NEST (acronym of Nest Education Services Territory) is an initiative of participative planning developed from the network of Save the Children Italia’s “Spazio Mamme”. The project gathered a partnership of 21 actors led by Pianoterra in four cities – Rome, Naples, Bari and Milan. It is aimed at tackling educational poverty among vulnerable families with children aged 0-6 in deprived areas and is funded by Con i Bambini social enterprise.

It designed and tested an experimental educational model for pre-school children and their families; the challenge is to promote a new culture of early education and intervention putting families at the very centre of a wider network of actors and bodies involved in the education of children. We called this network an educating community, made of course by parents but also by all local actors, both belonging to public institutions and to non-profit organizations, that together compose a model of community welfare able to take charge of the education of children since their birth.

Promoting early education means providing children, especially the most vulnerable ones, with firm foundations upon which they can build a healthy and balanced development. It also means support their parents into taking full responsibility for their role as caregivers and educational references for their children.

All activities promoted by NEST radiate from “hubs”, our “nests”, where we offer educational activities for children aged 0-6, psychological, educational, and administrative support to their parents and material aid when needed.