The impact of the pandemic on the education systems across the globe is immense for numerous reasons. On one hand, most countries in the world have closed down schools and moved to some type of online learning which will surely impact the quality of learning but at the same time impacts the home lives of teachers, students and their parents.

The members of NEPC network promptly reacted to this situation to support and cater to the needs of their beneficiaries. In this series, we will present the activities and the practices that our members implemented, adapted or reinforced as they could serve as inspiration for other actors dealing with the implications and impact that this unexceptional circumstances had and still have on education.

In this issue, we feature the initiatives of our Czech member, Open Society Fund (OSF) Prague that – as a foundation – mapped the impacts of the current situation on its target groups – i.e. children from the socially disadvantaged backgrounds, marginalised communities (especially Roma) and children with SEN.

Together with its partners and grantees, it has been informing schools and teachers on how to involve and support these student. Several recommendations have been prepared on this topic by its grantees and partners – e.g. here or here.  It is available a series of recommendations and links to useful tools and examples of good practice. 

OSF Prague has been helping in providing computers and internet access for vulnerable groups (within the Ucíme online project) and has launched an emergency call for NGOs working in the ECD field to provide the basic and immediate support also for the youngest children and their families.

One of its grantees prepared a web page for online teaching. They also created a Facebook group and have been providing support and consultations to head teachers and municipalities.

OSF Prague has also initiated a statement and commitment of Czech foundations and donors to their grantees and partners and conducted a survey among Czech NGOs on the impacts of COVID-19 epidemics on their activities, target groups and future plans.

Contact: https://osf.cz/en/