaders trained on Islamic principles to support gender equity and education for girls;

2. Community leaders and Community Education Committees (CECs) sensitised and mobilized to work with parents to identify and support extremely marginalised girls to enrol in learning opportunities and attend classes regularly;

3. Mothers and mothers-in-law mobilised through village savings and loans associations (VSLAs) and enrolment drives; 

4. Girls trained on leadership skills, menstrual hygiene management, savings and forming peer support networks at Girls’ Empowerment Forums (GEFs); 

5. Boys mentored through Boys’ Empowerment Forums (BEFs); 

6. Messages reinforced via radio and social media; 

7. Linkages between female youth enrolled in NFE with youth VSLAs, financial institutions, and apprenticeship opportunities, shifting perceptions and options for livelihoods.

2. Build institutional capacity: Support to strengthen policy frameworks on NFE and their implementation; improving monitoring of education services; develop decentralised management capacity; strengthen mainstreaming of inclusive approaches and safeguarding mechanisms; and increase technical capacity for planning and management of non-formal education services.

3. Facilitate the engagement of girls and female youth in collective action to claim rights through support to interventions led by GEFs and GEF networks.

4. Support increased access of female youth to other development opportunities, including employability skills through technical-vocational education and training (TVET); economic empowerment opportunities; and participatory accountability processes.

5. Increase girls and female youth’s access to critical services, such as legal services, governance institutions and safety nets through humanitarian support. 

AGES is also providing the means for girls who are unable to attend school consistently to study remotely, through guided lessons and remote support; mobilising communities to follow up on dropouts and ensure their return to school; providing hygiene supplies to participants and schools; and supporting the implementation of psychosocial first aid through mentors, teachers, and peers. 

The use of flexible learning tracks by the AGES project, complemented by remote education, allows girls engaged in labour, married and divorced girls, and pastoralist girls to attend learning sessions despite the limitations on their time. The work with religious leaders and Quranic teachers addresses the resistance to the inclusion of older and married girls and issues with their mobility and approval from family to attend classes, particularly in areas where recent influence from armed groups has resulted in severe curtailing of women’s freedom. 

Physically disabled girls with limited mobility benefit from (1) access to ABE/ non-formal education courses close to home; (2) renovations to schools which include accessible features such as ramps; (3) access to remote learning allowing them to learn from home; (4) increased awareness of parents and community members of the importance of education for the disabled. Girls with special learning needs are benefitting from scholarships to attend special needs schools. Girls facing severe anxiety and depression are supported through the combination of psychosocial first aid and support networks through the GEFs.

Girls from minority clans and ethnic groups develop their self-confidence and aspirations and build connections beyond their own clans through participation in the GEFs. The participation in GEF networks have expanded the engagement of the most marginalised adolescent girls and female youth in civic action. Furthermore, teachers have been trained to support girls who are lagging behind and first-generation learners, enhancing the likelihood of enrolment and retention in ABE, NFE and formal education. Girls from displaced and ultra-poor families as well as orphaned children are overcoming financial barriers through the participation of parents, older adolescent girls, and female youth in VSL. Through the expansion of AGES activities funded by USAID, female youth also have the opportunity to further expand their economic empowerment through VSL networks and participation in skills training, as well as enhanced access to safety nets.Objectives

This consultancy seeks to achieve the following objectives:

• Review and Analyze Safeguarding Practices: Analyze the effectiveness of safeguarding practices implemented by the AGES project. This includes reviewing policies, procedures, training materials, and reporting mechanisms. Furthermore, the review will not only capture  the safeguarding systems but how these systems have been utilized. 

• Develop Learning Experience: Based on the analysis, document safeguarding best practices that could be adopted by other projects and stakeholders within the system context. project staff and stakeholders 

• Conduct Case Study and success stories : Document stories that capture the successes, challenges, and lessons learned regarding safeguarding within the AGES project. This case study should be informative and valuable for future education projects in similar contexts. However, the process of documenting these success stories should strictly follow CARE’s safeguarding policy and ensure confidentiality. Likewise, the consultant will strictly follow AGES safe communication guideline. 

Scope of Work

The consultant will be responsible for the following tasks:

• Desk Review: Review relevant AGES project documents, including safeguarding policy, safe-communication guidelines, procedures, training materials, reporting forms, and monitoring data.

• Stakeholder Interviews: Conduct interviews with key stakeholders involved in the AGES project, including project staff, teachers, beneficiaries, community leaders, and government officials, to gather insights on the implementation of safeguarding practices.

• Data Analysis: Analyze the information gathered through the desk review and stakeholder interviews to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the AGES project's safeguarding practices.

• Learning Experience Development: Develop a training program or other learning experience on best practices in safeguarding specifically tailored to the AGES project context and target audience.

• Case Study Development: Write a comprehensive case study that details the AGES project's approach to safeguarding, highlighting successes, challenges, and key learnings for future projects.

• Success stories:   collect success stories and learning experiences from the NFE centres.

• Presentation and Debriefing: Present the findings of the analysis and the case study to the client and key stakeholders.

Deliverables

• Inception report: outlining the consultant's understanding of the project, methodology, and work plan.

• Safeguarding practices analysis report: with key findings and recommendations.

• Developed learning experience material: including training modules, presentations, or other resources.

• Success Stories: Share success stories on safeguarding.

• Final case study report: highlighting the AGES project's approach to safeguarding and key takeaways.

• Presentation slides: summarizing the findings and recommendations.

Consultant Qualifications

The ideal consultant will possess the following qualifications:

• Demonstrated expertise in safeguarding practices in education, particularly in conflict-affected areas.

• Graduate degree in social science/a professional qualification and/or experience in a relevant field.

• Experience in conducting research and analysis on child protection issues.

• Strong understanding of the Somali context and education challenges.

• Excellent communication, writing, and presentation skills.

• Experience in developing and delivering training programs for diverse audiences.

• Minimum Eight Year Experience.

6. Timeframe

The consultancy is expected to be completed within t 20 days ] 

7. Reporting

The consultant will report to the Gender & Safeguarding Advisor at CARE. Regular progress reports and updates will be required throughout the consultancy period.

8. Budget

The consultant should submit a detailed financial proposal outlining their daily rate or project fee, as well as any additional costs associated with the consultancy.

All interested firms or individual consultants are requested to submit technical and financial proposal as per the ToR by email to: [email protected].  Please indicate “ Safeguarding Learning Experience and Case Study on Adolescent Girls’ Education in Somalia (AGES)

as the subject heading. Application deadline is 18rd Jun,2024.