News Item

Training for guardians of unaccompanied children out now

Young teenager boy at counseling - talking to the therapy professional, close up
Across the European Union, the professional backgrounds and skills of guardians of unaccompanied children vary widely. This led the EU Agency of Fundamental Rights (FRA), in close coordination with the European Guardianship Network, to develop training material for guardians and trainers.

All unaccompanied children are entitled to a guardian under EU law. Guardians require specific knowledge and skills to promote the rights and best interests of the unaccompanied children they are responsible for.

To guide guardians, FRA created an online platform and manual.

The online training and learning platform targets trainers as well as guardians. This includes experienced professionals, volunteers, or future guardians.

The training builds on international and EU standards, in particular the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, Council of Europe standards and EU law.

It spans the diversity of guardianship services and training contexts for unaccompanied children found across the EU to offer a standardised learning experience. It can also be adapted to different contexts, such as professional, academic and volunteer training, and national or local needs.

It contains practical exercises, case studies and quizzes to assess participants’ knowledge and other resources to allow participants to further develop their skills.

In addition, there is a trainers’ manual for guardians. It helps institutions, organisations and individuals train guardians or deliver ‘train-the-trainers’ courses in a range of training contexts, such as professional and academic training.

The manual contains guidance and tips for trainers. It also offers a four-part training curriculum.

It builds on earlier FRA work on guardianship.