A growing number of educational institutions strive to include children with various types of special needs in the education process. That said, teachers and students are often unaware of how to interact with children with special needs, resulting in their becoming victims of stereotypes and not always interacting appropriately with such children. Besides, this may lead to such disruptive issues in a school setting as bullying, conflicts, and stigmatization of children with disabilities. This course was developed specifically with teachers and heads of educational institutions in mind to help enhance education practitioners' competences in creating a child-friendly environment for children with special needs. The project got underway in 2023. The Republic of Tatarstan, Amur, Nizhegorodskaya and Voronezh Oblasts were picked as the project's pilot regions. During the lecture course, the teachers and heads of educational institutions explore the subtleties of what it takes to integrate children with special needs into the learning process, study examples of tailor-made development and learning plans for children with health limitations. It offered managers of educational institutions an opportunity to become immersed in the philosophy of inclusion, get acquainted with the experience of various regions in creating a proper integratory and inclusive education environment, while also learning about success stories with examples of how to set up and run resource classes for children with behavioral issues and autism spectrum disorders.

The second component of the Lessons in Kindness and Support project is designed to help forge a professional community that would be prepared to help those who are struggling with the consequences of complex psychological trauma. This could be achieved by enhancing practitioners' competencies by means of building a professional network of experts involved in dealing with the consequences of complex psychological trauma. 2023’s training workshops were held in Amur and Nizhegorodskaya Oblasts, and in the Republic of Tatarstan.

These webinars go through all of the phases of creating and implementing inclusive projects at educational establishments. How does one come up with an idea for a project, what forms can a project take, and what are the mechanisms for implementing an inclusive project? What aspects require particular attention, and why is it essential to take into account opinions of younger children and of teenagers? The webinars' target audience includes teachers and heads of educational facilities who wish to create an enabling environment for successful learning for all students, including children with special needs.

A series of webinars on developing inclusive projects.

A series of webinars on supporting children with developmental disabilities.

The key message of the webinars is about why it is important not to "label" children, why it is essential to involve medical professionals, and what social welfare and education professionals can do to ensure that children with developmental disabilities feel comfortable in a group setting and that the practitioners understand how to manage work with these children.

A webinar on self-care for adults

The key concept examined at the webinar is emotional burnout: what it is and what are the signs and implications for professionals and parents dealing with inclusion. How to analyze the various factors that contribute to burnout, identifying one's own stressors and predisposing factors. Developing a self-management and self-care plan for parents, relaxation techniques, finding external support and strengthening one's resources.